Isabella Colonna


Isabella Colonna was an Italian noblewoman, a member of the Colonna family.

Early life

She was the only daughter of Vespasiano Colonna, Duke of Traetto and Count of Fondi, and Beatrice Appiani. After her mother's death, she was raised by her father's second wife, Giulia Gonzaga.
Her paternal grandparents were Prospero Colonna, Duke of Traetto, and Covella di Sanseverino.

Personal life

In 1531, she married Louis [Gonzaga (Rodomonte)|Louis "Rodomonte" Gonzaga], an Imperial Captain of Charles V who was the son of Ludovico Gonzaga. Before his death, they were the parents of a son:
After Louis died, Isabella moved with his parents to Sabbioneta. Later, after quarrels with the latter, she moved to Rivarolo and then, in 1534, to her fiefs in southern Italy.

Second marriage

In 1534, she married Philip de Lannoy, 2nd Prince of Sulmona, the son of Charles de Lannoy, [1st Prince of Sulmona]. Ludovico, the father of her first husband, opposed the marriage and obtained a decree from Emperor Charles V which entrusted Vespasiano's education to his aunt Giulia Gonzaga. Before the Prince of Sulmona died in 1553, they were the parents of five children:
Isabella Colonna died at Naples in 1570; her eldest son Vespasiano inherited all her possessions.