When the last duke died without issue in 1708 Austria gained possession of the little realm.
Entangled in the ceaseless turmoil of wars between Milan and the forces allied against her, Mantua under the rule of the Gonzagas maintained her intellectual energy and played bravely her part in the revival of classic learning.

Her court became a center of scholarship from which radiated a beneficent influence through much of northern Italy.

The lords of Gonzaga fought and plotted, ate and drank, and plunged into the riotous dissipation and free play of passions which characterized the Renaissance period, but like other distinguished Italians they steeped themselves in learning and were the proud patrons of artists, authors, teachers, composers.
The eminence of the house in scholarship doubtless dated from the reign of the Marchese Gian Francesco Gonzaga.

This nobleman cherished a genuine love for ancient history and was not without an appreciation of Roman verse.

Believing, as he did in common with most Italians, that the republican thought of Rome was the foundation of all exalted living, he realized that his children ought to be committed to the care of a master thoroughly schooled in ancient lore.