Symbols of power of the Gonzaga
The coat of arms is the element that symbolically expresses the history of the family it represents: marriages, political and military recognitions, acquisitions of territories and significant events.
There are two coats of arms that we most often encounter in the buildings of Sabbioneta and both are strongly linked to the figure of Vespasian.
The first one represents the family crest Gonzaga, with the four eagles, together with that of the Column, a column on a red background. This image recalls Vespasiano's origins: his father was the condottiero Luigi Rodomonte Gonzaga and his mother was the noblewoman Isabella Colonna.
But the most interesting and most common in Sabbioneta is a shield featuring a double-headed eagle above the word "LIBERTAS," alluding to the independence and freedom of the Duchy of Sabbioneta from Mantua. From 1585, when Vespasiano was awarded the Order of the Golden Fleece, the coat of arms was enriched with the Order's collar around the shield.
