Gonzaga family

The Room of Eagles in the Ducal Palace in Sabbioneta houses what is left of the Cavalcade, a series of wooden equestrian statues sculpted in 1587 to celebrate, in typical Habsburg style, the military strengths of the Gonzaga family.The ten statues that originally made up the cavalcade were situated in the Room of Horses, a large space at the rear of the palace. They were damaged beyond repair by a massive fire in the beginning of the 19th century. The flames completely destroyed some statues, while others were seriously damaged.

In the middle of the room, standing proud, there is the statue of the duke Vespasiano Gonzaga Colonna wearing armour with his staff of command and the collar of the noble order of the Golden Fleece. The other characters are father Luigi, known as Rodomonte, wearing on his armour the papal insignia, great grandfather Gian Francesco, first lord of the fiefdom of Sabbionetea and Ludovico, belonging to the main family line of the Gonzaga of Mantua

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