The Marquisate or Margraviate of Mantua was a margraviate in Lombardy, Northern Italy. Constituted by the Capitano del popolo, an administrative title used in Italy during the Middle Ages. The Marquisate of Mantua began with Gianfrancesco I Gonzaga, a member of the important House of Gonzaga, who inherited the city of Mantua in 1407, when he was only 12 years old.