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Castiglione delle Stiviere
Castiglione delle Stiviere
	— Comune —
Città di Castiglione delle Stiviere
	; Coat of arms
	; Coat of arms
	; Castiglione delle Stiviere Location of Castiglione delle Stiviere in Italy
	Coordinates: [1] 45°23′30″N 10°29′20″E / 45.39167°N 10.48889°E
Country	Italy
Region	Lombardy
Province	Mantua (MN)
Frazioni	Astore, Gozzolina, Grole, San Vigilio
	Government
- Mayor	Fabrizio Paganella (since May 28, 2002)
	Area
- Total	42 km2 (16.2 sq mi)
	Population (2006)
- Total	20,775
- Density	494.6/km2 (1,281.1/sq mi)
- Demonym	Castiglionesi
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
- Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	46043
Dialing code	0376
Patron saint	San Luigi Gonzaga
Saint day	June 21
Website	Official website

Castiglione delle Stiviere is a town and comune in the province of Mantua, in Lombardy, Italy, 30 km NW of Mantua by road.

[edit] History

panorama of Castiglione

During the War of the Spanish Succession, the French under the duc de Vendôme occupied it.
In 1706, in the first Battle of Castiglione a French army under Jacques Eléonor Rouxel de Grancey defeated here a Hessian army led by Frederick I, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel.

During the siege of Mantua in 1796, the Austrians under Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser were defeated here in the second Battle of Castiglione by the revolutionary French army under General Augereau, later Marshal of France, who in 1808 was created Duke of Castiglione by Emperor Napoleon I, a hereditary victory title (so there never was an actual territorial duchy attached to it) extinguished in 1915.

Birthplace of St. Aloysius Gonzaga [1] (Italian: Luigi Gonzaga, 9 March 1568–21 June 1591) who was a Jesuit. Aloysius was buried in the Church of the Annunciation in Rome. His head was later translated to the basilica bearing his name in Castiglione delle Stiviere.

Castiglione received the honorary title of city with a presidential decree on October 18, 2001.

[edit] Main sights

It has an old Castle, much altered and restored, especially by the Gonzaga family of Mantua in the 16th century.

Castiglione is the birth place of the International Red Cross, which was established by Henri Dunant during the aftermath of the Battle of Solferino in 1859. There is a museum in the center of the town dedicated to the IRC.