Countess Matilda of Tuscany was one of the most important women in the Middle Ages; she was born in Mantua in 1046. From 1076 she ruled a great part of northern and central Italy; it was the time of Investiture Controversy between the Papacy and the Empire. In 1077 she tried to settled the conflict, by hosting Pope Gregory VII and Emperor Henry IV at Canossa; the attempt had not effect, so she aligned herself with the Pope and his reasons, while she was a vassal of the Empire. Henry IV considered Matilda disloyal and waged war on her: she was forced to retreat within her most loyal territories - Canossa in Reggio Emilia area, Piadena in Cremona area, Nogara in Verona area and Monteveglio in Bologna area - and defend herself. In Mantua area, she loved most the countryside along Po river and its monasteries, such as San Benedetto Polirone and Santa Maria in Felonica. The Countess died on 24 July 1115 and she was buried in San Benedetto Polirone, which was ruled by a Cluniac abbott. She was very generous with monasteries in Basso Mantovano; she is also traditionally believed to have commissioned may beautiful Romanesque churches in Mantua province.