Alfonso II d'Este, Duke of Ferrara

Alfonso II d'Este
Duke of Ferrara, Modena, and Reggio
Alfonso II d'Este by Girolamo da Carpi
Spouse(s)	Lucrezia di Cosimo de' Medici Barbara of Austria Margherita Gonzaga
Noble family	House of Este
Father	Ercole II d'Este
Mother	Renée of France
Born	22 November 1533
Died	27 October 1598 (aged 64) Ferrara

Alfonso II d'Este (22 November 1533 – 27 October 1597) was Duke of Ferrara from 1559 to 1597. He was a member of the House of Este.

Biography

He was the elder son of Ercole II d'Este and Renée de France, the daughter of Louis XII of France and Anne of Brittany.

As a young man, he fought in the service of Henry II of France against the Habsburgs. Soon after his accession, he was forced by Pope Pius IV to send back his mother to France due to her Calvinist creed. The 1570 Ferrara earthquake fell into his reign. In 1583 he allied with Emperor Rudolf II in the war against the Turks in Hungary.

Marriages

He married three times:

• On 3 July 1558, Alfonso married his first wife Lucrezia di Cosimo de' Medici (14 February 1545 – 21 April 1561), a daughter of Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany and Eleonora di Toledo. She died two years afterwards; poisoning has been suspected, although it is now thought that she died of tuberculosis.^[1]
• On 5 December 1565, Alfonso married his second wife Barbara of Austria (30 April 1539 - 19 September 1572), eighth daughter of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor and Anna of Bohemia and Hungary.
• On 24 February 1579, Alfonso married his third wife Margherita Gonzaga (27 May 1564 - 6 January 1618). She was the eldest daughter of William I, Duke of Mantua and Eleonora of Austria. Margherita was the niece of his second wife Barbara.

He had no known children, legitimate or otherwise.

Succession

The legitimate line ended in 1598 with him. Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor recognized as heir his cousin Cesare d'Este, member of a cadet branch, who continued to rule in the imperial duchies and carried on the family name. The succession, however, was recognized only by the Emperor but not by the Popes. In 1598 Ferrara was therefore incorporated into the Papal States by Pope Clement VIII, on grounds of doubtful legitimacy.

Patron of the arts and sciences

Alfonso II raised the glory of Ferrara to its highest point, and was the patron of Torquato Tasso, Giovanni Battista Guarini, and Cesare Cremonini—favouring the arts and sciences, as the princes of his house had always done. Luzzasco Luzzaschi served as his court organist.

In addition, he was the sponsor of the Concerto delle donne, a type of group which was to be copied all over Italy. He also restored the Castello Estense, damaged by an earthquake in 1570.

His expenses, however, went at damage of the public treasure.

Ancestors

Ancestors of Alfonso II d'Este, Duke of Ferrara

16. Niccolò III d'Este, Marquis of Ferrara               8. Ercole I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara                       17. Ricciarda of Saluzzo               4. Alfonso I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara                             18. Ferdinand I of Naples               9. Eleanor of Naples                       19. Isabella of Clermont               2. Ercole II d'Este, Duke of Ferrara                                   20. Jofré Llançol i Escrivà               10. Pope Alexander VI                       21. Isabel de Borja               5. Lucrezia Borgia                             22. Giacommo Cattanei               11. Vannozza dei Cattanei                       23. Mencia Pinctoris               1. Alfonso II d'Este, Duke of Ferrara                                         24. Louis I de Valois, Duke of Orléans               12. Charles I de Valois, Duke of Orléans                       25. Valentina Visconti               6. Louis XII of France                             26. Adolph I, Duke of Cleves               13. Marie of Cleves                       27. Mary of Burgundy               3. Renée of France                                   28. Richard of Brittany               14. Francis II, Duke of Brittany                       29. Marguerite d'Orléans               7. Anne, Duchess of Brittany                             30. Gaston IV, Count of Foix               15. Margaret of Foix                       31. Eleanor of Navarre

Trivia

Some specialists claim that Alfonso II is the duke upon whom Robert Browning based his poem My Last Duchess.

References

1. Murphy, Caroline P. Murder of a Medici Princess. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008. p. 70. ISBN 978-0-19-531439-7

External links

• Illustrious people (English)