| Alfonso II d'Este | |
|---|---|
 Alfonso II d'Este by Girolamo da Carpi | |
| Duke of Ferrara | |
| Reign | 3 October 1559 – 27 October 1597 |
| Predecessor | Ercole II |
| Successor | Lost to the Papal States (1597) |
| Duke of Modena and Reggio | |
| Reign | 3 October 1559 – 27 October 1597 |
| Predecessor | Ercole II |
| Successor | Cesare |
| Duke of Chartres | |
| Tenure | 12 June 1574 – 27 October 1597 |
| Predecessor | Renée |
| Successor | Gaston |
| Born | 22 November 1533 |
| Died | 27 October 1597(1597-10-27) (aged 63) Ferrara |
| Spouse |
(m. 1579) |
| House | Este |
| Father | Ercole II d'Este |
| Mother | Renée of France |
| Religion | Roman Catholicism |
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
Alfonso was the elder son of Ercole II d'Este and Renée de France, the daughter of Louis XII of France and Anne of Brittany and was the fifth and last Duke of Ferrara.
As a young man, Alfonso 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 his mother back to France due to her increasingly Calvinist beliefs. The 1570 Ferrara earthquake occurred during his reign. In 1583, he allied with Emperor Rudolf II in the war against the Turks in Hungary.
Throughout the 1550s, Alfonso had an interest in Castrato singing voices. Given his childless marriages, this additional fact has prompted some historians to speculate that the Duke was homosexual.
Marriages
Alfonso married three times:
- On 3 July 1558, he 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, at just 16. Poisoning at the hand of the Duke has been suspected; however, pulmonary tuberculosis is the more widely accepted cause of death.
- On 5 December 1565, he 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, he 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.
-
Lucrezia di Cosimo de' Medici
-
Barbara of Austria
-
Margherita Gonzaga
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Succession
The legitimate line of the House of Este ended in 1597 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 as Duke of Este, 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. As a result of Alfonso's death Cesare d'Este and his family were "obliged to leave the city" and the power of the government was there after turned over to the cardinal legate.
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. Besides being fluent in Italian he was also proficient in Latin and French. 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
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In literature
Alfonso II is the duke upon whom Robert Browning based his poem My Last Duchess, and is a major character in the Maggie O'Farrell novel The Marriage Portrait.
References
- Este, Alfonso, II, D' (1533 - 1597). (2006). In J. Hale (Ed.), Thames & Hudson Dictionary of the Italian renaissance , the. London, United Kingdom: Thames & Hudson. Retrieved from https://learn.sfcc.edu/login?url=http://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/thir/este_alfonso_ii_d_1533_1597/0 Archived 2020-08-01 at the Wayback Machine
- Bartlett, Kenneth (2019). The Renaissance in Italy: A History. Hacektt Publishing Company. p. 165.
- Murphy, Caroline P. Murder of a Medici Princess. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008. p. 70. ISBN 978-0-19-531439-7
- Hale, J.R; Thames; Hudson. "learn.sfcc.edu/login?url=http://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/thir/este_alfonso_ii_d_1533_1597/0". Credo Reference. SFCC. Archived from the original on 1 August 2020. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
- Thames & Hudson Dictionary of the Italian renaissance , the (J. Hale ed.). London, United Kingdom: Thames & Hudson.
- published by Tinder, see The Times Saturday Review September 3 2022, page 19, review by Claire Allfree
External links
- Illustrious people (in English)
| Alfonso II d'Este House of EsteBorn: 22 November 1533 Died: 27 October 1597 | ||
| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded byErcole II | Duke of Modena and Reggio 1559–1597 |
Succeeded byCesare |
| Preceded byErcole II | Duke of Ferrara 1559–1597 |
Succeeded byThe Papal States |
| Preceded byRenée de France | Duke of Chartres 1574–1597 |
Succeeded by1 - Crown lands of France 2 - Gaston, Duke of Orléans, (1626) |
| Concerto delle donne | |
|---|---|
| Core members | |
| Predecessors | |
| Patrons | |
| Associates | |
| Printer | |
| Princes of Modena | |
|---|---|
| Generations start from Ercole I d'Este, first Duke of Modena | |
| 1st generation | |
| 2nd generation | |
| 3rd generation | |
| 4th generation | |
| 5th generation | |
| 6th generation | |
| 7th generation | |
| 8th generation | |
| 10th generation | |
| 11th generation | |
| *also Archduke of Austria | |
