Alfonso II d'Este | |
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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 | Este |
Father | Ercole II d'Este |
Mother | Renée of France |
Born | 22 November 1533 |
Died | 27 October 1597 Ferrara |
(aged 63)
Alfonso II d'Este (November 22, 1533 – October 27, 1597) was duke of Ferrara from 1559 to 1597. He was a member of the house of Este.
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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, fighting against the Habsburgs. Soon after his accession to the throne, he was forced by Pope Pius IV to send back his mother to France, due to her Calvinist creed. He commanded Ferrara at the time of the 1570 Ferrara earthquake.
In 1583 he allied with Emperor Rudolf II in the war against the Turks in Hungary.
He married three times:
He had no known children, legitimate or otherwise.
The legitimate line 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, 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.
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.
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Some specialists claim that Alfonso II is the duke upon whom Robert Browning based his poem My Last Duchess.
Alfonso II d'Este, Duke of Ferrara
Born: 22 November 1533 Died: 27 October 1597 |
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Preceded by Ercole II |
Duke of Ferrara, Modena and Reggio 1559–1597 |
Succeeded by Cesare |
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