Eleonora d'Este (1561-1637)

The Pardon of Carlo Gesauldo by Giovanni Balducci (Church of Santa maria delle Grazie in Gesualdo), showing Eleonora bottom right.

Eleonora d'Este (1561-1637) was a Ferrarese noblewoman.

Life

Eleonora d'Este - an anonymous portrait from the ducal palace in Modena.

She was the daughter of Alfonso d'Este (an illegitimate son of Alfonso I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara) and his first wife Giulia della Rovere (daughter of Francesco Maria I della Rovere). On 21 February 1594 she married the composer Carlo Gesualdo in Ferrara,[1] four years after he murdered his first wife and her lover. Eleonora and Gesauldo's only child was the short-lived don Alfonsino (1595, Ferrara - October 1600, Gesauldo) and the marriage proved unhappy due to Gesauldo's greed and maltreatment.[2] He died on 10 September 1613 and - although his will stated she would only keep his titles and her annuity if she stayed in Gesauldo - she moved to Modena, where she later died.

References

  1. ↑ Welf 10
  2. ↑ A Gesualdo, Una strada per Eleonora D'Este
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