Alfonso II d’Este – Duke of Ferrara

Tasso’s patron raised Ferrara to the height of its glory

Alfonso II d'Este, a portrait by
Girolamo da Carpi

Alfonso II d’Este, who was to be the last Duke of Ferrara, was born on this day in 1533 in Ferrara in Emilia-Romagna.

Famous as the protector of the poet Torquato Tasso, Alfonso II also took a keen interest in music.  He was also the sponsor of the philosopher Cesare Cremonini, who was a friend of both Tasso and the scientist and astronomer Galileo Galilei.

Although he was married three times, he failed to provide an heir for the Duchy.

Alfonso was the eldest son of Ercole II d’Este and Renée de France, the daughter of Louis XII of France.

As a young man, Alfonso fought in the service of Henry II of France against the Habsburgs but soon after he became Duke in 1559 he was forced by Pope Pius IV to send his mother back to France because she was a Calvinist.

In 1583 he joined forces with the Emperor Rudolf II in his war against the Turks in Hungary.

Alfonso II was proficient in Latin and French as well as Italian and like his ancestors before him encouraged writers and artists. He welcomed the poet Tasso to his court in Ferrara and he wrote some of his most important poetry while living there, including his epic poem, Gerusalemme Liberata.

As a young man, Alfonso fought in the
service of Henry II of France

He was also the patron of poet and dramatist Giovanni Battista Guarini and professor of natural philosophy, Cesare Cremonini.

The composer Luzzasco Luzzaschi served as his court organist and Alfonso II sponsored the concerto delle donne, a group of professional female singers who became renowned for their technical and artistic virtuosity. Their success revolutionised the role of women in professional music, inspiring other, similar groups to be set up in the powerful courts in Italy.

Alfonso II raised the glory of Ferrara to its highest point during his reign and had the Castello Estense restored after it suffered earthquake damage in 1570.

After his death in 1597, Alfonso II’s cousin, Cesare d’Este, was recognised as his heir by Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor. However, Pope Clement VIII refused to recognise Cesare d’Este on the grounds of ‘doubtful legitimacy’ and incorporated Ferrara into the Papal States in 1598. Cesare d’Este and his family were obliged to leave the city and the government of Ferrara was turned over to the Cardinal Legate.

Alfonso II is believed to be the Duke of Ferrara that the poem, My Last Duchess, was based on, written by the English poet, Robert Browning, and published in 1842.

Work on the Castello Estense
began in 1385

Travel tip:

Ferrara is a city in Emilia-Romagna, about 50 kilometres to the north east of Bologna. It was ruled by the Este family between 1240 and 1598. Building work on the magnificent Este Castle in the centre of the city began in 1385 and it was added to and improved by successive rulers of Ferrara until the Este line ended with the death of Alfonso II d’Este.

Hotels in Ferrara by Booking.com

The Monastero del
Corpus Domini

Travel tip:

Alfonso II was buried in the Monastero del Corpus Domini in Via Pergolato in the centre of Ferrara, which was founded first as a house for penitent women and then became a Franciscan convent for Poor Clares in 1431. It is the burial place of many other members of the Este family, including Lucrezia Borgia, who was the wife of Alfonso I d’Este, Duke of Ferrara.

More reading:

Why Cesare Cremonini refused to look through Galileo's telescope

How Torquato Tasso came to be seen as Italy's greatest Remaissance poet

Galileo Galilei: The founder of modern science

Also on this day:

1710: The death of composer Bernardo Pasquini

1902: The birth of Mafia boss Joe Adonis

1911: The birth of cycling champion and businessman Giuseppe Olmo

1947: The birth of football coach Nevio Scala

1949: The birth of entrepreneur Rocco Commisso

1954: The birth of former Italian PM Paolo Gentiloni

1971: The birth of art and design promoter Beatrice Trussardi

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Cesare Cremonini - philosopher

Great thinker famous for Galileo ‘denial’

Cesare Cremonini was one of the most
revered Aristotelian philosophers of his day

The philosopher Cesare Cremonini, the contemporary and friend of Galileo Galilei who famously refused to look at the Moon through Galileo’s telescope, died on this day in 1631 in Padua.

Cremonini was considered one of the great thinkers of his time, a passionate advocate of the doctrines of the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle. He was paid a handsome salary by his patron, Alfonso II d’Este, the Duke of Ferrara, and kings and princes regularly sought his counsel.

He struck up a friendship with the poet, Torquato Tasso, while he was studying in Ferrara, and met Galileo in 1550 after he was appointed by the Venetian Republic to the chair of the University of Padua.

The two built a relationship of respect and friendship that endured for many years, despite many differences of opinion, yet in 1610 their divergence of views on one subject created an impasse between them.

It came about when Galileo observed the surface of the Moon through his telescope and proclaimed that he had discovered mountains on the Moon.

But Cremonini said that Aristotle had proved that the Moon could only be a perfect sphere and was having none of Galileo’s claim that it was not true. Galileo invited him to look through the telescope and see for himself but Cremonini refused.

Cremonini first met Galileo
in Padua in 1550

It may be that Cremonini simply refused to countenance the idea that Aristotle’s assertion may have been wrong. An alternative theory is that he feared for the consequences if he aligned himself with Galileo.

The Tuscan polymath was already in trouble with the Roman Inquisition for stating his belief in heliocentrism - the idea that Earth and the other planets in the solar system revolve around the sun,  which contradicted the idea to which the Catholic Church subscribed - based on the wisdom of Aristotle - that the sun revolved around Earth as the centre of the universe.

Cremonini had himself been under the scrutiny of the Inquisition. Indeed, he had been charged with atheism and heresy for propagating Aristotle’s argument that the human soul was mortal. As a citizen of Padua, however, he was protected by the leniency of Venice and had been spared punishment.

It may be that he felt that if he had seen what Galileo saw with his own eyes he would have been obliged to argue in support of his friend and could land himself in trouble again.  Given that Galileo was threatened with being burned at the stake and was held under house arrest for the remainder of his life over his belief in heliocentrism, some may argue that Cremonini was wise not to get involved.

He also had genuine concerns for Galileo’s wellbeing, warning his friend that if he decided to move to Tuscany from Padua it would bring him under the Inquisition's jurisdiction.

Born in Cento, nowadays a town of around 35,000 residents about 35km (22 miles) southwest of Ferrara, Cremonini was chair of natural philosophy and chair of medicine at the University of Padua from 1591 until his death.

He died in 1631 when an outbreak of plague swept Padua. He was buried in the Benedictine monastery of St. Justina of Padua, to which he also willed his possessions.

Cento's 14th century castle, originally built by the Bishop
of Bologna and enlarged by future pope Giulio della Rovere

Travel tip:

Cento, which was part of the Papal States when Cremonini was born, is best known as the birthplace of the Baroque painter Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, better known as Guercino. The town’s main square, the place at which the four ancient roads into the town once converged, is called Piazza Guercino. Monuments around the square include the Palazzo del Governatore, which has a 17th century clock tower, and the Palazzo Comunale, built in 1612 but improved with the addition of an elegant facade in the 18th century. The town has an impressive castle, built in 1378.

Donatello's statue of the condottiero
Gattamelata outside St Anthony's Basilica

Travel tip:

Padua’s well-preserved medieval layout and artistic heritage attract many hundreds of thousands of visitors each year, although it is much quieter than Venice, which is only a little over 40km (25 miles) away.  The presence in the city of Giotto, Donatello and Mantegna support the claim that Padua was the capital of Italian art in the 15th and 16th centuries. The most famous example of Giotto’s work are the frescoes in the Scrovegni Chapel, there are works by Donatello in and outside the Basilica di Sant’Antonio, including the equestrian statue in front of the church, while there are restored frescoes by Mantegna in the Chiese degli Eremitani.

More reading:

Why the philosopher and scientist Galileo Galilei was convicted of heresy

The mysterious death of philosopher Giovanno Pico della Mirandola

How a simple friar laid some of the cornerstones of Western philosophy

Also on this day:

1249: The death of Jacopo Tiepolo, Doge of Venice

1374: The death of the scholar and poet Petrarch


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