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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Giulio d’Este of Ferrara

Plots and prison ruin life of handsome son of Duke

Giulio d'Este, as he was said to have looked on his
release from prison at the age of 81

Giulio d’Este, who spent more than half of his life in prison for taking part in a failed conspiracy against his half-brother, the Duke of Ferrara, was born on this day in 1478 in Ferrara.

He was the illegitimate son of Ercole I d’Este, an earlier Duke of Ferrara, born as a result of an affair the Duke had with Isabella Arduin, a lady in waiting to his wife.

Giulio was often in conflict with his half-brothers, Alfonso and Ippolito, which led to him eventually playing his part in a plot to assassinate them.

He had grown up in the court of Ferrara and later lived in a palace on the Via degli Angeli in Ferrara.

The first major conflict between Giulio and Ippolito arose over a musician, Don Rainaldo of Sassuolo. Rainaldo was in the service of Giulio, but Ippolito, who had by then become a Cardinal, wanted him for his chapel and so in 1504 he abducted Rainaldo and held him in the Fortress of Gesso.

When Giulio discovered where he was being held, he went with a group of armed men and recovered the musician. In a sign of defiance, Giulio replaced him with the warden of the fortress.

Ferdinand Kingsley - son of the great British actor Ben
Kingsley - played Giulio in the 2011 TV series Borgia

Ippolito complained about his actions to his brother, Alfonso, who had by then succeeded their father as Duke of Ferrara, and Giulio was exiled to Brescello – more than 100km (62 miles) away – as a result.

Lucrezia Borgia, Alfonso’s wife, and Isabella d’Este, his sister, eventually managed to persuade Alfonso to pardon Giulio.

The following year, Giulio and Ippolito discovered that they were both admirers of the same lady at the court, Angela Borgia, the cousin of Lucrezia, the Duchess.

But Angela favoured Giulio and told Ippolito, who despite being a Cardinal was a ladies’ man, that ‘Giulio’s eyes were worth more than Ippolito’s whole person.

Ippolito ordered his servants to kill Giulio and tear out his eyes and when they discovered Giulio on his own, returning to Ferrara from a trip, they surrounded him, beat him brutally and stabbed his eyes.

Although he was not killed he was badly scarred, lost the eyesight in one eye and was left with blurred vision in the other.

Giulio's palace in the Via degli Angeli is now
the headquarters of the Prefecture of Ferrara

Alfonso then organised a formal truce between Giulio and Ippolito, but Giulio bore a grudge against his half-brother for the loss of his eyesight and his good looks. He was also angry with Alfonso for not punishing Ippolito.

Another of his half-brothers, Ferrante, aspired to replace Alfonso as Duke and Giulio and other men hostile to Alfonso helped him organise a plot to eliminate Alfonso and Ippolito.

The conspirators waited at night in the street with poisoned daggers but failed to encounter Alfonso. Ippolito’s spies gathered evidence about the plot for him but, before he could relay it to Alfonso, Lucrezia and Isabella urged Giulio to flee to Mantua to be protected by Francesco Gonzaga.

The conspirators were tried in Giulio’s absence and along with his half-brother, Ferrante, and three other men, Giulio was found guilty and condemned to death.

Alfonso threatened to take his army to recover Giulio and eventually Francesco had to hand him over. The other conspirators were executed, but the sentences for Giulio and Ferrante were reduced to life imprisonment.

Ferrante died in prison at the age of 63 after 34 years of incarceration, but Giulio was freed by Alfonso II d’Este - his great nephew - at the age of 81 after he had spent 53 years in prison.

Giulio caused a stir when he was first seen out in the streets of Ferrara again because despite his years in prison he was said to have retained his charm and erect posture and he was still dressed in the fashion of 50 years before.

The Este Castle dominates the centre of Ferrara

Travel tip:

Ferrara is a city in Emilia-Romagna, about 50 km (31 miles) 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 end of the Este line.

Travel tip:

Giulio d’Este’s palace in Via degli Angeli is now the headquarters of the Prefecture of Ferrara. It was designed by Renaissance architect Biagio Rossetti and was given to Giulio by his natural father, Ercole I, Duke of Ferrara. After Giulio’s imprisonment, it was taken over by his arch enemy and half brother, Ippolito. The palace became the property of the Province of Ferrara in 1932.

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