Alessandro I Pico della Mirandola (15 May 1566 – 2 December 1637) was an Italian nobleman and military man, second Marquis of Concordia (1602–1637), second and last Prince of Mirandola (1602–1617) and first Duke of Mirandola (1617–1637).

Life

Sante_Peranda_-_Alessandro_I_Pico_della_Mirandola

He was son of Ludovico II Pico della Mirandola, count of Mirandola and Concordia, and of Fulvia da Correggio. He was initially in the service of

Henry IV of France Henry IV (french: Henri IV; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry or Henry the Great, was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 1610. He was the first monarc ...

and in 1602, succeeding Frederick II, he remained loyal to the emperors, who confirmed his investiture in the fiefdoms, appointing him a knight of the

Order of the Golden Fleece The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece ( es, Insigne Orden del Toisón de Oro, german: Orden vom Goldenen Vlies) is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in Bruges by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in 1430, to celebrate his marriage ...

in 1605, the ceremony of which took place on 18 October 1606 in the church of San Pietro in

Modena Modena (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language#Dialects, Modenese, Mòdna ; ett, Mutna; la, Mutina) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern I ...

. In 1607 in Modena, Alessandro I Pico married Laura d'Este, daughter of

Cesare d'Este Cesare d'Este (8 October 1562 – 11 December 1628) was Duke of Modena and Reggio from 1597 until his death. Biography Born in Ferrara, Cesare was the son of Alfonso d'Este, Marquis of Montecchio, fourth son of Alfonso I d'Este and the ...

, Duke of Modena and Reggio, and

Virginia de' Medici Virginia de' Medici (29 May 1568 – 15 January 1615) was an Italian princess, a member of the House of Medici and by marriage Duchess of Modena and Reggio. Regent of the Duchy of Modena and Reggio in 1601 during the absence of her husband, s ...

, daughter of the Tuscan Grand Duke

Cosimo I de' Medici Cosimo I de' Medici (12 June 1519 – 21 April 1574) was the second Duke of Florence from 1537 until 1569, when he became the first Grand Duke of Tuscany, a title he held until his death. Life Rise to power Cosimo was born in Florence on 12 ...

and Camilla Martelli. Despite his bride's precarious health, this led to the birth of eight daughters, but not the desired male successor. He also had an illegitimate son, Galeotto IV, by his lover, the Ferrarese noblewoman Eleonora Segni (or Signa), legitimised by the emperor and destined to succeed his father. However, the latter died a few months before his father, but not before giving birth to many children, including his successor

Alessandro II Pico della Mirandola Alessandro II Pico della Mirandola (Mirandola, 30 March 1631 – Concordia sulla Secchia, 2 February 1691) was an Italian nobleman, soldier and patron of the arts, second Duke of Mirandola and third Marquis of Concordia from 1637 until his death ...

. He was suspected, along with other nobles, of participating in the conspiracy against

Ranuccio I Farnese Ranuccio I Farnese (28 March 1569 – 5 March 1622) reigned as Duke of Parma, Piacenza and Castro from 1592. A firm believer in absolute monarchy, Ranuccio, in 1594, centralised the administration of Parma and Piacenza, thus rescinding the no ...

, Duke of Parma, which led to the beheading of Pio Torelli, Count of Montechiarugolo, in 1612. Alessandro was exonerated and, with a diploma of 6 March 1617 signed in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

by the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire Matthias of Habsburg (subject to payment of 100,000 florins), he obtained the imperial appointment as Duke of Mirandola. He founded the Mirandola seminary and introduced the Jesuits there, for whom he had the monumental church of Gesù built. In 1629, he took part in the

War of the Mantuan Succession The War of the Mantuan Succession (1628–1631) was a related conflict of the Thirty Years' War, caused by the death in December 1627 of Vincenzo II Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua, Vincenzo II, last male heir in the direct line of the House of Gonzaga ...

. The siege of Mantua by the troops of Rambaldo XIII di Collalto did not spare some agricultural areas around Mirandola, a city that escaped occupation thanks to the intervention of Alessandro Pico, who pledged his family's gold and agentry. He died at the end of 1637 and was buried next to his wife Laura d'Este (who died of the plague in 1630) in the church of San Francesco in Mirandola, pending the completion of the church of Gesù. However, the bodies of the first dukes of Mirandola were never moved.

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Life

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