The Ducal Palace of Modena is a
Baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
palace 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 ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
. It was the residence of the
Este Dukes of Modena
Emperor Frederick III conferred Borso d'Este, Lord of Ferrara, with the Duchy of Modena and Reggio in 1452, while Pope Paul II formally elevated him in 1471 as Duke of Ferrara, over which the family had in fact long presided. This latter territo ...
between 1452 and 1859. It currently houses a portion of the
Italian Military Academy.
History
The palace occupies the site of the former Este Castle, once at the periphery of the city. Although generally credited to
Bartolomeo Avanzini, it has been suggested that advice and guidance in the design process had been sought from
Pietro da Cortona
Pietro da Cortona (; 1 November 1596 or 159716 May 1669) was an Italian Baroque painter and architect. Along with his contemporaries and rivals Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Francesco Borromini, he was one of the key figures in the emergence of Roman ...
,
Gian Lorenzo Bernini
Gian Lorenzo (or Gianlorenzo) Bernini (, , ; Italian Giovanni Lorenzo; 7 December 159828 November 1680) was an Italian sculptor and architect. While a major figure in the world of architecture, he was more prominently the leading sculptor of his ...
and
Francesco Borromini
Francesco Borromini (, ), byname of Francesco Castelli (; 25 September 1599 – 2 August 1667), was an Italian architect born in the modern Swiss canton of Ticino .
The Palace has a
Baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
façade from which the Honour Court and the Honour Staircase can be accessed.
In 1696,
Marcantonio Franceschini
Marcantonio Franceschini (; 1648 – 24 December 1729) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mostly in his native Bologna. He was the father and teacher of Giacomo Franceschini.''The picture collector's manual'' by James R. Hobb ...
was commissioned to create a frescoed ceiling for the central ''Sala d'Onore'' ("Hall of Honour") for the marriage of
Rinaldo d'Este to
Princess Charlotte Felicity of Brunswick
Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince.
Princess as a subst ...
. The ''Salottino d'Oro'' ("Golden Sitting Room"), covered with gilded removable panels, was used by Duke Francis III as his main office.
Modern use
The Palace currently houses the Italian Military Academy, the Military Museum and a library.
Military ceremonies are held in the Honour Court.
Este births and deaths
Being a residential palace, a significant number of
Este family members were born or died at the palace including:
*
Isabella d'Este
Isabella d'Este (19 May 1474 – 13 February 1539) was Marchioness of Mantua and one of the leading women of the Italian Renaissance as a major cultural and political figure. She was a patron of the arts as well as a leader of fashion, whos ...
(1635–1666) - born at the palace.
*
Rinaldo d'Este, Duke of Modena
Rinaldo may refer to:
*Renaud de Montauban
Renaud de Montauban (; also spelled ''Renaut'', ''Renault'', Italian: ''Rinaldo di Montalbano'', Dutch: ''Reinout van Montalba(e)n'') was a legendary hero and knight which appeared in a 12th-century O ...
(1655–1737) - born and died at the palace.
*
Duchess Charlotte of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1671–1710) - died at the palace in childbirth (the child also died).
*
Maria Teresa Felicitas d'Este
Maria Teresa Felicitas (; 6 October 1726 – 30 April 1754) was a Princess of Modena by birth and Duchess of Penthièvre by marriage. She was the mother-in-law of Philippe Égalité and thus grandmother to the future Louis-Philippe of France.
Yo ...
(1726–1754) - born at the palace.
*
Ercole III d'Este, Duke of Modena
Ercole III d'Este (Ercole Rinaldo; 22 November 1727 – 14 October 1803) was Duke of Modena and Reggio from 1780 to 1796, and later of Breisgau (not resident). He was a member of the House of Este.
Biography
He was born in Modena, the son of Du ...
(1727–1803) - born at the palace.
*
Maria Fortunata d'Este
Maria Fortunata d'Este (24 November 1731 – 21 September 1803) was a Modenese princess by birth and a '' princess du sang'' by marriage. By her marriage to Louis François Joseph de Bourbon, Prince of Conti, her first cousin, she became the ...
(1731–1803)
See also
*
List of Baroque residences
This is a list of Baroque architecture, Baroque palaces and Residenz, residences built in the late 17th and 18th centuries. Baroque architecture is a building style of the Baroque, Baroque era, begun in late 16th-century Italy and spread in Europe ...
*
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 ...
*
House of Este
The House of Este ( , , ) is a European dynasty of North Italian origin whose members ruled parts of Italy and Germany for many centuries.
The original House of Este's elder branch, which is known as the House of Welf, included dukes of Bavaria ...
*
Santo Peranda
Sante Peranda (1566–1638) was an Italian painter of the late-Renaissance period.
He was a pupil of the painter Leonardo Corona and later Palma il Giovane. Also known as ''Santo Peranda''. He painted a ''Descent from the cross'' for San Proco ...
- painted ''The defeat of the Saracens'' for the palace.
Gallery
File:Palazzo ducale modena esterno.jpg
File:Marie Jeanne de Savoie, Duchess of Savoy held at the Ducal Palace of Modena.jpg, Portrait of Marie Jeanne of Savoy as a widow held at the Ducal Palace of Modena, unknown Artist, c.1680
File:18th century canvas painting of the Ducal Palace of Modena by an unknown artist.jpg, Ducal Palace of Modena, 18th century, unknown artist
File:Drawing of the Ducal Palace in Modena.jpg, Ducal Palace of Modena, c.1750, unknown artist
References
{{Authority control
Houses completed in 1452
Baroque architecture in Modena
Este residences
Tourist attractions in Emilia-Romagna
Buildings and structures in Modena
Palaces in Emilia-Romagna
Baroque palaces in Italy
Royal residences of the Duchy of Modena and Reggio