Obizzo II d'Este (c. 1247 – 13 February 1293) was Marquis of

Ferrara Ferrara (, ; egl, Fràra ) is a city and ''comune'' in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital of the Province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream ...

and

Ancona Ancona (, also , ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region in central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region. The city is located northeast of Rome, on the Adriatic S ...

Biography

He was a

bastard Bastard may refer to: Parentage * Illegitimate child, a child born to unmarried parents ** Bastard (law of England and Wales), illegitimacy in English law People People with the name * Bastard (surname), including a list of people with that na ...

, the illegitimate son of Rinaldo I d'Este – the only son and heir of the Margrave Azzo VII d'Este – and a Neapolitan laundress. Soon after his birth, Obizzo was expelled from

with his mother and settled in

Ravenna Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the cap ...

. For his birth, Obizzo was destined to an obscure future; nevertheless. This situation changed in 1251 when his father Rinaldo, a hostage of emperor Frederick II since 1238, was poisoned with his barren wife, Adelaide da Romano. Without any other sons to continue his line, the Margrave Azzo VII saw in Obizzo the only chance of survival of the

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 ...

and fought for his recognition as his heir. Obizzo was legitimated by the

Pope Innocent IV Pope Innocent IV ( la, Innocentius IV; – 7 December 1254), born Sinibaldo Fieschi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 June 1243 to his death in 1254. Fieschi was born in Genoa and studied at the universitie ...

in 1252, shortly after his mother was drowned in the

Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) ...

. In 1264 he was proclaimed lifelong ruler of Ferrara, Lord of

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 1288 and of Reggio in 1289. His rule marked the end of the communal period in Ferrara and the beginning of the Lordship, which lasted until the 17th century. He was most likely killed by his son

Azzo VIII d'Este Azzo VIII d'Este (died 31 January 1308) was lord of Ferrara, Modena and Reggio from 1293 until his death. He inherited the family lands from his father, Obizzo II, whom Dante suggested in the ''Inferno'' he had assassinated. The Florentine poet c ...

without having nominated an heir. Azzo claimed the government as the eldest son (

primogeniture Primogeniture ( ) is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn legitimate child to inherit the parent's entire or main estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some children, any illegitimate child or any collateral relativ ...

) but his brothers Aldobrandino and Francesco made a violent dispute for their rights. Finally, they made a divisionary treaty over the lands: Azzo retained

, Aldobrandino received Modena and Francesco obtained

Reggio Emilia Reggio nell'Emilia ( egl, Rèz; la, Regium Lepidi), usually referred to as Reggio Emilia, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, and known until 1861 as Reggio di Lombardia, is a city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has abou ...

. Obizzo d'Este is cited in Dante's ''Inferno'' and is in the first compartment of the Seventh Circle of Hell for purchasing Ghisola from her brother Venedico Cacciamenico for sexual relations.

Marriages and issue

In 1263 Obizzo married firstly with Giacomina (died December 1287), daughter of Niccolò Fieschi di Lavagna and niece of

. They had five children: * Azzo VIII (after 1263 – 31 January 1308). * Beatrice (died 15 September 1334), married firstly with Ugolino Visconti, Giudice of Gallura and secondly on 24 June 1300 to Galeazzo I Visconti, Lord of Milan. *Maddalena, married firstly with Aldobrandino Turchi, from Ferrara, and secondly with Raniero di Canossa. * Aldobrandino II (died 1326). *

Francesco Francesco, the Italian (and original) version of the personal name " Francis", is the most common given name among males in Italy. Notable persons with that name include: People with the given name Francesco * Francesco I (disambiguation), sev ...

. In 1289 Obizzo married secondly with Costanza (died 1306), daughter of

Alberto I della Scala Alberto I della Scala (died 3 September 1301) was lord of Verona from 1277, a member of the Scaliger family. The son of Jacopino della Scala, he was ''podestà'' of Mantua in 1272 and 1275. In 1277, after the assassination of his brother Mastino I ...

, Lord of

Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Northern Italy, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and the ...

. This union was childless.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Obizzo II dEste 1247 births 1293 deaths Obizzo 2 Assassinated Italian people 13th-century Italian nobility People from Ravenna