Alfonso II d'Este (22 November 1533 – 27 October 1597) was

Duke of Ferrara This is a list of rulers of the estates owned by the House of Este, Este family, which main line of Marquesses (''Marchesi d'Este'') rose in 1039 with Albert Azzo II, Margrave of Milan. The name "Este" is related to the city where the family came ...

from 1559 to 1597. He was a member 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 ...

Biography

Alfonso was the elder son of

Ercole II d'Este Ercole II d'Este (4 April 1508 – 3 October 1559) was Duke of Ferrara, Modena and Reggio from 1534 to 1559. He was the eldest son of Alfonso I d'Este and Lucrezia Borgia. Biography Through his mother, Ercole was a grandson of Pope Alexand ...

and Renée de France, the daughter of

Louis XII of France Louis XII (27 June 14621 January 1515), also known as Louis of Orléans was King of France from 1498 to 1515 and King of Naples (as Louis III) from 1501 to 1504. The son of Charles, Duke of Orléans, and Marie of Cleves, he succeeded his second ...

and

Anne of Brittany Anne of Brittany (; 25/26 January 1477 – 9 January 1514) was reigning Duchess of Brittany from 1488 until her death, and Queen of France from 1491 to 1498 and from 1499 to her death. She was the only woman to have been queen consort of Fran ...

and was the fifth and last Duke of Ferrara. As a young man, Alfonso fought in the service of

Henry II of France Henry II (; 31 March 1519 – 10 July 1559) was List of French monarchs#House of Valois-Angoulême (1515–1589), King of France from 1547 until his death in 1559. The second son of Francis I of France, Francis I and Claude of France, Claude, Du ...

against the

Habsburgs The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

. Soon after his accession, he was forced by

Pope Pius IV Pope Pius IV (; 31 March 1499 – 9 December 1565), born Giovanni Angelo Medici, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 December 1559 to his death, in December 1565. Born in Milan, his family considered itself a b ...

to send his mother back to France due to her increasingly

Calvinist Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Protestantism, Continenta ...

beliefs. The 1570 Ferrara earthquake occurred during his reign. In 1583, he allied with Emperor

Rudolf II Rudolf II (18 July 1552 – 20 January 1612) was Holy Roman Emperor (1576–1612), King of Hungary and Croatia (as Rudolf I, 1572–1608), King of Bohemia (1575–1608/1611) and Archduke of Austria (1576–1608). He was a member of the H ...

in the war against the Turks in

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

. The court of Alfonso was a center for the development of secular music, both in Italy and Europe at large. He assembled the concerto delle donne, a chorus of women performing for the entertainment of Alfonso and his court.

Marriages

Alfonso married three times: *On 3 July 1558, he married his first wife Lucrezia di Cosimo de' Medici (14 February 1545 – 21 April 1561), a daughter of

Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany Cosimo I de' Medici (12 June 1519 – 21 April 1574) was the second and last duke of Florence from 1537 until 1569, when he became the first grand duke of Tuscany, a title he held until his death. Cosimo I succeeded his cousin to the duchy. ...

and Eleonora di Toledo. She died two years afterwards, at just 16. Poisoning at the hand of the Duke has been suspected; however, pulmonary tuberculosis is the more widely accepted cause of death. *On 5 December 1565, he married his second wife Barbara of Austria (30 April 1539 – 19 September 1572), eighth daughter of

Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I (10 March 1503 – 25 July 1564) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1556, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary, Hungary, and List of rulers of Croatia, Croatia from 1526, and Archduke of Austria from 1521 until his death in 1564.Milan Kruhek ...

and Anna of Bohemia and Hungary. *On 24 February 1579, he married his third wife Margherita Gonzaga (27 May 1564 – 6 January 1618). She was the eldest daughter of William I, Duke of Mantua and Eleonora of Austria. Margherita was the niece of his second wife Barbara. He had no known children, legitimate or otherwise. File:Alessandro Allori - Lucrezia de’ Medici - North Carolina Museum of Art.jpg, Lucrezia di Cosimo de' Medici File:Francesco Terzio - Erzherzogin Barbara (1565).jpg, Barbara of Austria File:Giovanni Bahuet Margherita Gonzaga.jpg, Margherita Gonzaga

Succession

The legitimate line of the House of Este ended in 1597 with him. Emperor Rudolf II recognized as heir his cousin Cesare d'Este, member of a

cadet A cadet is a student or trainee within various organisations, primarily in military contexts where individuals undergo training to become commissioned officers. However, several civilian organisations, including civil aviation groups, maritime ...

branch, who continued to rule in the imperial duchies and carried on the family name. The succession as duke of Este, however, was recognized only by the emperor but not by the popes. In 1598 Ferrara was therefore incorporated into the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; ; ), officially the State of the Church, were a conglomeration of territories on the Italian peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope from 756 to 1870. They were among the major states of Italy from the 8th c ...

Pope Clement VIII Pope Clement VIII (; ; 24 February 1536 – 3 March 1605), born Ippolito Aldobrandini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 30 January 1592 to his death in March 1605. Born in Fano, Papal States to a prominen ...

, on grounds of doubtful legitimacy. As a result of Alfonso's death Cesare d'Este and his family were "obliged to leave the city" and the power of the government was there after turned over to the cardinal legate.

Patron of the arts and sciences

Alfonso II raised the glory of

Ferrara Ferrara (; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) 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 ...

to its highest point, and was the patron of

Torquato Tasso Torquato Tasso ( , also , ; 11 March 154425 April 1595) was an Italian poet of the 16th century, known for his 1591 poem ''Gerusalemme liberata'' (Jerusalem Delivered), in which he depicts a highly imaginative version of the combats between ...

Giovanni Battista Guarini Giovanni Battista Guarini (10 December 1538 – 7 October 1612) was an Italian poet, dramatist, and diplomat. Courtier at Ferrara, diplomat and secretary to several ruling families, he served also at Florence and Urbino. He is best known as the a ...

, and Cesare Cremonini—favouring the arts and sciences, as the princes of his house had always done. Besides being fluent in Italian he was also proficient in Latin and French.

Luzzasco Luzzaschi Luzzasco Luzzaschi (c. 1545 – 10 September 1607) was an Italian composer, organist, and teacher of the late Renaissance music, Renaissance. He was born and died in Ferrara, and despite evidence of travels to Rome it is assumed that Luzzaschi ...

served as his court organist. In addition, he was the sponsor of the '' Concerto delle donne'', a type of group which was to be copied all over Italy. He also restored the

Castello Estense The ' ('House of Este, Este castle') or ' ('St. Michael's castle') is a moated medieval castle in the center of Ferrara, northern Italy. It consists of a large block with four corner towers. History On 3 May 1385, the Ferrarese people, driven ...

, damaged by an earthquake in 1570. His expenses, however, went at damage of the public treasure.

In literature

Alfonso II is the duke upon whom

Robert Browning Robert Browning (7 May 1812 – 12 December 1889) was an English poet and playwright whose dramatic monologues put him high among the Victorian literature, Victorian poets. He was noted for irony, characterization, dark humour, social commentar ...

based his poem '' My Last Duchess'', and is a major character in the Maggie O'Farrell novel ''The Marriage Portrait''.published by Tinder, see ''The Times Saturday Review'' 3 September 2022, page 19, review by Claire Allfree

References

External links

Illustrious people
{{DEFAULTSORT:Este, Alfonso 2 D Candidates for the Polish elective throne 1533 births 1597 deaths Alfonso 2 16th-century condottieri Alfonso 2 Alfonso 2 Alfonso 2 Alfonso 2 Patrons of literature 16th-century Italian nobility Burials at the Corpus Domini Monastery, Ferrara