Ferrante d'Este (19 September 1477, Castel Capuano, Naples – February 1540, Ferrara) was a Ferrarese nobleman and

condottiero Condottieri (; singular: ''condottiero'' or ''condottiere'') were Italian military leaders active during the Middle Ages and the early modern period. The term originally referred specifically to commanders of mercenary companies, derived from the ...

. He was the son of

Ercole I d'Este Ercole I d'Este (English: ''Hercules I''; 26 October 1431 – 25 January 1505) was Duke of Ferrara from 1471 until 1505. He was a member of the House of Este. He was nicknamed ''North Wind'' and ''The Diamond''. Biography Ercole was born in 143 ...

and Eleonora d'Aragona - he was named after his mother's father

Ferdinand I of Naples Ferdinand I (2 June 1424 – 25 January 1494), also known as Ferrante, was king of Naples from 1458 to 1494. The only son, albeit illegitimate, of Alfonso the Magnanimous, he was one of the most influential and feared monarchs in Europe at the ...

. His five siblings were

Alfonso I d'Este Alfonso d'Este (21 July 1476 – 31 October 1534) was Duke of Ferrara from 1504 to 1534, during the time of the War of the League of Cambrai. Biography He was the son of Ercole I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara and Eleanor of Naples and became du ...

, cardinal

Ippolito d'Este Ippolito (I) d'Este (; 20 March 1479 – 3 September 1520) was an Italian Roman Catholic cardinal, and Archbishop of Esztergom. He was a member of the ducal House of Este of Ferrara, and was usually referred to as the Cardinal of Ferrara. T ...

, Isabella d'Este, wife of Francesco II Gonzaga,

Beatrice d'Este Beatrice d'Este (29 June 1475 – 3 January 1497) a noblewoman from Duchy of Ferrara, Ferrara, duchess of Bari and Milan by her marriage to Ludovico Sforza (known as "Ludovico il Moro"). She was known as a woman of culture, an important patron ...

, and Sigismondo d'Este. His two illegitimate half-siblings were Giulio and Lucrezia d'Este.

Life

At Charles VIII's court

He was born in Naples, where his mother had gone into seclusion. He was christened on 7 October 1477 with

Giuliano della Rovere Pope Julius II (; ; born Giuliano della Rovere; 5 December 144321 February 1513) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1503 to his death, in February 1513. Nicknamed the Warrior Pope, the Battle Pope or the Fearsome ...

as his godfather and raised at the Aragonese court in Naples. In 1493 his father invited him to join the court of

Charles VIII of France Charles VIII, called the Affable (; 30 June 1470 – 7 April 1498), was King of France from 1483 to his death in 1498. He succeeded his father Louis XI at the age of 13. His elder sister Anne acted as regent jointly with her husband Peter II, Du ...

. When Charles invaded Italy, Ferrante decided not to follow the French army to Naples but remained in Rome, spending his regular allowance from his father dissolutely.Sarah Bradford. ''Lucrezia Borgia''. Milano, Mondadori, 2005. Ercole accidentally allowed a letter to get through to the French army. The letter was reproaching Ferrante for his behaviour and ordering him not to lose Charles' favour. Ferrante obeyed and fought at Charles' side at the battle of Fornovo before returning to Italy in 1497. All the sources of the time agree in describing him as a beautiful young man of good intelligence, and he was even compared to

Saint George Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the ...

Return to Ferrara

In 1498 he gained a condotta from the

Venetian Republic The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...

for the war in Pisa. Ferrante, Marco da Martinengo, Gurlino Tombesi and Filippo Albanese defended Pisa against the Florentine army. At the war's end in spring 1499 he returned to Ferrara and was dismissed by Venice. In 1499 he and his brother Alfonso went to Milan to meet Charles VIII's successor

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 ...

after his conquest of

Lombardy The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...

. With his huge debts to the French court, Ferrante was unable to gain Louis' favour. In 1502 the duke of Ferrara ordered him to take possession of

Cento Cento (; Bolognese dialect, Northern Bolognese: ; Bolognese dialect, City Bolognese: ; Bolognese dialect, Centese: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Ferrara, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. History The name Cento is a reference to the centur ...

and

Pieve In Italy in the Middle Ages, a ''pieve'' (, ; ; : ''pievi'') was a rural church with a baptistery, upon which other churches without baptisteries depended. ''Pieve'' is also an Italian and Corsican term signifying the medieval ecclesiastical/a ...

, where

pope Alexander VI Pope Alexander VI (, , ; born Roderic Llançol i de Borja; epithet: ''Valentinus'' ("The Valencian"); – 18 August 1503) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 August 1492 until his death in 1503. Born into t ...

had transferred to 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 ...

. The Este brothers argued over a musician named don Rainaldo. He was in the service of

Giulio d'Este Giulio d'Este (13 July 1478 – 24 March 1561) was the illegitimate son of Ercole I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara. He is known for the conflicts he had with his half brother, Ippolito d'Este, which culminated in a failed conspiracy. Biography In th ...

, Ercole I's illegitimate son, but cardinal Ippolito d'Este wanted him for his own chapel. At the end of 1504 Ippolito came to Ferrara during his father's illness and carried off Rainaldo, locking him in the Rocca del Gesso, a fortress belonging to Giovanni Boiardo, count of

Scandiano Scandiano ( Reggiano: ) is a town and ''comune'' in Emilia-Romagna, in the northeast part of the country of Italy, near the city of Reggio nell'Emilia and the Secchia river. It had a population of 25,663 as of 31 December 2016. History The cu ...

. In May 1505 Giulio discovered where Rainaldo was and sent Ferrante with armed men to snatch him back. Ippolito and Alfonso complained at this to the duke and got Ferrante exiled to

Modena Modena (, ; ; ; ; ) 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 Italy. It has 184,739 inhabitants as of 2025. A town, and seat of an archbis ...

and Giulio to

Brescello Brescello (; in the local dialect, in the Reggio Emilia dialect) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Reggio Emilia in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about northwest of Bologna and about northwest of Reggio Emilia. ...

. Lucrezia, Isabella d'Este and her husband Francesco II Gonzaga all managed to convince Alfonso to pardon his brothers.

Conspiracy

In 1506 Ferrante, his half-brother Giulio and other nobles opposed to Ippolito and Alfonso conspired to assassinate him and put Ferrante in his place. However, its planning was poor and their assassins failed to kill Alfonso at night with their poisoned daggers as they had hoped. Ippolito's spies brought the plan to light and told Alfonso. He set up an inquest and Giulio, Ferrante and three other men were found guilty and condemned to death. Giulio fled to

Mantua Mantua ( ; ; Lombard language, Lombard and ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italian region of Lombardy, and capital of the Province of Mantua, eponymous province. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the "Italian Capital of Culture". In 2 ...

but Francesco Gonzaga handed him over to Alfonso. Ferrante was led to the ducal castello a couple of months before the trial. Giulio and Ferrante were both pardoned but stripped of their lands (which were given to Alfonso's favourites) and imprisoned in the torre dei Leoni. Ferrante spent the rest of his life in prison, dying aged 63, after 34 years' imprisonment and with no visits from any family members. Giulio was released by

Alfonso II d'Este Alfonso II d'Este (22 November 1533 – 27 October 1597) was Duke of Ferrara from 1559 to 1597. He was a member of the House of Este. Biography Alfonso was the elder son of Ercole II d'Este and Renée de France, the daughter of Louis XII of F ...

aged 80, after 53 years' imprisonment.

References

Bibliography

*Sarah Bradford, ''Lucrezia Borgia'', Milano, Mondadori, 2005. *Sergio Mantovani, ''"Ad honore del signore vostro patre et satisfactione nostra". Ferrante d'Este condottiero di Venezia'', Ferrara-Modena, 2005. * {{DEFAULTSORT:d'Este, Artemis) Ferrante 1477 births 1540 deaths 15th-century condottieri 16th-century condottieri 16th-century Neapolitan people Sons of dukes People of the Italian War of 1494–1495