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Giulio d'Este (13 July 1478 – 24 March 1561) was the
illegitimate Legitimacy, in traditional Western common law, is the status of a child born to parents who are legally married to each other, and of a child conceived before the parents obtain a legal divorce. Conversely, ''illegitimacy'', also known as ''b ...
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 ...
,
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 ...
. He is known for the conflicts he had with his half brother,
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 ...
, which culminated in a failed
conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, ploy, or scheme, is a secret plan or agreement between people (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder, treason, or corruption, especially with a political motivat ...
.


Biography


In the court of Ferrara

Giulio's mother was Isabella Arduin, a lady in the service of Ercole's wife. Giulio had six half siblings, whom Ercole fathered with his wife Eleonora d'Aragon:
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 ...
(successor to his father),
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 ...
(Cardinal Ippolito),
Ferrante d'Este Ferrante d'Este (19 September 1477, Castel Capuano, Naples – February 1540, Ferrara) was a Ferrarese nobleman and condottiero. He was the son of Ercole I d'Este and Eleonora d'Aragona (1450-1493), Eleonora d'Aragona - he was named after his moth ...
, 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 ...
(wife of
Ludovico Sforza Ludovico Maria Sforza (; 27 July 1452 – 27 May 1508), also known as Ludovico il Moro (; 'the Moor'), and called the "arbiter of Italy" by historian Francesco Guicciardini,
), and Sigismondo d'Este. Giulio d'Este and Ippolito d'Este held grudges and differences with each other over the course of their lives. Giulio grew up in the court 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 ...
and later resided in his palace on the Via degli Angeli (road of angels) in Ferrara.


The first quarrel

A dispute arose between Giulio and Ippolito concerning a musician, Don Rainaldo of Sassuolo, in the service of Giulio. Ippolito wanted him for his chapel Maria Bellonci. ''Lucrezia Borgia'', 1939, Mondadori EditoreSarah Bradford. ''Lucrezia Borgia'', Mondadori Editore and, near the end of 1504, coming to Ferrara during the illness of their father, abducted Rainaldo and held him in the Fortress of Gesso (which belonged to Giovanni Boiardo, count of Scadiano). In May 1505 Giulio discovered where Rainaldo was held and, together with Ferrante and other armed men, recovered him, and, in a sign of defiance towards, replaced him in his cell with the warden of the fortress. Ippolito, then a political advisor of Alfonso, protested so strongly that the duke exiled Ferrante 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.
Lucrezia Borgia Lucrezia Borgia (18 April 1480 – 24 June 1519) was an Italian noblewoman of the House of Borgia who was the illegitimate daughter of Pope Alexander VI and Vannozza dei Cattanei. She was a former governor of Spoleto. Her family arranged ...
(wife of Alfonso) and Isabella d'Este with her husband Francesco succeeded in convincing Alfonso to pardon them.


The second quarrel

Subsequently, Giulio and Ippolito discovered that they were both admirers of a lady of the court, and cousin of Lucrezia, Angela Borgia, who seemed to favor Giulio (i. The Cardinal Ippolito, a libertine and ladies' man, prided himself that his refinement could)conquer beautiful women, and was resentful. When Angela told him that, "Monsignore, your brother's iulio'seyes are worth more than the whole of your person...", he flew into an uncontrollable rage. On 3 November 1505, while Giulio was returning from a trip to Belriguardo, he was surrounded by servants of Ippolito, who had ordered them to kill his half brother and tear out his eyes. Giulio was alone and, although he survived, was so brutally beaten he was scarred and his eyes were stabbed. He eventually lost his eyesight in one eye and was left with only blurred vision in the other. Ippolito had hastened to send to the Italian courts his version of the event, which ensured he avoided punishment. In December of that same year, Alfonso secured a formal truce between the brothers.


Conspiracy against Ippolito and Alfonso and its aftermath

Despite the truce, Giulio held a grudge against both Ippolito, for the beating which had damaged his eyesight and his famous good looks, and Alfonso, for not punishing Ippolito. In 1506, along with Ferrante, who aspired to replace his brother, and other men hostile toward the duke, he organized a plot aimed at eliminating Alfonso and Ippolito. However, the plan failed due to disorganization: waiting at night in the street with poisoned daggers for the duke, they missed him twice. During one of the frequent absences of the Duke, the spies of Ippolito gathered evidence about the plot, but before they reached Alfonso, both Lucrezia and Isabella advised Giulio to flee to Mantua where he would be protected by Francesco Gonzaga. There, Francesco, despite the demands of his brother-in-law, refused many times to hand over Giulio. Meanwhile, the trial of the conspirators began in Giulio's absence at the home of Sigismondo d'Este. Giulio and Ferrante, together with three others, were found guilty and condemned to death. Eventually Francesco succumbed to the pressure of Alfonso, who threatened to recover Giulio with his army, and turned Giulio over. While the other conspirators were executed, the sentences of Giulio and Ferrante were reduced: they were imprisoned in the Leoni Tower with
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 ...
, and their property was confiscated. Ferrante died in prison in 1540 at the age of 63 after 34 years of incarceration. Giulio, however, after 53 years in prison, was freed by his grandnephew Alfonso II d'Este at the age of 81. He supposedly caused a commotion among bystanders when he returned to the street because he retained his charm and an erect posture, and dressed in the fashion of 50 years before.L. Chiappini, cit., pp. 220–222


Notes


Bibliography

* Bradford, Sarah (2004): ''Lucrezia Borgia: Life, Love and Death in Renaissance Italy''. Viking. * Maria Bellonci, ''Lucrezia Borgia'', Mondadori Editore, Milan, 1998, * Sarah Bradford, ''Lucrezia Borgia'', Mondadori Editore,Milan, 2005,


External links


Treccani dictionary of Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Deste, Giulio 1478 births 1561 deaths Giulio Nobility from Ferrara 15th-century Italian nobility 16th-century Italian nobility Burials at the Corpus Domini Monastery, Ferrara Sons of dukes