Rinaldo d'Este (26 April 1655 – 26 October 1737) was

Duke of Modena and Reggio This is a list of rulers of the estates owned by the 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, Este. ...

from 1694 until his death, as well as 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 ...

. He was succeeded by his son.

Biography

Born at the Ducal Palace of Modena, he was the only son of the third marriage of

Francesco I d'Este, Duke of Modena Francesco I d'Este (6 September 1610 – 14 October 1658) was Duke of Modena and Reggio from 1629 until his death. The eldest son of Alfonso III d'Este, he became reigning duke after his father's abdication. Biography Born on 6 September 1610 ...

. His mother was Lucrezia Barberini, daughter of Taddeo Barberini and Anna Colonna. Created

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

on 2 September 1686, he left the ecclesiastical career in 1694 to succeed his nephew Francesco II as duke. He married Princess Charlotte Felicitas of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1671–1710), eldest daughter of Johann Friedrich, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Benedicta Henrietta of the Palatinate. He hoped that this marriage to a German princess would provide him needed support from the various German royal houses, including the

Habsburg 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 ...

s, who were connected to his wife by blood. Rinaldo married Charlotte in

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 ...

on 11 February 1696. Rinaldo wanted to encourage relations between Modena and Brunswick, whose ruling house was the

House of Hanover The House of Hanover ( ) is a European royal house with roots tracing back to the 17th century. Its members, known as Hanoverians, ruled Hanover, Great Britain, Ireland, and the British Empire at various times during the 17th to 20th centurie ...

. The marriage was celebrated splendidly despite financial problems in Modena; the artist Marcantonio Franceschini was commissioned to paint a room, the ''Salone d'onore'' at the ducal palace in honour of the marriage. Charlotte died at the Ducal Palace of Modena after giving birth to a daughter in September 1710. The child also died. She was buried at the Church of San Vincenzo in Modena. Her son

Francesco Francesco, the Italian language, Italian (and original) version of the personal name "Francis (given name), Francis", is one of the List of most popular given names, most common given name among males in Italy. Notable persons with that name inclu ...

succeeded as Duke of Modena in 1737. His first move as duke was to reduce the price of the grain and to improve the conditions of life of the peasants. At the outbreak of the

War of Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict fought between 1701 and 1714. The immediate cause was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700, which led to a struggle for control of the Spanish ...

(1702) he declared neutrality, but this did not prevent the French troops from capturing

. The Duke was forced to flee to

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

. In 1707, after a long siege in which Rinaldo took part, German troops ousted the French from his capital. In the resulting peace treaty, Rinaldo acquired the Duchy of Mirandola, but lost Comacchio. In 1721, he attempted to establish friendlier relationship with France by marrying his son

with Charlotte Aglaé d'Orléans, the daughter of Philippe d'Orléans, Duke of Orléans, the

Regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

of France during the childhood of King

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached maturity (then defi ...

. Charlotte Aglaé received an enormous dowry of 1.8 million livres, half of which was contributed in the name of the young king, Louis XV, on orders of the Regent. From her adopted country, Charlotte Aglaé received a trousseau consisting of diamonds and portraits of her future husband. However, the marriage proved troublesome, mainly due to his new daughter-in-law's licentious behaviour. In order to keep peace at court, Rinaldo had to build a separate residence for them in Rivalta, near

Reggio Emilia Reggio nell'Emilia (; ), usually referred to as Reggio Emilia, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, and known until Unification of Italy, 1861 as Reggio di Lombardia, is a city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has about 172,51 ...

. He also failed in an attempt to obtain the

Duchy of Parma The Duchy of Parma and Piacenza (, ) was an Italian state created in 1545 and located in northern Italy, in the current region of Emilia-Romagna. Originally a realm of the Farnese family after Pope Paul III made it a hereditary duchy for his s ...

through the marriage of his daughter, Enrichetta, with

Antonio Farnese, Duke of Parma Antonio Farnese (29 November 1679 – 20 January 1731) was the eighth and final House of Farnese, Farnese List of Dukes of Parma, Duke of Parma and Piacenza. He married, in 1727, Enrichetta d'Este of Duchy of Modena and Reggio, Modena with ...

. When the duke died without an heir,

Elisabeth Farnese Elisabeth Farnese (Italian: ''Elisabetta Farnese'', Spanish: ''Isabel de Farnesio''; 25 October 169211 July 1766) was Queen of Spain by marriage to King Philip V. She was the '' de facto'' ruler of Spain from 1714 until 1746, since she managed ...

, the Queen of Spain, acquired the duchy for her son,

Charles III of Spain Charles III (; 20 January 1716 – 14 December 1788) was King of Spain in the years 1759 to 1788. He was also Duke of Parma and Piacenza, as Charles I (1731–1735); King of Naples, as Charles VII; and King of Sicily, as Charles III (or V) (1735� ...

, a member of the

House of Bourbon The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a dynasty that originated in the Kingdom of France as a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Kingdom of Navarre, Navarre in the 16th century. A br ...

. In 1733 the War of Polish Succession began. Rinaldo, though nominally neutral, sided secretly for Austria. Again French troops forced him to move to Bologna, but a peace in 1736 was again favourable for the Este, who obtained the county of Novellara and Bagnolo. Rinaldo was succeeded by his son

Issue

* Benedetta Maria Ernesta d'Este (18 Aug 1697 – 16 September 1777), died unmarried and without issue. * Francesco d'Este (2 July 1698 – 22 February 1780), future Duke of Modena; married Charlotte Aglaé d'Orléans and had issue. * Amalia Giuseppina d'Este (28 Jul 1699 – 5 July 1778), married the Marquis of Villeneuf, had no issue. *Gian Federico d'Este (1 September 1700 – 24 April 1727), died unmarried and without issue. * Princess Enrichetta d'Este (27 May 1702 – 30 January 1777), married

had no issue; married Leopold, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt, grandson of Louis VI, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt, had no issue. *Clemente d'Este (20 April 1708 – 23 April 1708), died in infancy. *X d'Este (September 1710), female, died at birth. The duke also had an illegitimate son: *Rinaldo de Reggio, Chevalier de Reggio, married Félicité De Canapan, and had one son: François Marie, ''Chevalier de Reggio'', who was the great-grandfather of Confederate General P. G. T. Beauregard.

References

*Alessandro Cont, ''"Sono nato principe libero, tale voglio conservarmi”: Francesco II d’Este (1660-1694)'', “Memorie Scientifiche, Giuridiche, Letterarie”, Accademia Nazionale di Scienze Lettere e Arti di Modena, ser. 8, 12 (2009), 2, pp. 407–459, https://www.academia.edu/6412388/_Sono_nato_principe_libero_tale_voglio_conservarmi_Francesco_II_dEste_1660-1694_

Footnotes

Ancestry

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Este, Rinaldo 1655 births 1737 deaths Rinaldo Rinaldo Rinaldo Rinaldo 18th-century Italian cardinals Knights of the Golden Fleece of Austria 17th-century Italian nobility