Alfonso d'Este di Montecchio
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Alfonso d'Este di Montecchio (March 10, 1527 - November 1, 1587 ) was Margrave of Montecchio and an illegitimate son of Alfonso I d'Este , Duke of Ferrara , Modena and Reggio . Through his son Cesare d'Este he became the progenitor of the younger line of the House of Este - the dukes of Modena and Reggio - since the main line of the Este had expired in 1597 with Duke Alfonso II. D'Este .
origin
Alfonso d´Este comes from the house of the Este , which is one of the oldest noble families in Italy, as it was a margrave as early as 951 and ruled Ferrara and Modena since the 13th century.
His paternal grandparents were Ercole I d'Este , Duke of Ferrara, Modena and Reggio from 1471 to 1505, and his wife Eleonora Infanta of Aragón, daughter of Ferdinand I , King of Naples from 1548 to 1494.
His father was Alfonso I d'Este , who ruled as Duke of Ferrara, Modena and Reggio from 1505 to 1534 and his first marriage since February 2, 1491 with Anna Sforza (1473-1497), a daughter of the Duke of Milan Galeazzo Maria Sforza , and in second marriage to Lucrezia Borgia , a daughter of Pope Alexander VI. Borgia, was married.
Alfonso did not come from these marital connections, but was a son from the relationship of Duke Alfonso to Laura Dianti (* 1480 in Ferrara; † June 25, 1573), who became his lover after the death of Lucrezia Borgia and who he was her great Education because of "Eustochia" called. In 1524 he furnished them with lands and had a palazzo - the "Palazzina della Rosa" - built for them, to which the duke had direct access through a secret passage.
Life
Question of legitimacy
Alfonso had three older legitimate brothers, Ercole II. D'Este (April 4, 1508 - October 3, 1559), who succeeded as Duke in 1534, Ippolito II. D'Este (* August 25, 1509 - December 2 1572), cardinal since 1538 , and Francesco d'Este (born November 1, 1516 - † February 22, 1578), Prince of Massa , while Alfonso had little chance of a special career, not only as a younger but above all as an illegitimate son .
The question of legitimizing his birth was therefore essential for him. His father, Duke Alfonso I, took the first step by having Alfonso legitimized by Cardinal Innozenzo Cibo on April 18, 1532. In addition, Duke Alfonso l. married his lover Laura Dianti a few days before his death. That would settle the question, but despite intensive research no documentary evidence could be found. However, Duke Alfonso I took a verifiable step in his will of August 28, 1533, in which he did not mention Laura Dianti, but the two sons that Laura Dianti had born to him, Alfonso d'Este himself and his younger brother Alfonsino the Elder 'Este (* 1530; † 1547) expressly recognizes as his sons, who inherited the rule of Montecchio separately from Delizia del Verginese and Alfonso. The question of the legitimacy of Alfonso's birth was therefore of no great importance, since he was recognized by his father, legitimized by the church and endowed with appropriate goods.
Ten years after his death, however, this question became of crucial importance, as the main line of the Este with Alfonso II. D'Este , who ruled as Duke of Ferrara, Modena and Reggio from 1559 to 1597, died out on October 27, 1597 and thus the question of succession in the duchies arose.
As a precaution, Alfonso II had chosen his cousin Cesare d'Este - the oldest surviving son of Alfonso von Montecchio - to be his successor. This regulation was accepted by its most important feudal lord - the Roman-German emperor - who therefore transferred the duchies of Modena and Reggio as imperial fiefdom to Cesare d'Este in 1597.
Pope Clement VIII was the feudal lord of the Duchy of Ferrara and tried to strengthen the papal state. He referred to the illegitimate birth of Cesare's father Alfonso von Montecchio and therefore refused to feoff Cesare d'Este with Ferrara. He withdrew the Duchy of Ferrara as a settled fiefdom, forced Cesare to renounce Ferrara in 1598 and unified this Duchy with the Papal States.
career
Alfonso and his brother were brought up by his mother, who won over humanists known for teaching, such as Giambattista Giraldi Cinzio, who took care of the administration of the property and at the same time intellectuals such as Pellegrino Morato, Giraldi Cintho, Battista Guarini, Camillo Filippi at her small court , Luigi Grotto and others gathered around him, so that Alfonso received an excellent humanistic education. His mother Laura Dianti became "immortal" through the portrait that Tizian made of her.
Alfonso embarked on an eventful military career as a condottiere , became captain of the cavalry in Spanish service in 1546, entered the service of his nephew, Duke Alfonso II of Ferrara in 1556, then entered French service in 1559, with King Charles IX. in the Ordre de Saint-Michel ( Order of Michael) accepted the King Louis XI. Founded in 1469 as a counterpart to the Burgundian Order of the Golden Fleece .
Obviously to prevent Alfonso from leaning entirely on France despite the imperial fiefdom of Montecchio, Montecchio was raised to margraviate by Emperor Ferdinand II on October 13, 1562 , while simultaneously conferring the right to mint. This privilege was confirmed by Emperor Maximilian II on February 5, 1570. However, this accommodation should not have been very convincing, because from 1567 Alfonso was in the service of Duke Emanuel Philibert of Savoy († 1580), known as "Iron Head" and was appointed to the Council of the King of France in the same year.
Marriage and offspring
Alfonso married Giulia Feltria della Rovere, Princess of Urbino, (* 1531 in Casteldurante, † April 4, 1563 in Ferrara), a daughter of Francesco Maria I della Rovere, Duke of Urbino and Eleonora Gonzaga , on January 3, 1549 della Rovere Princess of Mantua and in 1584 Violante Signa, daughter of Alberto Signa, courtier to the Dukes of Ferrara.
Children from first marriage:
- Alfonsino d'Este (November 11, 1560 - September 4, 1578), ⚭ his cousin Marfisa d'Este (* around 1554 in Ferrara; † October 16, 1608 in Ferrara) an illegitimate daughter of Francesco d'Este.
- Cesare d'Este (born October 8, 1552 in Modena; † December 11, 1628), Duke of Modena and Reggio (1598–1628), ⚭ Virginia de 'Medici (born May 29, 1568; † January 15, 1615), a daughter of Cosimo I de 'Medici , Duke in 1537, Grand Duke of Tuscany since 1569
- Eleonora d'Este (* 1561 in Ferrara; † 1637 in Modena) ⚭ 1594 Carlo Gesualdo , Prince of Venosa , Count of Conza and Lord von Gesualdo, a well-known composer († 1613 in Gesualdo)
- Ippolita d'Este (* 1565; † 1602) ⚭ Federico II. Pico, Prince of Mirandola and Margrave of Concordia († 1602)
Out of wedlock:
- Alessandro d'Este (May 5, 1568 - May 13, 1624), Cardinal (1599–1624), Governor of Tivoli
Individual evidence
- ↑ Giuliana Berengan (editor) Le Dame della Corte Estense. Itinerari al femminile, page 135; Ferrara 1998; Navali Assicurazioni SpA
- ↑ Giuliana Berengan (editor): Le Dame della Corte Estense. Itinerari al femminile. P. 136; Ferrara 1998; Navali Assicurazioni SpA
- ↑ Este (di Montecchio) Duchi di Modena e Reggio in: "Libro d´Oro della Nobiltà mediterranea" [1]
- ^ Genealogy of the Della Rovere
literature
- Giuliana Berengan (editor): Le Dame della Corte Estense. Itinerari al femminile. Ferrara 1998; Navali Assicurazioni SpA
- Fausto Ficarelli, Giorgio Barani - Montecchio Emilia - La Gente, il lavoro, gli eventi e altre cose. Immagini e documenti per una storia di paese, Montecchio Emilia 1984
- Este (di Montecchio) Duchi di Modena e Reggio in: "Libro d´Oro della Nobiltà mediterranea" [2]
See also
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Este di Montecchio, Alfonso d ' |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Italian nobleman, Margrave of Montecchio |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 10, 1527 |
| DATE OF DEATH | November 1, 1587 |