Alfonso II, Duke of Ferrara
| Alfonso II d'Este | |
|---|---|
| Duke of Ferrara, Modena, and Reggio | |
Alfonso II d'Este by Girolamo da Carpi
|
|
| Spouse(s) |
Lucrezia di Cosimo de' Medici Barbara of Austria Margherita Gonzaga |
| Noble family | House of Este |
| Father | Ercole II d'Este |
| Mother | Renée of France |
| Born | 22 November 1533 |
| Died | 27 October 1597 (aged 63) Ferrara |
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.
He was the elder son of Ercole II d'Este and Renée de France, the daughter of Louis XII of France and Anne of Brittany and was the fifth and last Duke of Ferrara.
As a young man, he fought in the service of Henry II of France against the Habsburgs. Soon after his accession, he was forced by Pope Pius IV to send back his mother to France due to her Calvinist creed. The 1570 Ferrara earthquake fell into his reign. In 1583 he allied with Emperor Rudolf II in the war against the Turks in Hungary.
Throughout the 1550's, Alfonso had an intererst in Castrato singing voices. Given his childlessness amongst multiple marriages, this additional fact has prompted some historians to speculate that the Duke was homosexual.
He married three times:
He had no known children, legitimate or otherwise.
The legitimate line ended in 1597 with him. Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor recognized as heir his cousin Cesare d'Este, member of a cadet branch, who continued to rule in the imperial duchies and carried on the family name. The succession, however, was recognized only by the Emperor but not by the Popes. In 1598 Ferrara was therefore incorporated into the Papal States by Pope Clement VIII, on grounds of doubtful legitimacy. As a result of Alfonso 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.()
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