Alfonso II d'Este, Duke of Ferrara

Alfonso II d'Este (November 22, 1533 – October 27, 1597) was duke of Ferrara from 1559 to 1597. He was a member of the house of Este.

Biography

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.

As a young man, he fought in the service of Henry II of France, fighting against the Habsburgs. Soon after his accession to the throne, he was forced by Pope Pius IV to send back his mother to France, due to her Calvinist creed. He commanded Ferrara at the time of the 1570 Ferrara earthquake.

In 1583 he allied with Emperor Rudolf II in the war against the Turks in Hungary.

Marriages

He married three times:

• On July 3, 1558, Alfonso married his first wife Lucrezia di Cosimo de' Medici, a daughter of Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany and Eleonora di Toledo. She died two years afterwards, and poisoning has been suspected.
• On December 5, 1565, Alfonso married his second wife Barbara of Austria (April 30, 1539 - September 19, 1572), eighth daughter of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor and Anna of Bohemia and Hungary.
• On February 24, 1579, Alfonso married his third wife Margherita Gonzaga (May 27, 1564 - January 6, 1618). She was the eldest daughter of William I, Duke of Mantua and Eleonora of Austria. Eleonora was an older sister of his second wife Barbara.

He had no known children, legitimate or otherwise.

Succession

The legitimate line ended in 1597 with him. Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor recognized...
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