Isabella d'Este

Isabella d'Este (18 May 1474 – 13 February 1539) was Marchesa of Mantua and one of the leading women of the Italian Renaissance as a major cultural and political figure. She was a patron of the arts as well as a leader of fashion, whose innovative style of dressing was copied by women throughout Italy and at the French court. The poet Ariosto labeled her as the "liberal and magnanimous Isabella", while author Matteo Bandello described her as having been "supreme among women". Diplomat Niccolò da Correggio went even further by hailing her as "The First Lady of the world".

She served as the regent of Mantua during the absence of her husband, Francesco II Gonzaga, Marquess of Mantua and the minority of her son, Federico, Duke of Mantua. In 1500 she met King Louis XII of France in Milan on a diplomatic mission to persuade him not to send his troops against Mantua.

She was a prolific letter-writer, and maintained a lifelong correspondence with her sister-in-law Elisabetta Gonzaga. Lucrezia Borgia was another sister-in-law; she later became the mistress of Isabella's husband.

Isabella d'Este, Duchess of Parma

Isabella d'Este (3 October 1635 – 21 August 1666) was Duchess of Parma, and second wife of Duke Ranuccio II Farnese. She was the paternal grandmother of Elisabetta Farnese.

Princess of Modena

Isabella was a daughter of the Duke of Modena Francesco I d'Este and Maria Caterina Farnese, daughter of Ranuccio I Farnese, Duke of Parma. She was the sister of two Dukes of Modena, Alfonso IV d'Este (1634–1662) and Rinaldo (1655–1737). At the death of her mother, her father married again twice.

Duchess of Parma

After the death of his first wife Marguerite Yolande of Savoy, Ranuccio II married in 1663 his cousin Isabella. But the couple only met on 18 February 1664, when Isabella arrived in Parma. For this occasion, a grandiose celebration and musical spectacles were organised. The couples had three children all of which would survive childhood. Only the latter Odoardo, would have issue; he was the father of Elisabeth Farnese, queen of Spain and ancestor of most modern royalty.

House of Este

The House of Este ([ˈɛste] Italian: Casa d'Este, originally House of Welf-Este) is a European princely dynasty. It is one of the most ancient noble dynasties in Europe.

The elder branch of the House of Este included the dukes of Brunswick and Lüneburg (1208–1918) and produced Britain's Hanoverian monarchs and one Emperor of Russia (Ivan VI).

The younger branch of the House of Este included rulers of Ferrara (1240–1597), and Modena and Reggio (1288–1796).

Origins

Edward Gibbon said the family originated from the Roman Attii family, which migrated from Rome to Este to defend Italy against the Ostrogoths. However, there is little evidence to support this hypothesis. The names of the early members of the family indicate that a Frankish origin is much more likely. The first known member of the house was Margrave Adalbert of Mainz, known only as father of Oberto I, Count palatine of Italy, who died around 975. Oberto's grandson, Albert Azzo II, Margrave of Milan (996–1097) built a castle at Este, near Padua, and named himself after it. He had three sons from two marriages, two of whom became the ancestors of the two branches of the family: