Duke of Ferrara and of Modena

Duke of Modena
Duke of Modena
	Flag of the Duchy of Modena under the Habsburg–Este family
Details
Style	Imperial and Royal Highness
First monarch	Borso d'Este, Duke of Ferrara
Last monarch	Francis V, Duke of Modena
Formation	1452
Abolition	1859
Pretender(s)	Prince Lorenz of Belgium, Archduke of Austria-Este

Emperor Frederick III elevated the Italian family of Este, Lords of Ferrara, to Dukes of Modena and Reggio in 1452, and Dukes of Ferrara in 1471. In 1597, they lost the succession Duchy of Ferrara itself to the Papal States. They continued to rule the Duchy of Modena and Reggio in the Emilia until 1796, when it became part of Napoleon Bonaparte's Cispadane Republic. In 1814 the duchy was restored under the Habsburg grandson of the last Este Duke, continuing until annexed by Piedmont-Sardinia in 1859.

From the Lordship of Este to the Duchy of Ferrara-Modena-Reggio

House of Este

The line of "Marquesses of Este"("Marchesi d'Este") rises in 1039 with Albert Azzo II, Margrave of Milan. The name "Este" is related to the city where the family came from, Este. The family was founded by Adalbert the Margrave. who might have been the true first Margrave of Milan of this family. In 1209 Azzo VI is named the first "Marquess of Ferrara", and the title passed to his descendants, and Este Marquisate's was delegated to a cadet branch of the family. Later, were also created the Marquisates of Modena and Reggio.

Partitions of Modena-Ferrara-Reggio under Este rule


Marquisate of Este (940-1448) (acquired Ferrara 1187, recovered 1209) (acquired Modena 1288; Reggio 1289, recovered 1405 )
			Marquisate of Ferrara (1222-1240)

	Marquisate of Modena (1293-1388)	Marquisate of Ferrara (1293-1308)
			Reggio under Papal States' rule (1306-1308)
		Ferrara and Reggio under Papal States' rule (1308-1317)
		Marquisate of Ferrara (1317-1405)	Reggio under Papal States' rule (1317-1405)

	Marquisate of Modena-Ferrara-Reggio (1405-1471)

Duchy of Modena-Ferrara-Reggio (1471-1597) (Ferrara was lost to Papal States in 1597)
Duchy of Modena-Reggio (1597-1796, 1814-1859)

Table of rulers

Ruler	Born	Reign	Death	Ruling part	Consort	Notes
Adalbert I the Margrave	?	c.940-951	951	Este	Unknown at least two children	Founder of the dynasty.
Oberto I	Before 951	951-975	15 October 975	Este	Willa of Spoleto seven children	Also Margrave of Milan. A son of his was the founder of the Malaspina family.
Oberto II	Before 975	975-1014	c.1014	Este	Unknown six children	Co-ruled with his brother Adalberto.
Adalbert (II)	Before 975	975-1002	1002	Este	Unknown three children	Co-ruled with his brother Oberto.
Albert Azzo I (or Albert II Azzo I)	Before 1014	1014-1029^[1]	1029	Este	Adelaide one child	Son of Oberto II.
Albert Azzo II (or Albert III Azzo I)	997 or 10 July 1009	1029-1097	20 August 1097	Este	Kunigunde of Altdorf 1036 one child Garsenda of Maine c.1050 two children	Only son of Albert Azzo I.
Folco I	1070	1097-1128	1128	Este	Unknown c.1109 six children
Azzo III	Before 1128	1122-1137	c.1137	Este	Unknown	Possible nephew of Folco. Co-ruler with his uncle and then with his cousins, sons of Folco I.
Azzo IV	?	1128-1145	c.1145	Este	Unknown	Sons of Folco I, ruled jointly and with their cousin Azzo III. Obizzo ruled with his son Azzo V from 1139, and ended up ruling alone at the end of his life, as his son predeceased him. He was succeeded by his grandson Azzo VI. Obizzo was also first lord of Ferrara. After his death this land was lost, only recovered by his grandson Azzo VI in 1209.
Boniface	?	1128-1163	c.1163	Este	Unknown two children
Folco II	?	1128-1178	c.1178	Este	Unknown
Alberto IV	?	1128-1184	c.1184	Este	Unknown two children
Obizzo I	c.1100	1128-1193	25 December 1193	Este	Unknown one child Sophia of Lendinara five children
Obizzo I	c.1100	1187-1193	25 December 1193	Ferrara	Unknown one child Sophia of Lendinara five children
Azzo V	c.1125	c.1139?-1193	1193	Este	Marchesella Adelardi of Ferrara 1139 two children
Azzo VI	c.1170	1193-1209	November 1212	Este	Sofia Aldobrandini 1189 two children Sophia (Eleonora) of Savoy before 1192 one child Alice of Châtillon 22 February 1204 two children	Son of Azzo V. In 1209 was made the first Marquess of Ferrara.
Azzo VI	c.1170	1209-1212	November 1212	Este and Ferrara
Aldobrandino I	c.1190	1212-1215	10 October 1215	Este and Ferrara	Unknown Before 1215 three children	Son of Azzo VI and Sofia. Left no descendants, he was succeeded by his brother.
Azzo VII Novello	c.1205	1212-1222	16 February 1264	Este and Ferrara	Giovanna of Puglia 1225 five children Mabilia Pallavicini 1238 no/two children	Son of Azzo VI and Alice. He was deposed by Salinguerra Torelli in 1222 in Ferrara, but recovered the city in 1240.
		1222-1240		Este
		1240-1264		Este and Ferrara
Salinguerra II Torelli (non-dynastic)	1164	1212-1240	1244	Ferrara	Retrudis Sofia Ezzelini Sibilla da Montefiore eight children	Co-ruling with Aldobrandino I and Azzo VII since 1212; deposed Azzo VII in 1222; deposed in 1240 by the deposed Azzo VII, who recovered the land.
Obizzo II	1247 or 1252	1264-1288/9	20 January or 13 February^[2] 1293	Este and Ferrara	Jacopina (Fieschi) of Lavagna 1263 three children Constance (della Scala) of Verona 1289 two children	Grandson of Azzo VII, as bastard son of Azzo's son, Rinaldo. Between 1288 ad 1289 he achieved the joining of the communes of Modena and Reggio to the Este's lands. After his death the lands were partitioned between his sons.
Obizzo II	1247 or 1252	1288/9-1293	20 January or 13 February^[2] 1293	Este, Ferrara, Modena, Reggio
Francesco I	c. or after 1289	1293-1312	23 August 1312	Este	Orsina Orsini four children	Son of Obizzo II.
Azzo VIII	After 1263	1293-1306	31 January 1308	Ferrara and Reggio	Giovanna Orsini September 1282 three children Beatrice of Sicily April 1305 no children	Son of Obizzo II. In 1306 lost Reggio Papal States.
Azzo VIII	After 1263	1306-1308	31 January 1308	Ferrara		Son of Obizzo II. In 1306 lost Reggio Papal States.
Reggio occupied by the Papal States (1306-1405)
Aldobrandino II	?	1293-1326	26 July 1326	Modena	Alda Rangoni 1289 four children	Co-ruled with his sons and nephews, following a pro-Este revolt in Ferrara.
Modenese Republic (1326-1336)
Fresco	c.1280	1308	1312	Ferrara	Pellegrina Caccianemici one child	Bastard son of Azzo VIII.
Ferrara occupied by the Papal States (1308-1317)
Rinaldo	?	1317-1335	31 December 1335	Ferrara	Lucrezia di Barbiano one child	Following a pro-Este revolt in Ferrara, the sons of Aldobrandino II (Rinaldo, Niccolò, Obizzo) and Francesco I (Bertoldo and Azzo) ascended together. Some of them accumulated the rule of Ferrara with other government of other parts of Este's lands: Bertoldo and Azzo also ruled in Este since 1312; Obizzo and Niccolò recovered Modena in 1336.
Niccolò I	?	1317-1336	1 May 1344	Ferrara	Beatrice of Mantua 21 April 1335 no children.
Niccolò I	?	1336-1344	1 May 1344	Ferrara and Modena	Beatrice of Mantua 21 April 1335 no children.
Obizzo III	14 July 1294	1317-1336	20 March 1352	Ferrara	Jacopa Pepoli May 1317 no children Filippa Ariosti (lover until 1347) 27 November 1347 ten children (legitimated 1347)
Obizzo III	14 July 1294	1336-1352	20 March 1352	Ferrara and Modena
Bertoldo I	Before 1312	1312-1317	1343	Este	Caterina da Camino c.1325 at least one child
Bertoldo I	Before 1312	1317-1343	1343	Este and Ferrara	Caterina da Camino c.1325 at least one child
Azzo IX	Before 1312	1312-1317	24 June 1318	Este	Ricciarda da Camino no children
Azzo IX	Before 1312	1317-1318	24 June 1318	Este and Ferrara	Ricciarda da Camino no children
Francesco II	c.1325	1343-1384	1384	Este	Caterina (Visconti) of Milan Taddea Barbiano four children	Son of Bertoldo.
Aldobrandino III	1335	1352-1361	1361	Ferrara	Beatrice da Camino 1351 two children
Niccolò II the Lame	17 May 1338	1352-1361	26 March 1388	Modena	Verde (della Scala) of Verona February 1363 one child
Niccolò II the Lame	17 May 1338	1361-1388	26 March 1388	Ferrara	Verde (della Scala) of Verona February 1363 one child
Azzo X	1344	1384-1415	1415	Este	Unknown at least one child	Son of Francesco II
Alberto V	27 February 1347	1361-1388	30 July 1393	Ferrara	Giovanna da Roberti 1388 no children Isotta Albaresani (lover until 1393) 1393 one child (legitimated 1393)	Bastard son of Obizzo III. In 1388 reunited Modena and Ferrara under his rule.
Alberto V	27 February 1347	1388-1393	30 July 1393	Ferrara and Modena
Niccolò III	9 November 1383	1393-1441	6 December 1441	Ferrara and Modena (until 1405) Ferrara, Modena and Reggio (from 1405)	Gigliola da Carrara 1394 no children Laura (Parisina) Malatesta 1418 three children Ricciarda of Saluzzo 1429 or 1431 two children	Recovered Reggio in 1405.
Taddeo	1390	1415-1448	21 June 1448	Este	Margherita Pio two children Unknown	Son of Azzo X. Left no descendants.
The Marquisate of Este was definitely annexed to Modena-Ferrara-Reggio
Leonello	21 September 1407	1441-1450	1 October 1450	Ferrara, Modena and Reggio	Margaret of Mantua 1435 one child Maria of Naples 1444 no children	Bastard son of Niccolò III.
Borso	1413	1450-1471	20 August 1471	Ferrara, Modena and Reggio	Unmarried	Bastard son of Niccolo III. Duke of Modena and Reggio from 1452, Duke of Ferrara from 1471)^[3].
Ercole I	26 October 1431	1471-1505	15 June 1505	Modena-Ferrara-Reggio	Eleanor of Naples July 1473 six children	Legitimate son of Niccolò III.
Alfonso I	21 July 1476	1505-1534	31 October 1534	Modena-Ferrara-Reggio	Anna Maria of Milan 23 January 1491 Pavia no children Lucrezia Borgia 1 September 1501 Ferrara seven children
Ercole II	5 April 1508	1534-1559	3 October 1559	Modena-Ferrara-Reggio	Renée of France 28 June 1528 Paris five children
Alfonso II	22 November 1533	1559-1597	27 October 1597	Modena-Ferrara-Reggio	Lucrezia de' Medici 3 July 1558 Florence no children Barbara of Austria 5 December 1565 Innsbruck no children br>Margherita Gonzagaa 24 February 1579 Ferrara no children	Left no descendants. He was succeeded by his cousin Cesare.

Este Dukes of Modena and Reggio

Cesare 1597–1628 (lost Ferrara in January 1598 and moved the capital to Modena)
Alfonso III 1628–1629 (died 1644)
Francesco I 1629–1658
Alfonso IV 1658–1662
Francesco II 1662–1694
Rinaldo 1694–1737
Francesco III 1737–1780
Ercole III 1780–1796 (d. 1803)

Habsburg – Este Dukes of Modena and Reggio, 1814–1859

(from 1815 also Duke of Mirandola and from 1829 Duke of Massa and Prince of Carrara)

Name	Portrait	Birth	Marriages	Death
Francesco IV 14 July 1814– 21 January 1846		6 October 1779 Milan son of Ferdinand, Duke of Breisgau and Maria Beatrice d'Este, Duchess of Massa	Maria Beatrice of Savoy 20 June 1812 Cagliari Cathedral four children	21 January 1846 Modena aged 66
Francesco V 21 January 1846– 11 June 1859		1 June 1819 Modena son of Francis IV and Maria Beatrice of Savoy	Princess Adelgunde of Bavaria 20 March 1842 Kreuzkirche (Munich) one daughter	20 November 1875 Vienna aged 56

Habsburg – Este Dukes of Modena and Reggio, post monarchy

Francesco V (1859–1875)
Francis Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria-Este (1875–1914)
Charles, Archduke of Austria-Este (1914–1917)
Robert, Archduke of Austria-Este (1917–1996)
Lorenz, Archduke of Austria-Este (1996–present)
Heir apparent: Prince Amedeo of Belgium, Archduke of Austria-Este

References

^ Luciano Chiappini, Gli Estensi, p. 19, Varese, 1988.
^ [1]
^ Tuohy, Thomas (2002). Herculean Ferrara : Ercole d'Este, 1471-1505, and the invention of a Ducal capital (1st pbk. ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, published with the assistance of the Istituto di Studi Rinascimentali, Ferrara. p. 211. ISBN 978-0521522632.

[1] Luciano Chiappini, Gli Estensi, p. 19, Varese, 1988.

[2] [1]

[Tuohy-3] Tuohy, Thomas (2002). Herculean Ferrara : Ercole d'Este, 1471-1505, and the invention of a Ducal capital (1st pbk. ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, published with the assistance of the Istituto di Studi Rinascimentali, Ferrara. p. 211. ISBN 978-0521522632.

[1]

[2]

[3]