Duchy of Ferrara | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1471–1597 | |||||||||||
.svg) Flag .svg) Coat of arms | |||||||||||
 Territories of theHouse of Este in 1499 (shown in purple) | |||||||||||
| Capital | Ferrara | ||||||||||
| Common languages | Latin (official) Emilian (common) | ||||||||||
| Religion | Roman Catholicism | ||||||||||
| Government | Non-sovereign monarchy | ||||||||||
| Duke | |||||||||||
• 1471–1471(first) | Borso I | ||||||||||
• 1559–1597(last) | Alfonso II | ||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||
• Borso d'Este is elevated to Duke of Ferrara byPope Paul II | 1471 | ||||||||||
• House of Este loses Ferrara to Papacy | 1597 | ||||||||||
| Currency | Ferrara mint,Idra,Ducat | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
| Today part of | Italy | ||||||||||
TheDuchy of Ferrara (Latin:Ducatus Ferrariensis;Italian:Ducato di Ferrara;Emilian:Ducà ad Frara) was a state in what is nownorthern Italy. It consisted of about 1,100 km2 south of the lowerPo River, stretching to the valley of the lowerReno River, including the city ofFerrara. The territory that was part of the Duchy was ruled by theHouse of Este from 1146 to 1597.[1]
Borso d'Este, alreadyDuke of Modena and Reggio, and lord of Ferrara, was raised to Duke of Ferrara byPope Paul II. Borso and his successors ruled Ferrara as a quasi-sovereign state until 1597, when it came under direct papal rule.[2]
The origin of Ferrara is uncertain. It was probably settled by the inhabitants of thelagoons at the mouth of the Po. There are two early centres of settlement: one around the cathedral,[3] the other, thecastrum bizantino, being the San Pietro district, on the opposite shore, where the Primaro empties into the Volano channel. Ferrara appears first in a document of theLombard kingDesiderius of 753 AD,[4] as a city forming part of theExarchate of Ravenna. Desiderius pledged a Lombardducatus ferrariae ("Duchy of Ferrara") in 757 toPope Stephen II.
The MarquisTedald of Canossa obtained (about 984) from the Church the possession for himself and his heirs, upon payment of a tribute. The decline of theHouse of Canossa was consumed with the death of the great countessMatilda of Canossa in 1115, just as the municipal institute was born and consolidated in Ferrara, which put an end to the ancientducatus.[5]
The free municipality of Ferrara survived for about 150 years. From 1208, withAzzo VI d'Este, the lordship of the family was established, on the Guelph side. From this moment, the Este family also extended their dominion over the lands of Modena and Reggio. Ferrara and its domains were formally part of theState of the Church, whileModena andReggio of theHoly Roman Empire, therefore the lords of Este were feudal lords of the Pope for the territory of Ferrara, and of the emperor for the territories of Modena and Reggio.[6]
Niccolò III (1393–1441) received severalpopes with great magnificence, especiallyEugene IV, who held a council here in 1438. And in 1471 the lordBorso d'Este, who from 1452 was already duke of Modena and Reggio, obtained fromPope Paul II the ducal title also for Ferrara, shortly before his death.[7]
Ercole I d'Este was one of the most important patrons of the arts in late 15th- and early 16th-century Italy, along theMedicis and PopeJulius II. During his reign, Ferrara grew into an international cultural centre, renowned for its architecture, music, literature and visual arts. Ferraranese painters established links with Flemish artists and their techniques, exchanging influences in colours and composition choices.
Composers came to Ferrara from many parts of Europe, especially France andFlanders.Josquin des Prez worked for Duke Ercole for a time (producing theMissa Hercules dux Ferrariæ, which he wrote for him).Jacob Obrecht came to Ferrara twice (and died during an outbreak ofplague there in 1505).Antoine Brumel served as principal court musician from 1505.Alfonso I, son of Ercole, was also an important patron; his preference for instrumental music resulted in Ferrara becoming an important centre of composition for thelute.
The architecture of Ferrara benefitted from the genius ofBiagio Rossetti, who was asked in 1484 by Ercole I to redesign the plan of the city. The resulting "Addizione Erculea" is one of the most important and beautiful examples of Renaissance city planning and contributed to the selection of Ferrara as aWorld Heritage Site byUNESCO.
Alfonso married the notoriousLucrezia Borgia, and continued the war with Venice with success. In 1509 he wasexcommunicated byPope Julius II, and he overcame the pontifical army in 1512 defendingRavenna. (Gaston de Foix fell in this battle, as an ally of Alfonso.) Lucrezia, together with other members of the Este house, is buried in the convent of Corpus Domini.
Alfonso made peace with the succeeding popes. He was the patron ofAriosto from 1518 onwards. His sonErcole II marriedRenée of France, daughter ofLouis XII of France; he too embellished Ferrara during his reign (1534–1559).
His sonAlfonso II married Lucrezia, daughter of grand-dukeCosimo I ofTuscany, then Barbara, sister ofEmperor Maximilian II and finallyMargherita Gonzaga, daughter of theDuke of Mantua. He raised the glory of Ferrara to its highest point, and was the patron ofTasso,Guarini, andCremonini – favouring, as the princes of his house had always done, the arts and sciences. During the reign of Alfonso II, Ferrara once again developed an opulent court with an impressive musical establishment, rivaled in Italy only by the adjacent city of Venice, and the traditional musical centres such as Rome,Florence, andMilan. Composers such asLuzzasco Luzzaschi,Lodovico Agostini, and laterCarlo Gesualdo, represented theavant-garde tendency of the composers there, writing for gifted virtuoso performers, including the famousconcerto di donne — the three virtuoso female singersLaura Peverara,Anna Guarini, andLivia d'Arco.Vincenzo Galilei praised the work of Luzzaschi, andGirolamo Frescobaldi studied with him.
The city was much affected by the1570 Ferrara earthquake.
When Alfonso died in 1597, he had no legitimate male heir. The Este lands were inherited by Alfonso's cousinCesare d'Este. However, the succession was not acknowledged byPope Clement VIII. Ferrara was claimed as a vacant fief by the Pope, as wasComacchio. The House of Este retainedModena and Reggio, which they held until 1796, apart from short interludes.
