Niccolò II d'Este

Niccolò II d'Este, Marquis of Ferrara
Niccolò depicted in the Genealogia dei principi d'Este (1470s)
Born1338
Died26 March 1388(1388-03-26) (aged 49–50)
OccupationsLord of Ferrara, Modena and Parma
Years active1361–1388
Known forCommissioned Castello Estense
SpouseVerde della Scala

Niccolò II d'Este (1338 – 26 March 1388) was Lord of Ferrara, Modena and Parma from 1361 until his death.

He was the son of Obizzo III,[1] who had ruled in Ferrara from 1317 to 1352 and the noblewoman Lippa degli Ariosti.[2] After inheriting his lands from Aldobrandino III, he allied with Padua, Verona and Mantua against Bernabò Visconti and, after a meeting at Viterbo, he managed to obtain also the support of Pope Urban V (1367).

During Niccolò's reign, Ferrara started to gain a reputation as an art city. He commissioned to Bartolino da Novara the construction of the Castello Estense after a popular revolt in 1385.[2]

Marriage

On 19 May 1362 Niccolo was married to Verde della Scala,[2] daughter of Mastino II della Scala and sister of Beatrice della Scala, making him a brother-in-law of the powerful Bernabó Visconti.

They had one daughter;

References

  1. ^ a b Hyde 1966, p. 560.
  2. ^ a b c Geddes 2012, p. 474.

Sources

  • Hyde, John Kenneth (1966). Padua in the Age of Dante. Manchester University Press. ISBN 9781597400695.
  • Geddes, Helen (2012). "Este, (1) Niccolo II d'Este". In Hourihane, Colum (ed.). The Grove Encyclopedia of Medieval Art and Architecture. Vol. 1. Oxford University Press. pp. 474, 475. ISBN 978-0-19-539536-5.
  • Antonio Menniti Ippolito, Este, Niccolò II d’, in Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani, XLIII, Roma 1993, pp. 393–396