Francesco I d'Este, Duke of Modena

Francesco I d'Este (6 September 1610 – 14 October 1658) was Duke of Modena and Reggio from 1629 until his death. The eldest son of Alfonso III d'Este, he became reigning duke after his father's abdication.

Francesco I d'Este
Portrait by Diego Velázquez, 1638
Duke of Modena and Reggio
ReignJuly 1629 – 14 October 1658
PredecessorAlfonso III d'Este
SuccessorAlfonso IV d'Este
Born(1610-09-06)6 September 1610
Modena
Died14 October 1658(1658-10-14) (aged 48)
Santhià, Vercelli, Savoy
Spouse
​
(
m. 1631; died 1646)

Vittoria Farnese
​
(
m. 1648; died 1649)

IssueAlfonso, Hereditary Prince of Modena
Alfonso IV, Duke of Modena
Isabella, Duchess of Parma
Rinaldo, Duke of Modena
Maria, Duchess of Parma
HouseEste
FatherAlfonso III d'Este, Duke of Modena
MotherIsabella of Savoy
ReligionRoman Catholicism

Biography

The pestilence of 1630–1631 killed 70% of Modena's inhabitants. After the outbreak of the Thirty Years' War he sided with Spain and invaded the duchy of Parma, but upon visiting to Spain to claim his reward, he could only acquire Correggio by a payment of 230,000 florins.

Later followed the First War of Castro, in which Francesco's Modena joined Venice and Florence and sided with the Dukes of Parma against Barberini Pope Urban VIII, aiming to reconquer Ferrara. The war ended without any particular gain for the Modenese. As again no help had come from Spain, Francesco allied with France through the intercession of Cardinal Mazarin. When he however failed to conquer Cremona, and as the situation of the Thirty Years' War seemed to be favourable for Spain, the Duke sought for an agreement with the latter. He returned to the service of France by marrying his son and heir Alfonso to Laura Martinozzi, Mazarin's niece.

After successful resistance to a Spanish invasion from their territories in Milan, he fought alongside France and Savoy, conquering Alessandria and Valenza in 1656–1657 with the help of his son. In 1658 he conquered Mortara but, struck by malaria, died in Santhià soon later. After Maria's death in 1646, he married her sister Vittoria Farnese who died 1649.

His last marriage was to Lucrezia Barberini (1628–1699), daughter of Taddeo Barberini with whom his troops had fought during the First War of Castro. He had a total of eleven children, two of them, Alfonso and Rinaldo, were later Dukes of Modena.

Although a skillful military commander, Francesco was renowned for his upright character and religious ideals. He enriched Modena with the construction of the Ducal Palace of Modena, the large Teatro della Spelta, the Villa delle Pentetorri, a port on an enlarged Naviglio channel and the restoration of the Cittadella.

Francesco in Art

Francesco was immortalized by Bernini in a sculpture made around 1650–1651 (Este Gallery and Museum, Modena). It culminates the master sculptor's revolution in portraiture. Much of the freedom and spontaneity of the bust of Cardinal Scipione Borghese is kept, but it is united with a heroic pomp and grandiose movement that portray the ideals of the Baroque age as much as the man. This style of sculpting would later also be seen in the bust of Louis XIV. According to Howard Hibbard, Bernini's portrait bust of Francesco I and the Louis XIV bust "set the standard for monarchical portraiture up to the time of the French Revolution" (126-8).[1]

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References
  1. "Portrait Bust of Louis XIV by Bernini". Bluffton. Retrieved 27 November 2016.

Issue
Maria Caterina Farnese, Francesco's first Wife
Vittoria Farnese, Francesco's second wife and sister of her predecessor, Maria
Lucrezia Barberini, Francesco's third wife, and mother of Rinaldo
Wives of Francesco d'Este
Issue with Maria Caterina Farnese:
  1. Alfonso d'Este, Hereditary Prince of Modena (1632), died in infancy.
  2. Alfonso IV d'Este, Duke of Modena (2 February 1634 – 16 July 1662), married Laura Martinozzi, parents of Mary of Modena.
  3. Isabella d'Este (3 October 1635 – 21 August 1666) married Ranuccio II Farnese, Duke of Parma, and had issue.
  4. Eleonora d'Este (1639–1640), died in infancy.
  5. Tedaldo d'Este' (1640–1643), died in infancy.
  6. Almerigo d'Este (8 May 1641 – 14 November 1660), died young.
  7. Eleonora d'Este (2 January 1643 – 24 February 1722), a nun.
  8. Maria d'Este (8 December 1644 – 20 August 1684), married Ranuccio II Farnese, Duke of Parma, and had issue.
  9. Tedaldo d'Este (1646), died in infancy.
Issue with Vittoria Farnese:
  1. Vittoria d'Este (24 August 1649 – 1656).
Issue with Lucrezia Barberini:
  1. Rinaldo d'Este, Duke of Modena (26 April 1655 – 26 October 1737), married Duchess Charlotte Felicitas of Brunswick-Lüneburg and had issue.

Ancestors
Francesco's ancestors in three generations
Francesco I d'Este, Duke of Modena Father:
Alfonso III d'Este, Duke of Modena		 Paternal Grandfather:
Cesare d'Este, Duke of Modena		 Paternal Great-grandfather:
Alfonso d'Este
Paternal Great-grandmother:
Giulia della Rovere
Paternal Grandmother:
Virginia de' Medici		 Paternal Great-grandfather:
Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany
Paternal Great-grandmother:
Camilla Martelli
Mother:
Princess Isabella of Savoy		 Maternal Grandfather:
Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy		 Maternal Great-grandfather:
Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy
Maternal Great-grandmother:
Margaret of France, Duchess of Berry
Maternal Grandmother:
Catherine Michelle of Spain		 Maternal Great-grandfather:
Philip II of Spain
Maternal Great-grandmother:
Elisabeth of Valois
Francesco I d'Este, Duke of Modena
Born: 6 September 1610 Died: 14 October 1658
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Alfonso III		 Duke of Modena and Reggio
1629–1658		 Succeeded by
Alfonso IV
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