ESTE, ERCOLE I D', DUKE OF FERRARA

(1431-1505)

   Duke of Ferrara from 1471; father of Beatrice, Isabella, and Alfonso I d'Este. In 1474, Ercole married Eleonora of Aragon, the daughter of the king of Naples, an alliance that proved politically beneficial to Ferrara. His nephew Niccoló orchestrated a failed coup against him, after which his term as duke brought great political stability, save for the war with Venice in 1481 over the salt monopoly. Ercole allied himself with the papal forces, Milan, and Naples, and peace was achieved in Bagnolo in 1484, with Ferrara losing Polisene to its enemy. Ercole's expansion of Ferrara beyond its walls, referred to as the Herculean Addition, more than tripled the size of the city. His architect was Biagio Rossetti, who designed for him a number of palaces and churches, in-cluding the famed Palazzo dei Diamanti, completed in 1493.