People / group

House of Este

Also known as Este family

The House of Este was an Italian princely family, named after the town of Este near Padua, which ruled Ferrara from the 13th century and Modena and Reggio from 1288. Its rulers, raised to dukes in the 15th century, made Ferrara a leading Renaissance court, patronising Ariosto and Tasso. After losing Ferrara to the Papal States in 1598 the family ruled Modena until 1859, and a German branch gave rise to the Welfs of Brunswick and Hanover.

House of Este
Image: MostEpic · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 9 state histories

Commune of FerraraCommune of ModenaCommune of ReggioDuchy of FerraraLordship of CarpiDuchy of MantuaCounty of NovellaraDuchy of Modena and ReggioPrincipality of Correggio

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). House of Este. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/house-of-este
MLA
“House of Este.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/house-of-este. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “House of Este.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/house-of-este.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘House of Este’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/house-of-este (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻