Duchy of Modena and Reggio
Encyclopedia
The Duchy of Modena and Reggio ' onMouseout='HidePop("61831")' href="/topics/Kingdom_of_Italy_(medieval)">Italian
state that existed from 1452 to 1859, with a break between 1796 and 1814. It was ruled by the noble House of Este, from 1814 Austria-Este
.
enfeoffed the duchy to Borso d'Este, whose family had ruled the city of Modena
and Reggio Emilia
for centuries. Borso in 1450 had also succeeded his brother as margrave
in the adjacent Papal Duchy of Ferrara
, where he received the ducal title in 1471. The Este lands on the southern border of the Holy Roman Empire
with the Papal States
formed a stabilizing buffer state in the interest of both.
The first Este dukes ruled invulnerably and achieved an economic and cultural peak: Borso's successor Duke Ercole I had the city of Modena rebuilt according to plans designed by Biagio Rossetti
, his successors were patrons of artists like Titian
and Ludovico Ariosto
. In the War of the League of Cambrai
from 1508, troops from Modena fought in Papal service against the Republic of Venice
. Upon the death of Duke Alfonso II in 1597, the ducal line became extinct. The Este lands were bequested to Alfonso's cousin Cesare d'Este
, however, the succession was not acknowledged by Pope Clement VIII
and Ferrara was finally seized by the Papacy. Cesare could retain Modena and Reggio as Imperial fiefs.
In the 1628 War of the Mantuan Succession
, the dukes of Modena sided with Habsburg Spain
and in turn received the town of Correggio from the hands of Emperor Ferdinand II
. During the War of the Spanish Succession
, Duke Rinaldo was ousted by French
troops under Louis Joseph de Bourbon, he could not return until 1707. His successor Francesco III
backed France in the 1740 War of the Austrian Succession
, and was expelled by Habsburg
forces, but his duchy was restored by the 1748 Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle
. In 1711 the small duchy of Mirandola
was absorbed by the Este.
In 1796, Modena was again occupied by a French army under Napoleon Bonaparte, who deposed Duke Ercole III and created the Cispadane Republic
out of his territory. By the 1801 Treaty of Lunéville
the last Este Duke was compensated with the Breisgau
region of the former Further Austria
n territories in southwestern Germany
, and died in 1803. Following his death, Mthe ducal title was inherited by his son-in-law, the Habsburg-Lorraine archduke Ferdinand of Austria, an uncle of Emperor Francis II
.
in 1814, Ferdinand's son, Francis IV
, again assumed the rule as Duke of Modena. Soon after, he inherited the territories of Massa and Carrara
from his mother. In the course of the Italian unification
, the Austria-Este dukes were briefly ousted in 1831 and 1848, but soon returned.
During the Second Italian War of Independence
, following the 1859 Battle of Magenta
the last Duke Francis V
was again forced to flee, this time permanently. In December, Modena joined with Tuscany
and Parma
to form the United Provinces of Central Italy
, which were annexed to the Kingdom of Sardinia
in March 1860.
Kingdom of Italy (medieval)
The Kingdom of Italy was a political entity under control of Carolingian dynasty of Francia first, after the defeat of the Lombards in 774. It was finally incorporated as a part of the Holy Roman Empire in 962....
state that existed from 1452 to 1859, with a break between 1796 and 1814. It was ruled by the noble House of Este, from 1814 Austria-Este
Austria-Este
Archduke of Austria-Este and Habsburg-Este are a title and a surname which have been used by several cadet branches of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine to denote a connection with the extinct Italian princely and feudal family of Este and the Duchy of Modena ruled by them...
.
House of Este
In 1452 Emperor Frederick IIIFrederick III, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick the Peaceful KG was Duke of Austria as Frederick V from 1424, the successor of Albert II as German King as Frederick IV from 1440, and Holy Roman Emperor as Frederick III from 1452...
enfeoffed the duchy to Borso d'Este, whose family had ruled the city of Modena
Modena
Modena is a city and comune on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy....
and Reggio Emilia
Reggio Emilia
Reggio Emilia is an affluent city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has about 170,000 inhabitants and is the main comune of the Province of Reggio Emilia....
for centuries. Borso in 1450 had also succeeded his brother as margrave
Margrave
A margrave or margravine was a medieval hereditary nobleman with military responsibilities in a border province of a kingdom. Border provinces usually had more exposure to military incursions from the outside, compared to interior provinces, and thus a margrave usually had larger and more active...
in the adjacent Papal Duchy of Ferrara
Duchy of Ferrara
The Duchy of Ferrara is a former sovereign state of northern Italy.Obizzo II d'Este was proclaimed lifelong ruler of Ferrara in 1264. He also became seignior of nearby Modena in 1288 and of Reggio in 1289...
, where he received the ducal title in 1471. The Este lands on the southern border of the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
with the Papal States
Papal States
The Papal State, State of the Church, or Pontifical States were among the major historical states of Italy from roughly the 6th century until the Italian peninsula was unified in 1861 by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia .The Papal States comprised territories under...
formed a stabilizing buffer state in the interest of both.
The first Este dukes ruled invulnerably and achieved an economic and cultural peak: Borso's successor Duke Ercole I had the city of Modena rebuilt according to plans designed by Biagio Rossetti
Biagio Rossetti
Biagio Rossetti was an Italian architect and urbanist from Ferrara. A military engineer since 1483, and the ducal architect of Ercole I d'Este, in 1492 Rossetti was assigned the project of enlarging the city of Ferrara....
, his successors were patrons of artists like Titian
Titian
Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio (c. 1488/1490 – 27 August 1576 better known as Titian was an Italian painter, the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, near...
and Ludovico Ariosto
Ludovico Ariosto
Ludovico Ariosto was an Italian poet. He is best known as the author of the romance epic Orlando Furioso . The poem, a continuation of Matteo Maria Boiardo's Orlando Innamorato, describes the adventures of Charlemagne, Orlando, and the Franks as they battle against the Saracens with diversions...
. In the War of the League of Cambrai
War of the League of Cambrai
The War of the League of Cambrai, sometimes known as the War of the Holy League and by several other names, was a major conflict in the Italian Wars...
from 1508, troops from Modena fought in Papal service against the Republic of Venice
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...
. Upon the death of Duke Alfonso II in 1597, the ducal line became extinct. The Este lands were bequested to Alfonso's cousin Cesare d'Este
Cesare d'Este
Cesare d'Este was Duke of Modena and Reggio from 1597 until his death. During his reign, in 1598, the House of Este lost the Duchy of Ferrara.-Biography:...
, however, the succession was not acknowledged by Pope Clement VIII
Pope Clement VIII
Pope Clement VIII , born Ippolito Aldobrandini, was Pope from 30 January 1592 to 3 March 1605.-Cardinal:...
and Ferrara was finally seized by the Papacy. Cesare could retain Modena and Reggio as Imperial fiefs.
In the 1628 War of the Mantuan Succession
War of the Mantuan Succession
The War of the Mantuan Succession was a peripheral part of the Thirty Years' War. Its casus belli was the extinction of the direct male line of the House of Gonzaga in December 1627. Brothers Francesco IV , Ferdinando and Vincenzo II , the last three dukes of Gonzaga, had all died leaving no...
, the dukes of Modena sided with Habsburg Spain
Habsburg Spain
Habsburg Spain refers to the history of Spain over the 16th and 17th centuries , when Spain was ruled by the major branch of the Habsburg dynasty...
and in turn received the town of Correggio from the hands of Emperor Ferdinand II
Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor
Ferdinand II , a member of the House of Habsburg, was Holy Roman Emperor , King of Bohemia , and King of Hungary . His rule coincided with the Thirty Years' War.- Life :...
. During the War of the Spanish Succession
War of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was fought among several European powers, including a divided Spain, over the possible unification of the Kingdoms of Spain and France under one Bourbon monarch. As France and Spain were among the most powerful states of Europe, such a unification would have...
, Duke Rinaldo was ousted by French
Early Modern France
Kingdom of France is the early modern period of French history from the end of the 15th century to the end of the 18th century...
troops under Louis Joseph de Bourbon, he could not return until 1707. His successor Francesco III
Francesco III d'Este
Francesco III was Duke of Modena and Reggio from 1737 until his death.-Biography:He was born in Modena, the son of Rinaldo d'Este, Duke of Modena, and Charlotte of Brunswick-Lüneburg....
backed France in the 1740 War of the Austrian Succession
War of the Austrian Succession
The War of the Austrian Succession – including King George's War in North America, the Anglo-Spanish War of Jenkins' Ear, and two of the three Silesian wars – involved most of the powers of Europe over the question of Maria Theresa's succession to the realms of the House of Habsburg.The...
, and was expelled by Habsburg
Habsburg Monarchy
The Habsburg Monarchy covered the territories ruled by the junior Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg , and then by the successor House of Habsburg-Lorraine , between 1526 and 1867/1918. The Imperial capital was Vienna, except from 1583 to 1611, when it was moved to Prague...
forces, but his duchy was restored by the 1748 Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle
Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748)
The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle of 1748 ended the War of the Austrian Succession following a congress assembled at the Imperial Free City of Aachen—Aix-la-Chapelle in French—in the west of the Holy Roman Empire, on 24 April 1748...
. In 1711 the small duchy of Mirandola
Duchy of Mirandola
The Duchy of Mirandola was a state which existed in Italy from 1310 until 1711, centered in Mirandola and ruled by the Pico family.-History:...
was absorbed by the Este.
In 1796, Modena was again occupied by a French army under Napoleon Bonaparte, who deposed Duke Ercole III and created the Cispadane Republic
Cispadane Republic
The Cispadane Republic was a short-lived republic located in Northern Italy, founded in 1796 with the protection of the French army, led by Napoleon Bonaparte. In the following year, it was merged into the Cisalpine Republic....
out of his territory. By the 1801 Treaty of Lunéville
Treaty of Lunéville
The Treaty of Lunéville was signed on 9 February 1801 between the French Republic and the Holy Roman Emperor Francis II, negotiating both on behalf of his own domains and of the Holy Roman Empire...
the last Este Duke was compensated with the Breisgau
Breisgau
Breisgau is the name of an area in southwest Germany, placed between the river Rhine and the foothills of the Black Forest around Freiburg im Breisgau in the state of Baden-Württemberg. The district Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald, which partly consists of the Breisgau, is named after that area...
region of the former Further Austria
Further Austria
Further Austria or Anterior Austria was the collective name for the old possessions of the House of Habsburg in the former Swabian stem duchy of south-western Germany, including territories in the Alsace region west of the Rhine and in Vorarlberg, after the focus of the Habsburgs had moved to the...
n territories in southwestern Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, and died in 1803. Following his death, Mthe ducal title was inherited by his son-in-law, the Habsburg-Lorraine archduke Ferdinand of Austria, an uncle of Emperor Francis II
Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor
Francis II was the last Holy Roman Emperor, ruling from 1792 until 6 August 1806, when he dissolved the Empire after the disastrous defeat of the Third Coalition by Napoleon at the Battle of Austerlitz...
.
House of Austria-Este
With the dissolution of the Napoleonic Kingdom of ItalyKingdom of Italy (Napoleonic)
The Kingdom of Italy was a state founded in Northern Italy by Napoleon, fully influenced by revolutionary France, that ended with his defeat and fall.-Constitutional statutes:...
in 1814, Ferdinand's son, Francis IV
Francis IV, Duke of Modena
Francis IV Joseph Charles Ambrose Stanislaus was Duke of Modena, Reggio, and Mirandola , Duke of Massa and Prince of Carrara , Archduke of Austria-Este, Royal Prince of Hungary and Bohemia, Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece...
, again assumed the rule as Duke of Modena. Soon after, he inherited the territories of Massa and Carrara
Carrara
Carrara is a city and comune in the province of Massa-Carrara , notable for the white or blue-grey marble quarried there. It is on the Carrione River, some west-northwest of Florence....
from his mother. In the course of the Italian unification
Italian unification
Italian unification was the political and social movement that agglomerated different states of the Italian peninsula into the single state of Italy in the 19th century...
, the Austria-Este dukes were briefly ousted in 1831 and 1848, but soon returned.
During the Second Italian War of Independence
Second Italian War of Independence
The Second War of Italian Independence, Franco-Austrian War, Austro-Sardinian War, or Austro-Piedmontese War , was fought by Napoleon III of France and the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia against the Austrian Empire in 1859...
, following the 1859 Battle of Magenta
Battle of Magenta
The Battle of Magenta was fought on June 4, 1859 during the Second Italian War of Independence, resulting in a French-Sardinian victory under Napoleon III against the Austrians under Marshal Ferencz Gyulai....
the last Duke Francis V
Francis V, Duke of Modena
Francesco Ferdinando Geminiano von Habsburg-Lothringen, known as Francis V of Modena , Archduke of Austria-Este, Royal Prince of Hungary and Bohemia, was Duke of Modena, Reggio, and Mirandola, Duke of Guastalla , Duke of Massa and Prince of Carrara from 1846 to 1859...
was again forced to flee, this time permanently. In December, Modena joined with Tuscany
Grand Duchy of Tuscany
The Grand Duchy of Tuscany was a central Italian monarchy that existed, with interruptions, from 1569 to 1859, replacing the Duchy of Florence. The grand duchy's capital was Florence...
and Parma
Duchy of Parma
The Duchy of Parma was created in 1545 from that part of the Duchy of Milan south of the Po River, as a fief for Pope Paul III's illegitimate son, Pier Luigi Farnese, centered on the city of Parma....
to form the United Provinces of Central Italy
United Provinces of Central Italy
The United Provinces of Central Italy, also known as Union of Central Italy, Confederation of Central Italy or Government General of Central Italy, was a short-lived client state of the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia...
, which were annexed to the Kingdom of Sardinia
Kingdom of Sardinia
The Kingdom of Sardinia consisted of the island of Sardinia first as a part of the Crown of Aragon and subsequently the Spanish Empire , and second as a part of the composite state of the House of Savoy . Its capital was originally Cagliari, in the south of the island, and later Turin, on the...
in March 1860.
Provinces of the Duchy before the dissolution
- ModenaModenaModena is a city and comune on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy....
(Duchy of Modena) - ReggioReggio EmiliaReggio Emilia is an affluent city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has about 170,000 inhabitants and is the main comune of the Province of Reggio Emilia....
(Duchy of ReggioDuchy of ReggioThe Duchy of Reggio was one of the states that belonged to the Duchy of Modena and Reggio, ruled by the house of Este, in the north of Italy, in a territory now belonging to the Province of Reggio Emilia. The capital was Reggio....
) - GuastallaGuastallaGuastalla is a town and comune in the province of Reggio Emilia in Emilia-Romagna, Italy.-Geography:Guastalla is situated in the Po Valley, and lies on the banks of the Po River...
- FrignanoFrignanoFrignano is a comune in the Province of Caserta in the Italian region Campania, located about 20 km northwest of Naples and about 15 km southwest of Caserta. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 8,570 and an area of 9.9 km².Frignano borders the following municipalities:...
- GarfagnanaGarfagnanaGarfagnana is an historical region of Italy, today part of the province of Lucca in the Apennines, in northwest Tuscany, but before the unification of Italy it belonged to the Duchy of Modena and Reggio, ruled by the Este family. For a short time, in the 16th century, it was governed by the poet...
- LunigianaLunigianaThe Lunigiana is an historical territory of Italy, which today falls within the provinces of La Spezia and Massa Carrara. Its borders derive from the ancient Roman settlement, later the medieval diocese of Luni, which no longer exists....
- MassaMassaMassa is a town and comune in Tuscany, central Italy, the administrative centre of the province of Massa-Carrara. It is located in the Frigido River Valley, near the Alpi Apuane, some 5 kilometers from the Tyrrhenian Sea....
and CarraraCarraraCarrara is a city and comune in the province of Massa-Carrara , notable for the white or blue-grey marble quarried there. It is on the Carrione River, some west-northwest of Florence....
(Duchy of Massa and CarraraDuchy of Massa and CarraraThe Duchy of Massa and Carrara was the duchy that controlled the towns of Massa di Carrara and Carrara; the area is now part of unified Italy, but retains its local identity as the province of Massa-Carrara.-History:...
)