Beatrice d'Este | |
|---|---|
 Miniature of Beatrice at the age of 18, by Giovanni Pietro Birago. | |
| Born | 29 June 1475 Ferrara, Duchy of Ferrara |
| Died | 3 January 1497 (aged 21) Milan, Duchy of Milan |
| Noble family | Este |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Issue | Massimiliano Sforza Francesco II Sforza |
| Father | Ercole I d'Este |
| Mother | Leonora of Naples |
| Signature |  |
Beatrice d'Este (29 June 1475 – 3 January 1497) was Duchess of Bari and Milan by marriage to Ludovico Sforza (known as "il Moro"). She was known as a woman of culture, an important patron and a leader in fashion: alongside her illustrious husband she made Milan one of the greatest capitals of the European Renaissance.[1][2] With her own determination and bellicose nature, she was the soul of the Milanese resistance against the enemy French during the first of the Italian Wars, when her intervention was able to repel the threats of the Duke of Orléans, who was on the verge of conquering Milan.[3][4]
"She [...] showing the courage of a man, and that a stout-hearted one, in face of danger. [...] She was indeed a "virago", in the honourable mediaeval sense of the word. A woman, as Gregorovius defines it, raised by courage and understanding above the level of her sex".[5]
- ^ Malaguzzi Valeri 1913, pp. 35–37.
- ^ Calmeta 1504, p. 25.
- ^ Giarelli 1889, p. 292; Pirovano 1830, p. 27; Préchac 1817, p. 160; Mòrbio 1834, p. 130; Il mondo illustrato, p. 395.
- ^ Sanuto 1883b, p. 438.
- ^ "A fiftheenth-century virago" in The Saturday Review 1900-04-21: Vol 89 Iss 2321, p. 496.