Parisina Malatesta

Giuseppe Bertini, Parisina, 1854

Laura Malatesta[1] (1404 – 21 May 1425), better known as Parisina Malatesta, was an Italian marchioness. She was the daughter of Andrea Malatesta, lord of Cesena,[2] and his second wife, Lucrezia Ordelaffi.[3] She had an affair with her illegitimate stepson, Ugo d'Este, and both were beheaded by her husband, Marquis Niccolò III d'Este of Ferrara.

Edward Gibbon acquainted English readers with the story in 1796, after which Lord Byron wrote the poem Parisina, which was followed by operas of the same name by Donizetti and Mascagni.

  1. ^ "Castello Estense — Italiano" (in Italian). Castelloestense.it. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
  2. ^ "Tutto quel che accade". Archived from the original on 26 August 2011. Retrieved 14 May 2011.
  3. ^ "Comune di Rimini - la storia - Donne di Rimini - Amore e morte alla corte dei Malatesti". Archived from the original on 15 December 2012. Retrieved 15 December 2012.