Ercole Bevilacqua, Count of Maccastorna (1554 – 13 December 1600 in Ferrara) was an Italian nobleman, soldier and statesman.

Life

His parents were Ercole Bevilacqua (1528-1553), count of

Maccastorna Maccastorna ( Lodigiano: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Lodi in the Italian region Lombardy, located about southeast of Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city ...

and Eleonora Pio of Savoy (?-1596). He grew up at the court of cardinal

Luigi d'Este Luigi d'Este (21 December 1538 – 30 December 1586) was an Italian Catholic cardinal, the second son of the five children of Ercole II d'Este, Duke of Modena and Ferrara, and Renée de Valois, daughter of Louis XII of France. Biography Luigi, ...

and in 1574 fought in Flanders for

Charles IX of France Charles IX (Charles Maximilien; 27 June 1550 – 30 May 1574) was List of French monarchs, King of France from 1560 until his death in 1574. He ascended the French throne upon the death of his brother Francis II of France, Francis II in 1560, an ...

. He held important positions for the Este family (including privy counsellor and military and political advisor to

Alfonso II d'Este Alfonso II d'Este (22 November 1533 – 27 October 1597) was Duke of Ferrara from 1559 to 1597. He was a member of the House of Este. Biography Alfonso was the elder son of Ercole II d'Este and Renée de France, the daughter of Louis XII of F ...

) and finally in 1575 married into the family via Francesco d'Este's illegitimate daughter Bradamante d'Este (1550-1624). This also brought a rich dowry into the Bevilacqua family. In 1590 he had to leave Ferrara after Ercole Trotti discovered Bevilacqua's affair with Trotti's wife

Anna Guarini Anna Guarini, Contessa Trotti (1563 – 3 May 1598) was an Italian virtuoso singer of the late Renaissance. She was one of the most renowned singers of the age, and was one of the four '' concerto di donne'' at the Ferrara court of the d' Est ...

, a court singer. Bradamante remained in Ferrara while her husband settled in

Sassuolo Sassuolo (; ) is an Italian town, ''comune'', and industrial centre of the Province of Modena in Emilia-Romagna. Standing on the right bank of the river Secchia some southwest of Modena, the town is best known for being the centre of the Ita ...

. He only returned to Ferrara in 1598 after Alfonso's death and Ferrara's incorporation into the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; ; ), officially the State of the Church, were a conglomeration of territories on the Italian peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope from 756 to 1870. They were among the major states of Italy from the 8th c ...

,Luciano Chiappini, ''Gli Estensi'', Varese, 1988. thanks to intercession from cardinal

Bonifazio Bevilacqua Aldobrandini Bonifazio Bevilacqua Aldobrandini (1571 – 7 April 1627) was an Italian Cardinal (Catholicism), Cardinal. He was the uncle of Pope Gregory XIV. Biography In 1601, Pope Clement VIII associated Count Luigi Bevilacqua and his two brothers, Conte B ...

, a relation.

Children

Bradamante and Ercole had twelve children: *Ernesto (1578-1624), soldier in the service of the Este family, 1st Marquess of Bismantova and count of

*Carlo (1579-1640), monk *Eleonora (1580-?) *Francesco (1585-1629), soldier in the service of the Este family, 2nd Marquess of Bismantova and count of Maccastorna *Lucrezia (1587-1607) *Alessandro (1588-1606, count of Maccastorna *Camillo (1590-1593), count of Maccastorna *Sigismondo (1591-1607), Knight of Malta *Eleonora (1593-?), nun *Camilla (1595-?) *Camillo (1597-1645), count of Maccastorna and soldier in the service of the Este family *Margherita, nun

Note

Bibliography

* * Luciano Chiappini, ''Gli Estensi'', Varese, 1988. * Luigi Ughi, ''Dizionario storico degli uomini illustri ferraresi'', Ferrara, 1804.

External links

Love and death in the age of the d'Estes.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bevilacqua, Ercole House of Este 1554 births 1600 deaths