Isabella d’Este’s Birthday

Isabella d’Este (19 May 1474 – 13 February 1539) was the Marchioness of Mantua and one of the leading women of the Italian Renaissance as a major cultural and political figure.

She was a patron of the arts as well as a leader of fashion and her innovative style of dressing was emulated by many women. The poet Ariosto labeled her as the “liberal and magnanimous Isabella”, while author Matteo Bandello described her as “supreme among women”. Diplomat Niccolò da Correggio went even further by hailing her as “The First Lady of the world”.

She served as the regent of Mantua during the absence of her husband Francesco II Gonzaga and during the minority of her son Federico. She was a prolific letter-writer and maintained a lifelong correspondence with her sister-in-law Elisabetta Gonzaga. Isabella grew up in a cultured family in the city-state of Ferrara. She received a fine classical education and she met many famous humanist scholars and artists. Due to the vast amount of extant correspondence between Isabella and her family and friends, her life is extremely well documented.

Isabella was born on Tuesday, 19 May 1474 at nine o’clock in the evening.[3] Isabella’s mother, Eleanor of Naples, wrote a letter to her friend Barbara Gonzaga describing the details of Isabella’s birth in Ferrara. Eleanor was the daughter of Ferdinand I, the Aragonese King of Naples, and Isabella of Clermont. 

One year later, on 29 June 1475, her sister Beatrice was born, and in 1476 and 1477 two brothers, Alfonso and Ferrante, were born. In 1479 and 1480 two more brothers were born; Ippolito and Sigismondo. Of all the children born into the family, Isabella is believed to have been the favourite.

In the year of her brother Ferrante’s birth, Isabella was among the children of the family who travelled to Naples with her mother. When her mother returned to Ferrara, Isabella accompanied her, while the other two children remained in Naples for many years: Beatrice was adopted by her grandfather, and her little brother Ferrante was left under the tutelage of their uncle Alfonso.