Alfonso d'Este, Marquis of Montecchio

Alfonso d'Este, Marquis of Montecchio (10 March 1527 – 1 November 1587) was an Italian nobleman from the House of Este.

Born at Ferrara, he was the illegitimate son of Alfonso I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara by his lover Laura Dianti.

In 1523 his father gave him Montecchio Emilia and turned it into a feudal inheritance for cadet members of his family[1] – in 1569 it was promoted to a marquessate by Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor.

[2] His first marriage followed on 3 January 1549, to Giulia della Rovere, daughter of Francesco Maria I della Rovere, Duke of Urbino and Eleonora Gonzaga.

In 1584 he married Violante Signa (1546–1609), with whom he had one daughter and a son.