Cesare d'Este (8 October 1562 – 11 December 1628) was Duke of Modena and Reggio from 1597 until his death.

When Alfonso II died without heirs in the October 1597, Cesare claimed the duchy of Ferrara.

[1] Pope Clement VIII raised an army and Cesare, denied French assistance, retreated to Modena.

[3] Cesare's first years were troublesome: he had to face the quarrels between the Modenese and Ferrarese nobles who had come with him, the attempt at independence of Maro Pio of Sassuolo, and a war against Lucca for the possession of Garfagnana.

On 30 January 1586, Cesare married Virginia de' Medici,[4] daughter of Cosimo I de' Medici, who suffered increasing symptoms of madness until her death in 1615.