The House of Este was a prominent family in the Italian city of Ferrara which flourished during the Renaissance, when they were renowned as patrons of the arts and protector to poets.
Pope Paul II elevated Marquis of Ferrara Borso d'Este to the rank of Duke in 1471. Borso's heir was Ercole I, who also became Duke of Modena and was a protector to Josquin des Prez and Pietro Rossi; his children were Isabella, Marchioness of Mantua, and his successor Alfonso I.
Alfonso's second wife was Lucrezia Borgia, daughter of Pope Alexander VI, Grand Master of the Italian Templars.[1] After Alexander's death, the secret Assassin Lodovico Ariosto lived with the Este family as the Ferraran ambassador of the Vatican.[2]
In 2012, four members of the family were included in a mnemonic set in Abstergo Industries' Project Legacy.[3]