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Cesare d'Este, Duke of Modena

Ferrara, 1562 – Modena, 11 Dec 1628

7 facts1 source

Facts and their sources

  • Born1562, FerraraRecords disagree1 source
  • TitleDuke of Ferrara and of Modena, 1597–1628not verified1 source
  • Died11 Dec 1628, Modenanot verified1 source

A life in time

  1. 1562

    Born in Ferrara

  2. 22 Oct 1591

    A son is born

  3. 1597–1628

    Duke of Ferrara and of Modena

  4. 11 Dec 1628

    Dies in Modena

Family

See the tree

Partner

Children · 1

During his lifetime

He lived through 7 decades. Pick one to hear and see what it was like around Ferrara.

General history, not a record about the family: each item says where it comes from.

The 1560s · Cesare is born in Ferrara

In the news1561

Mandatory salt tax introduced

In 1561, the Duke imposed a mandatory salt tax requiring every person to purchase about 11.4 kilograms of salt annually, with the poor exempted.

Getting around

Network of roads and mule tracks

The region relied on a network of paths and roads, including the major Via Emilia that connected Parma and Piacenza, while others like the route to Spezia were mountain mule tracks. Carriageable roads existed for local travel, such as the route between Piacenza, Rivergaro, and Travi.

In the news1562

Capital moved to Turin

The capital of the Duchy was transferred from Chambéry to Turin in 1562, leading to the eventual marginalization of the Savoyard lands.

Daily life

Storing water and cooking on the floor

Water was kept in wooden buckets reinforced with iron rings, and because drinking pure water was often feared, it was typically mixed with wine. Cooking took place over a fire built directly on the floor, using a chain to hang a single cooking pot.

What people wore

Everyday village clothing for women

In the sixteenth-century villages of the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza, women's daily attire consistently included a shirt (camicia), a dress (veste), a veil, a cap (scuffia), and an apron (scossale).

Music

Chamber Music Instruments in Noble Homes

For indoor entertainment, noble households enjoyed soft-sounding instruments such as lutes, viols, and flutes, which were well-suited for chamber music and accompanying dances.

At the table

Daily Meat and Friday Fish Habits

Ordinary families frequently consumed meat, which they bought daily, while adhering to the religious practice of abstaining from meat on Fridays by eating freshwater fish like frogs, crayfish, eels, tench, carp, and pike.