Alfonso II, Margrave of Este, had first married Lucrezia, daughter of grand-duke Cosimo I of Tuscany, then after becoming a widower, Barbara, the sister of Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor, and finally a third wife, Margherita Gonzaga, daughter of the duke of Mantua.

Though he has raised the glory of Ferrara to its highest point, and has been the patron of Torquato Tasso and Giovanni Battista Guarini, favoring the arts and sciences, as the princes of his house have always done, the legitimate line ends in 1597 with him.

Emperor Rudolph II recognizes as heir his first cousin Cesare d'Este, member of a cadet branch born out of wedlock, who continue to rule in the imperial duchies and carried on the family name.

Ferrara, on the other hand, is annexed by force of arms in 1598 by Pope Clement VIII, on grounds of the heir's illegitimacy, and incorporated into the Papal States.

The Jewish community of Ferrara had played an important role when Ferrara enjoyed its greatest splendor in the fifteenth and sixteenth century, with the duke Ercole I d'Este.

It is the only Jewish community in Emilia Romagna with a continuous presence from the Middle Ages to the present day.

The princes of the house of Este had always accorded favor and protection to the Jews, and are much beloved by them.

Eleonora, a princess of this house, had inspired two Jewish poets; and when she was ill public prayers had been said in the synagogues for her restoration to health.

But misfortune overtakes the Jews of Ferrara as well; for once the principality of Ferrara is incorporated in the dominions of the Church, Clement decrees the banishment of the Jews.

An Aldobrandini relative of the pope takes possession of Ferrara in the pontiff's name.

Seeing that all the commerce is in the hands of the Jews, he complies with their request for an exemption of five years from the decree, although this is much against the pope's wish.