Ercole III d'Este, Duke of Modena

Ercole III d'Este (Ercole Rinaldo; 22 November 1727 – 14 October 1803) was Duke of Modena and Reggio from 1780 to 1796. He was a member of the House of Este.

Biography
He was born in Modena, the son of Duke Francesco III d'Este, Duke of Modena and Charlotte Aglaé d'Orléans, daughter of Philippe d'Orléans, Duke of Orléans and Regent of France. He was the couple's fourth child and had an older sister Maria Teresa and two brothers who died before his birth

In 1741 he married Maria Teresa Cybo-Malaspina, by which he annexed the Duchy of Massa and Carrara to the Este territories. When his parents succeeded as rulers of Modena, he was styled His Royal Highness the Hereditary Prince of Modena (1737–1780) and after 1780, His Royal Highness the Duke of Modena.

Generally appreciated by his subjects (he sometimes spoke in Modenese dialect with them), and continued the reform begun by his father. He built the two bridges at Rubiera and St. Ambrogio at Modena on the Via Emilia, and built new roads connecting to the neighbouring states. In 1785 he founded the Atesine Academy of Fine Arts: during his reign arts and culture flourished, and among his protegées were Lazzaro Spallanzani, Giambattista Venturi, Girolamo Tiraboschi, Lodovico Ricci and others.

After the death of his wife in 1790, he married morganatically in 1795 with his long-time mistress Chiara Marini (d. Treviso, 1800), whom he invested with title of Marchioness of Scandiano (only formally, without any authentic rule over this land).

The French invasion forced him to flee to Venice on 7 May 1796, carrying with him a conspicuous personal asset. Later French soldiers captured him at Venice, robbing 200,000 zecchini from his house. After this episode he moved to Treviso, where he died in 1803. The peaces of Treaty of Campo Formio (1797) and Lunéville had assigned him territories in Breisgau in exchange of the lost Duchy, but he never took possession of them.

His only legitimate daughter Maria Beatrice married Archduke Ferdinand of Austria. Their son Francis IV regained the Duchy of Modena and Reggio in 1814.

The Este Orioles House and Ercole III, Duke of Modena[edit]
The 30th of October 1798, the legitimate descendant of the Family Este Orioles, Antonino of Este Orioles, received a “Provvedimento di Giustizia" ( countersigned by the Marquis Gherardo Rangone -the Interior Minister of the House of Este ) from the Duke of Modena Ercole III of Este ,who was in exile in Venice. Ercole III granted him and the House of Este Orioles the Ducal Title and all its prerogatives. The current head of the House of Este Orioles is Duke Antonino V ; Ercole III "Provvedimento di Giustizia" is kept in the Heraldic Heritage archive of the Serenissima Ducale e Comitale Casa d’Este Orioles.

In 2013, the Italian Judiciary -via Pronouncement, ascertained that Antonino V of Este Orioles descends from Antonino I Este Orioles who received the Provvedimento di Giustizia and all the prerogatives connected to it. The Pronouncement states: “S.A.S Don Antonino V of Este Orioles (the legitimate successor) has the sovereign prerogatives of the Jus Majestatis and the Jus Honorum; He also holds the titles of Duke, Count and Lord of San Giuliano, Baron of San Piero and Forestavecchia and that of Principe of Castelforte; He has also an International legal entity status as agnate in collateral line of the Estense dynasty, which was Sovereign and already ruling the Duchy of Modena at the time of Ercole III Provvedimento di Giustizia" .

Issue

 * 1) Maria Beatrice d'Este (7 April 1750 – 14 November 1829), married Archduke Ferdinand of Austria and had issue.
 * 2) Rinaldo Francesco d'Este (4 January 1753 – 5 May 1753), died in infancy.
 * 3) Ercole Rinaldo (1770 – 16 February 1795), created Marquess of Scandiano in 1787, General in the Modena Army (died illegitimate, before the marriage of their parents).