The family, of Lombard origins, was named after Este, the town they governed after the Guelphs. Also the Este family derived from the Obertenghi line and Alberto Azzo II d'Este, died in 1197, was the founder.
Powerful, forced to fight many battles, but also learned patrons of the Renaissance who enriched the culture and architecture of their time, Este family dominated with complex events and ups and downs at first Ferrara, then the Duchy of Modena and Reggio for imperial investiture in the 15th century and, thanks to the political marriage of Ercole I in the 18th century, also the Duchy of Massa and Carrara.
After Napoleon's defeat and after the Restoration, the Este family will still rule over those territories until 1860, when Francesco V was definitively deposed and the two Duchies annexed to the Kingdom of Sardinia.
The rule of the Este family has been maintained for centuries in the territories that now belong to the Park in Emilia, covering in the end also the Tuscan slope. The Este family built rich residences and enlarged the already existing ones, like Castello dei Monti in Licciana Nardi or the 14th century Verrucole Fortress, housing among its walls Matilda and Malaspina's vassals, who came before the Este. But above all they were great patrons appreciating and spreading culture. Their court welcomed great scholars and artists like Boiardo, Ariosto, Tasso, Piero della Francesca, and Mantegna: they were commissioned new works, their intellectual company was required, and sometimes they were given political or administrative tasks, like in the case of Ariosto, who was appointed Captain of Rocca di Canossa first and then Governor of Garfagnana. Among the other tasks, the scholar also managed Abetina Reale, in the Municipality of Villa Minozzo: a forest mainly consisting of beech trees and silver firs, exploited for the production of timber through the creation of the first water sawmill. The obtained material was sold and used for various purposes, including the building of the Fortress of Alfonso II in Castelnuovo di Garfagnana in the mid-16th century.
Today, Abetina Reale offers the opportunity to stay in Segheria Mountain Hut, surrounded by the forest which includes, thanks to the long wood cultivation activity and the subsequent reforestation measures, not only centuries-old silver firs, but also spruce firs and European ashes.
Further info: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Este
