Main Page | See live article | Alphabetical index Este Italian noble family, rulers of Ferrara (1240–1597) and of Modena (1288–1796). The family took its name from the castle of Este, near Padua. The last duke, Ercole d'Este III, was deposed in 1796 by the French and died in 1803. This article is from Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.