HIPPOLYTUS II D'ESTE. - Cardinal, born in Ferrara on 25 Aug. 1509 to Alfonso I and Lucrezia Borgia, died in Tivoli on 2 Dec. 1572. While still a boy he held the archbishopric of Milan, and subsequently those of Lyon, Orléans, etc. In 1538 he was created cardinal in pectore by Paul III and proclaimed the following year. He was entrusted with the Protection of France and represented the French party in the Sacred College.
In 1552 Henry II sent him as his lieutenant to Siena, against the Spaniards and the Medici, but Ippolito d'E. quarreled with the Strozzi and abandoned the enterprise. He fell into disfavor with Paul IV, who banished him and took from him the government of Tivoli. He returned to favor with Pius IV, who in 1561 sent him as legate a latere to Catherine of France. In 1566, when Alfonso II left Ferrara to fight against the Turks, he governed the duchy. He was a munificent patron of men of letters and artists. He began the construction of Villa d'E. at Tivoli, completed by Cardinal Luigi d'E.