On February 2, 1502, Lucretia Borgia entered Ferrara, wife to Alphonse d'Este, son of the Duke Ercole I. She was then 22 years old, had been married twice, and each of her marriages had been dramatically cut short. She may have had two children. With her, she carried the infamous reputation of being at the same time "the daughter, the wife and the daughter in law" of pope Alexander VI.
She then spent 17 years in Ferrara, loved by her family, worshipped by the court poets, such as Strozzi, Bembo and Ariosto, revered by her subjects. She was a faithful wife, a devout woman, a mother of dukes. She died at the age of 39 while giving birth to her eighth child and was buried in Ferrara, in the convent of the Corpus Domini, her body shrouded in the habit of a tertiary franciscan. Legend has it that she committed crimes and was depraved. But the truth is that if in Rome she grew up in a corrupt court, swift to dispense with enemies by ordering their death, in Ferrara her behavior was entirely impeccable. During her life in Ferrara, the Duchy of the Este was at the climax of its political and cultural prestige, a hotbed of lasting innovation in the fields of painting, music, theater and poetry.
In 2002 Ferrara plans to celebrate the anniversary of Lucretia's arrival in the city by recalling the life of one of the most famous historical characters, both symbol and victim of the vices of her time, as the city she lived in became one of the splendours of Italian Renaissance.
The program of celebrations that will end in February 2003, will be rich in cultural, historical and scientific events which will draw on the expertise of specialists in many fields, with the support of the city and many private groups.