High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Margherita Gonzaga d`Este, Duchess of Ferrara (May 27, 1564 – January 6, 1618) was an Italian noblewoman, the daughter of William I, Duke of Mantua (Guglielmo Gonzaga) and Eleonora of Austria, and the sister of Vincent I, Duke of Mantua and Anna Caterina Gonzaga. She was the wife of Alfonso II d`Este, Duke of Ferrara and Modena, whom she married in February 1579. This was the duke`s third marriage, and it was hoped that she would produce a male heir. She did not, which partially led to the city of Ferrara`s acquisition by the Papal States.