1 Quattrino - Clement VIII Pietro Aldobrandini legate

Clement VIII appointed his nephew Pietro Aldobrandini as papal legate to Ferrara in 1597 specifically to receive the city's surrender following the death of Alfonso II d'Este without a legitimate male heir — the duchy reverted to the Holy See under the terms of the 1567 bull *Cum non deceat*. Aldobrandini's entry into Ferrara in January 1598 effectively ended over three centuries of Este rule and brought one of northern Italy's wealthiest courts under direct papal administration. Local coinage issued in the legate's name, as here, documented that transfer of authority in copper as much as in any diplomatic instrument.