Renaissance Italy

The poem is set in Renaissance Italy, though it was composed in Victorian England. This setting is identifiable from the poem's original title ("Italy"), the reference to an Italian sculptor of the era, and the references to historical events that took place in the Italian duchy of Ferrara in the late sixteenth century. The events described in the poem closely mirror the life of Alfonso II d'Este, duke of Ferrara, further situating the poem in this era.

Renaissance Italy was a place categorized by both phenomenal cultural and artistic activity and political conflict. Some of history's most celebrated artists, writers, and thinkers, like Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Machiavelli, and Petrarch worked during this period. There was also constant conflict between different political factions striving to rule Italy's thriving cities. One way these families struggled for power was through the marriage of their children.

The historical d'Este's marriages...