Editing Isabella d'Este (section)

==== Marriage ====
As the couple had known and admired one another for many years, their mutual attraction deepened into love. Reportedly, marriage to Francesco caused Isabella to "bloom".{{sfn|Marek|1976|p=33}} At the time of her wedding, Isabella was said to have been pretty, slim, graceful, and well-dressed. {{sfn|Marek|1976|pp=33–34}} Her long, fine hair was dyed a fashionable pale blonde and her eyes were described as "brown as fir cones in autumn, scattered laughter".{{sfn|Marek|1976|p=34}}

Isabella's relationship with her husband over the years often proved to be tense, at times very tense, both for the political differences between the two and for the difficulty in procreating a male heir. In truth, Francesco for his part was always very proud of his daughters and never showed himself disappointed, indeed from the beginning he declared himself in love with the firstborn Eleonora, despite the absolute disappointment of Isabella who refused her daughter, who was then very lovingly educated by her sister-in-law Elisabetta, who because of her husband's impotence never had children. When in 1496 the second daughter Margherita was born, Isabella was so angry that she wrote to her husband, who was then fighting the French in Calabria, a letter in which she blamed him, declaring that she did nothing but reap the fruits of his sown. Francis replied that he was instead very happy with the birth of his daughter – who, however, he did not have time to know, having died in swaddling clothes – and indeed forbade anyone to show discontent with it.{{sfn|Pizzagalli|2001|pp=87–88,114–115}}

Only in 1500 their son [[Federico II Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua|Federico]] was born.{{sfn|Bini|2001|p=13}}

[[File:Francesco II Gonzaga.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Isabella's husband, [[Francesco II Gonzaga, Marquess of Mantua]]]]

In his capacity of captain general of the Venetian armies, Francesco often was required to go to [[Venice]] for conferences that left Isabella in Mantua on her own at ''La Reggia'', the ancient palace that was the [[family seat]] of the Gonzagas.{{sfn|Marek|1976|p=35}} She did not lack company, however, as she passed the time with her mother and with her sister, Beatrice. Upon meeting Elisabetta Gonzaga, her 18-year-old sister-in-law, the two women became close friends. They enjoyed reading books, playing cards, and travelling about the countryside together. Once they journeyed as far as [[Lake Garda]] during one of Francesco's absences. {{sfn|Marek|1976|p=35}}