In 1424, during a trip with his stepmother, they developed a sexual relationship that went on even when the two returned to Ferrara. Other sources report a different beginning to the affair: to escape the plague of 1423, they took refuge in the
castello di Fossadalbero and there in the small castle their relationship was born. A maid reported the affair to Niccolò, who spied on the lovers and had them imprisoned in the castle in Ferrara where they were sentenced to death by decapitation. Edward Gibbon told this story in his
Miscellaneous Works, and
George Byron wrote the poem
Parisina in 1816. A libretto by
Felice Romani after the English poem was set to music by
Gaetano Donizetti in 1833 as
Parisina.
Pietro Mascagni composed a tragic opera
Parisina based on the lyric tragedy written by
Gabriele D'Annunzio in 1912 as another adaptation of Byron's poem. There is also a lesser-known opera by
Tomás Giribaldi (1878) and a tragedy by
Antonio Somma. After Ugo's death, his younger brother
Leonello, also a son of Stella, succeeded his father. Another younger brother,
Borso, also later became ruler of Ferrara. ==References==