 After she died, he married Barbara, the sister of Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor (1527–1576).His third wife, Margherita Gonzaga, was daughter of the duke of Mantua.Ercole raised the glory of Ferrara to its highest point, continuing the patron of Torquato Tasso and Giovanni Battista Guarini and in general favoring the arts and sciences, as the princes of his house had always done.