Obizzo I d'Este

Obizzo I d'Este (c. 1100–1193) succeeded his father Folco I as marquis of Este and reunited his grandfather Albert Azzo II's Italian lands. He kept on good terms with both emperor and pope.

In 1163 he aided Frederick Barbarossa against Verona and Padua, yet in 1167 joined the Lombard League against the emperor; he attended the Peace of Venice in 1177 and was named podestà of Padua the same year.

In Ferrara he led the Guelph Adelardi faction, preparing his family's rise in the city. His son Azzo V died in 1193, and when Obizzo died on Christmas Day that year, his grandson Azzo VI succeeded him.