Roberto Fontana art agent in Milan and the collection of Francesco I d’Este

The article is focused on the correspondence between the duke of Modena Francesco I d’Este (1610-1658) and the abbot Roberto Fontana (†1654), his ambassador and art agent in Milan for a long time. Well introduced among the Milanese collectors, Fontana procured important paintings of Giulio Cesare Procaccini, Morazzone and Francesco Cairo for the duke. In the paper is put in evidence the pivotal role played by Fontana as intermediary between Francesco I and the marquis of Leganès - one of the most important collectors of the Seventeenth Century- at that time in Milan as governor for the Spanish crown, to whom the duke of Modena gifted pictures by Guido Reni and Guercino