The Duchy of Parma and Piacenza ( it, Ducato di Parma e Piacenza, la, Ducatus Parmae et Placentiae), was an Italian state created in 1545 and located in

northern Italy Northern Italy ( it, Italia settentrionale, it, Nord Italia, label=none, it, Alta Italia, label=none or just it, Nord, label=none) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. It consists of eight administrative region ...

, in the current region of

Emilia-Romagna egl, Emigliàn (man) egl, Emiglièna (woman) rgn, Rumagnòl (man) rgn, Rumagnòla (woman) it, Emiliano (man) it, Emiliana (woman) or it, Romagnolo (man) it, Romagnola (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title ...

. Originally a realm of the

Farnese family The House of Farnese family (, also , ) was an influential family in Renaissance Italy. The titles of Duke of Parma and Piacenza and Duke of Castro were held by various members of the family. Its most important members included Pope Paul ...

after

Pope Paul III Pope Paul III ( la, Paulus III; it, Paolo III; 29 February 1468 – 10 November 1549), born Alessandro Farnese, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 October 1534 to his death in November 1549. He came to ...

made it a hereditary duchy for his son, Pier Luigi Farnese, it was ruled by the dynasty until 1731, when the last duke,

Antonio Farnese Antonio Farnese (29 November 1679 – 20 January 1731) was the eighth and final Farnese Duke of Parma and Piacenza. He married, in 1727, Enrichetta d'Este of Modena with the intention of begetting an heir. The marriage, however, was childle ...

, died without direct heirs. It was invaded by

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

and annexed by

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, having its sovereignty restored in 1814 after Napoleon’s defeat. Napoleon's wife, Marie Louise (''Maria Luigia''), then ruled as its duchess until her death. Parma was restored to Bourbon rule in 1847, and in 1859, the duchy was formally abolished as it was integrated into the new Italian state.

History

The Duchy of Parma was created in 1545 from parts of the

Duchy of Milan The Duchy of Milan ( it, Ducato di Milano; lmo, Ducaa de Milan) was a state in northern Italy, created in 1395 by Gian Galeazzo Visconti, then the lord of Milan, and a member of the important Visconti family, which had been ruling the city sin ...

south of the

Po River The Po ( , ; la, Padus or ; Ancient Ligurian: or ) is the longest river in Italy. It flows eastward across northern Italy starting from the Cottian Alps. The river's length is either or , if the Maira, a right bank tributary, is included. T ...

, which had been conquered by the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...

in 1512. These territories, centered on the city of

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, music, art, prosciutto (ham), cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 inhabitants, Parma is the second m ...

, were given as a

fief A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form ...

for

's illegitimate son, Pier Luigi Farnese. In 1556, the second Duke,

Ottavio Farnese Ottavio Farnese (9 October 1524 – 18 September 1586) reigned as Duke of Parma and Piacenza from 1547 until his death and Duke of Castro from 1545 to 1547 and from 1553 until his death. Biography Born in Valentano, Ottavio was the second ...

, was given the city of

Piacenza Piacenza (; egl, label= Piacentino, Piaṡëinsa ; ) is a city and in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy, and the capital of the eponymous province. As of 2022, Piacenza is the ninth largest city in the region by population, with over ...

, becoming thus also Duke of Piacenza, and so the state was thereafter known as the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza ( it, Ducato di Parma e Piacenza). The Farnese family continued to rule until the extinction of their male line in 1731. Because of the lack of male heirs,

Elisabeth Farnese Elisabeth Farnese ( Italian: ''Elisabetta Farnese'', Spanish: ''Isabel Farnesio''; 25 October 169211 July 1766) was Queen of Spain by marriage to King Philip V. She exerted great influence over Spain's foreign policy and was the ''de facto'' r ...

, niece of Duke Antonio Farnese, was declared the Farnese heiress. She received many marriage proposals, finally getting married in 1714 with Philip V, King of Spain. On the death of childless Duke Antonio in 1731, Philip V of Spain asserted the rights that his wife had over the duchies according to the agreements signed in the Treaty of Vienna of 1725 and the Treaty of Seville of 1729, and he claimed both for the Spanish

House of Bourbon The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a European dynasty of French origin, a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Navarre in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Spani ...

. The Duchy would thus be inherited by his first son with Elisabeth, Infante Carlos of Spain, who will reign as Duke Charles I of Parma and Piacenza. He ruled his territories for four years until the end of the

War of the Polish Succession The War of the Polish Succession ( pl, Wojna o sukcesję polską; 1733–35) was a major European conflict sparked by a Polish civil war over the succession to Augustus II of Poland, which the other European powers widened in pursuit of thei ...

, when, according to what was established in the Treaty of Vienna of 1738, he handed over both duchies to the

House of Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

in exchange for the Kingdoms of

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adm ...

and

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

. The

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

s only ruled until the conclusion of the

War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession () was a European conflict that took place between 1740 and 1748. Fought primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italy, the Atlantic and Mediterranean, related conflicts included King George ...

in 1748, whose final peace treaty, the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, ceded back the Duchy to the Bourbons in the person of Infant Philip of Spain, younger brother of Charles I. Duke Philip became the founder of the

House of Bourbon-Parma The House of Bourbon-Parma ( it, Casa di Borbone di Parma) is a cadet branch of the Spanish royal family, whose members once ruled as King of Etruria and as Duke of Parma and Piacenza, Guastalla, and Lucca. The House descended from the Fren ...

, reigning over an expanded Duchy of Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla ( it, Ducato di Parma, Piacenza e Guastalla). In 1796, the duchy was occupied by French troops under

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

, and the political situation of the state became extremely confused. Duke Ferdinand maintained his throne under French military governors until the Treaty of Aranjuez of 1801, when a general agreement between the

and Napoleon formally decided the cession of the duchy to

in exchange for

Tuscany it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Citizenship , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = Italian , demogra ...

, but the Duke lasted in Parma until he died in 1802.

The consolidation of the duchy

strove to make the duchy prosperous, to win the benevolence of the people by applying the wise measures already taken by his father and to flatter the local nobility using more moderation than Pier Luigi, he knew how to consolidate the duchy by promoting its economy and financial and commercial exchanges and cultural, it started the territorial expansion with the annexation of some fiefdoms. In 1573 the number of inhabitants of the new capital had increased considerably reaching 26,000.

Alexander Farnese Alessandro Farnese may refer to: * Pope Paul III (1468–1549), Roman Catholic Bishop of Rome *Alessandro Farnese (cardinal) (1520–1589), Paul's grandson, Roman Catholic bishop and cardinal-nephew *Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma (1545–1592), ...

, who was also an important general of the Spanish army, succeeding the leadership of the duchy, was forced by the King of Spain Philip II to appoint his seventeen-year-old son

Ranuccio I Farnese Ranuccio I Farnese (28 March 1569 – 5 March 1622) reigned as Duke of Parma, Piacenza and Castro from 1592. A firm believer in absolute monarchy, Ranuccio, in 1594, centralised the administration of Parma and Piacenza, thus rescinding the ...

, as regent, since the Spanish King did not want to deprive himself of the able and valiant general. Alessandro died far from Parma on 3 December 1592 from gangrene caused by an arquebus ball during the siege of Can de Bec, a year before his death he ordered the construction of the fortress of the Citadel with the aim of affirming the power of the family but also to provide work to a labor force of 2,500 people made up mostly of the poor sections of the city population. Ranuccio I, passionate about arts and music, makes the ducal court the first in Italy in the musical arts. During this period, the city was enriched with unique monuments, such as the

Palazzo della Pilotta The Palazzo della Pilotta is a complex of edifices located between Piazzale della Pace and the Lungoparma in the historical centre of Parma, region of Emilia Romagna, Italy. Its name derives from the game of pelota played at one time by Spanish ...

and the

Teatro Farnese Teatro Farnese is a Renaissance theatre in the Palazzo della Pilotta, Parma, Italy. It was built in 1618 by Giovanni Battista Aleotti. The idea of creating this grand theater came from the Duke of Parma and Piacenza Ranuccio I Farnese. The thea ...

, modern legislation is passed, which made Parma a center of excellence both in terms of lifestyle and as an architectural model, elevating it as a cultural capital to the same level of other important European capitals. His government was guilty of the public execution of over 100 Parma citizens accused of conspiring against him. In 1628, on the death of Ranuccio I, the duchy was passed on to his just sixteen-year-old legitimate son

Odoardo Odoardo is a given name. Notable people with the name include: * Odoardo Barri (1844–1920), the pseudonym of Edward Slater *Odoardo Beccari (1843–1920), Italian naturalist, discovered the titan arum in Sumatra in 1878 *Odoardo Borrani (1833–1 ...

, who on 11 October of the same year married the fifteen-year-old Margherita de' Medici in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...

, daughter of

Cosimo II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany Cosimo II de' Medici (12 May 1590 – 28 February 1621) was Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1609 until his death. He was the elder son of Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and Christina of Lorraine. For the majority of his twelve-y ...

. These were difficult years for the duchy, in addition to the terrible plague of 1630 which decimated the population, the new duke maintained an army of 6,000 infantry and to finance it he forced his subjects into severe deprivation, getting into debt with bankers and merchants. Despite the high expenses incurred, his first campaign was negative: Piacenza was occupied by the Spanish troops, his troops were defeated in Parma territory by

Francesco I d'Este, Duke of Modena Francesco I d'Este (6 September 1610 – 14 October 1658) was Duke of Modena and Reggio from 1629 until his death. The eldest son of Alfonso III d'Este, he became reigning duke after his father's abdication. Biography The pestilence of 1630– ...

, and the Odoardo was forced to sign a peace treaty with Spain which, one once the alliance with France was dissolved, he would have evacuated Piacenza. On his death, which took place in Piacenza on 11 September 1646 at the age of 34, the duchy passed to his son Ranuccio II and for two years the regency was ensured by his wife Margherita de' Medici and by his uncle the Cardinal

Francesco Maria Farnese Francesco Maria Farnese (15 August 1619 – 12 July 1647) was an Italian Roman Catholic cardinal. He was born in Parma, the son of Ranuccio I Farnese, duke of Parma, and Margherita Aldobrandini, niece of Pope Clement VIII. He was appointed as car ...

, until the age of eighteen. In 1691 the Duchy of Parma was invaded by the imperial troops and plundered by the four thousand soldiers who arrived in Parma with women and children; not only their maintenance fell on the subjects, but rape, abuse and violence followed one another without respite. Ranuccio II made many works to improve the situation of his subjects, but the contrast between the carefree life of the court and the coffers of the treasury was truly remarkable and to keep all the characters who rotated at the court of Parma, the duke was forced to tax everything, avoiding, however, to touch the ecclesiastical income. During his reign, Ranuccio II bought precious paintings and volumes, he moved most of the works belonging to the family collections preserved in the Roman residences to Parma and in 1688 the new Ducal Theater was inaugurated. Ranuccio II had a son destined to succeed him,

, who, however, premorted his father and therefore never governed the duchy. Three years before his death, thanks to the mediation of the ambassador Count Fabio Perletti, Odoardo had married

Countess Palatine Dorothea Sophie of Neuburg Dorothea Sophie of Neuburg (Dorothea Sophie; 5 July 1670 – 15 September 1748) was Duchess of Parma from 1695 to 1727 by marriage to Francesco, Duke of Parma. She served as Regent of the Duchy of Parma for her grandson Charles of Spain bet ...

, with whom he had two children: Alessandro, who died at the age of eight months, and Elisabeth. On 11 December 1694, upon the sudden death of Ranuccio II, the duchy then passed into the hands of the just sixteen-year-old second son

Francesco Francesco, the Italian (and original) version of the personal name "Francis", is the most common given name among males in Italy. Notable persons with that name include: People with the given name Francesco * Francesco I (disambiguation), seve ...

, who married the widow of his brother Dorothea.

Rule of Francesco Farnese

Francesco Farnese Francesco Farnese (19 May 1678 – 26 February 1727) reigned as the seventh Farnese Duke of Parma and Piacenza from 1694 until his death. Married to Dorothea Sophia of the Palatinate, his brother Odoardo's widow, to avoid the return of her dowry ...

's work fully brought the Farnese dynasty back to the center of great politics. Having inherited a disastrous financial situation, in order to try to heal it he cut all the unnecessary expenses of the court by firing most of the servants, musicians, buffoons and dwarves. He also abolished performances, court parties and banquets. A hydraulic work was built to defend the city of Piacenza from the erosion of the Po, the expansion of the University of Parma and the Collegio dei Nobili was favored, encouraging the study of public law, history, languages and geography. Artists, writers, musicians and playwrights enjoyed the protection of the Court. In 1712 the renovation works of the fortress of Colorno began, completed in 1730. In 1714 the duchy achieved an important diplomatic success when Francesco, thanks to the offices of his ambassador in Spain Giulio Alberoni, was able to give his niece Elisabeth in wife to King Philip V, who in that year became the widower of

Maria Luisa of Savoy Maria Luisa Gabriella of Savoy (17 September 1688 – 14 February 1714), nicknamed ''La Savoyana'', was Queen of Spain by marriage to Philip V. She acted as regent during her husband's absence from 1702 until 1703 and had great influence as a ...

Napoleonic era (1796-1814)

Napoleon Bonaparte was undecided about the future of the duchy, aspiring to a total engagement of the Bourbons in the European wars as his allies. Even as French laws and administration were gradually introduced, the formal annexation to the French Empire was declared only in 1808 after the outbreak of the conflict against Spain. The duchy was reformed as the ''

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. Ninety ...

'' of

Taro Taro () (''Colocasia esculenta)'' is a root vegetable. It is the most widely cultivated species of several plants in the family Araceae that are used as vegetables for their corms, leaves, and petioles. Taro corms are a food staple in Afri ...

Last decades of the duchy (1814 to 1860)

In 1814, the duchies were given to Napoleon's Habsburg wife, Marie-Louise, styled Maria-Luigia, who ruled them for the rest of her life. After Maria-Luigia's death in 1847, the Duchy was restored to the Bourbon-Parma line, which had been ruling the tiny

Duchy of Lucca The Duchy of Lucca was a small Italian state existing from 1815 to 1847. It was centered on the city of Lucca. By the Congress of Vienna of 1815 the Duchy was to revert to Tuscany on the end of its Bourbon-Parma line of rulers or when the line wou ...

. Guastalla was ceded to

Modena Modena (, , ; egl, label= Modenese, Mòdna ; ett, Mutna; la, Mutina) is a city and '' comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. A town, and seat o ...

. The Bourbons ruled until 1859, when they were driven out by a revolution following the French and Sardinian victory in the war against Austria (called Austrian War in France and Second War of Independence in Italy). The Duchy of Parma and Piacenza joined with the

Grand Duchy of Tuscany The Grand Duchy of Tuscany ( it, Granducato di Toscana; la, Magnus Ducatus Etruriae) was an Italian monarchy that existed, with interruptions, from 1569 to 1859, replacing the Republic of Florence. The grand duchy's capital was Florence. In th ...

and the

Duchy of Modena A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a medieval country, territory, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or queen in Western European tradition. There once existed an important difference between ...

to form the

United Provinces of Central Italy The United Provinces of Central Italy, also known as Confederation of Central Italy or General Government of Central Italy, was a short-lived military government established by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia. It was formed by a union of the for ...

in December 1859, and merged with the

Kingdom of Sardinia The Kingdom of Sardinia,The name of the state was originally Latin: , or when the kingdom was still considered to include Corsica. In Italian it is , in French , in Sardinian , and in Piedmontese . also referred to as the Kingdom of Savoy-S ...

into the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to ...

in March 1860 after holding a referendum.

Historical flags and coat of arms

Flag of the Duchy of Parma.svg, 1545-1731
''(Farnese)'' File:State Flag of the Duchy of Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla (1815-1847).svg, 1815-1847
(''Habsburg-Lorraine'') File:State Flag of the Duchy of Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla (1848-1849).svg, 1848-1849
(''Bourbon-Parma'') File:State Flag of the Duchy of Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla (1850-1851).svg, 1850-1851
(''Bourbon-Parma'') File:Flag of the Duchy of Parma (1851-1859).svg, 1851-1859
(''Bourbon-Parma'') File:Civil Ensign of the Duchy of Parma (1851-1859).svg, ''Civil ensign''
1851-1859
(''Bourbon-Parma'') File:Coat of Arms of the Duke Octavius Farnese (1547-1586).svg, alt=, 1545-1586
(''Farnese'') File:Coat of Arms of the Duke Ranuncius Farnese (1600-1622).svg, alt=, 1586-1731
(''Farnese'') File:Ducal Coat of Arms of Parma (1748-1802).svg, 1748-1802 File:Coat of arms of the Duchy of Parma under Maria Luigia of Austria.svg, 1814-1847
(''Habsburg-Lorraine'') File:Coat of arms of the House of Bourbon-Parma.svg, 1847-1860
(''Bourbon-Parma'')

References

* *Alessandro Cont
''Il potere della tradizione. Guillaume Du Tillot e la questione della nobiltà''
"Nuova Rivista Storica", 100, 1 (gennaio-aprile 2016), pp. 73–106

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Duchy Of Parma Modern history of Italy History of Emilia-Romagna House of Farnese 2nd millennium in Italy Italian states Papal States Italian city-states 1545 establishments in the Papal States 1859 disestablishments in Europe * *

States and territories established in 1545 States and territories disestablished in 1859 Former monarchies of Europe Former duchies