Francesco Farnese (19 May 1678 – 26 February 1727) reigned as the seventh Farnese

Duke of Parma and Piacenza The Duke of Parma and Piacenza () was the ruler of the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza, a historical state of Northern Italy, which existed between 1545 and 1802, and again from 1814 to 1859. The Duke of Parma was also Duke of Piacenza, excep ...

from 1694 until his death. Married to Dorothea Sophia of the Palatinate, his brother Odoardo's widow, to avoid the return of her dowry, Francesco curtailed court expenditure, enormous under his father and predecessor, Ranuccio II, while preventing the occupation of his Duchy of Parma, nominally a Papal fief, during the

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...

.Solari, p 259. The second son of Ranuccio II Farnese and Maria d'Este of Modena, the Duke, despite his efforts otherwise, saw Parma declared a fief of the Duchy of Milan, an Austrian province in Italy, towards the end of the war.Armstrong, p 6. His inability to produce offspring, combined with his brother Antonio's barrenness, lead to the accession of his niece the Queen of Spain's eldest son,

Don Carlos ''Don Carlos'' is a five-act grand opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi to a French-language libretto by Joseph Méry and Camille du Locle, based on the dramatic play '' Don Carlos, Infant von Spanien'' (''Don Carlos, Infante of Spain'') by Fried ...

, in 1731.

Biography

The second son of Ranuccio II Farnese and Maria d'Este of Modena, Francesco, born in 1678, ascended to his father's domain at the age of 16 on 11 December 1694. Ranuccio II left Parma, a small, land-locked northern-Italian duchy of little political significance, saturated in debt, largely thanks to his extravagant court. Therefore, rather than see her dowry revert to her brother the

Elector Palatine The counts palatine of Lotharingia /counts palatine of the Rhine /electors of the Palatinate (german: Kurfürst von der Pfalz) ruled some part of Rhine area in the Kingdom of Germany and the Holy Roman Empire from 915 to 1803. The title was a kind ...

, Francesco married his brother Odoardo's cranky widow, Dorothea Sophia of Neuburg. In 1700, upon the death of

Charles II of Spain Charles II of Spain (''Spanish: Carlos II,'' 6 November 1661 – 1 November 1700), known as the Bewitched (''Spanish: El Hechizado''), was the last Habsburg ruler of the Spanish Empire. Best remembered for his physical disabilities and the War ...

without an ostensible heir, the

broke out between France and Austria. Duke Francesco, anxious to keep foreign troops out of his duchy, adopted a policy of neutrality; Prince Eugene of Savoy occupied parts of the Farnese territories, however.Solari, p 262. When Francesco complained to Prince Eugene's employer, the Austrian Emperor Leopold I, of this, the Emperor replied that he would be duly compensated at a later date. Towards the end of the war, Austria, now ruled by Leopold's son

Joseph I Joseph I or Josef I may refer to: *Joseph I of Constantinople, Ecumenical Patriarch in 1266–1275 and 1282–1283 * Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor (1678–1711) *Joseph I (Chaldean Patriarch) (reigned 1681–1696) *Joseph I of Portugal (1750–1777) ...

, disregarded its promise of reparations and, as part of a concordat with the church, declared Parma its fief. With the help of

Giulio Alberoni Giulio Alberoni (30 May 1664 OS – 26 June NS 1752) was an Italian cardinal and statesman in the service of Philip V of Spain. Early years He was born near Piacenza, probably at the village of Fiorenzuola d'Arda in the Duchy of Parma. His fat ...

, Francesco married his pock-marked niece and stepdaughter, Elisabetta, to

Philip V of Spain Philip V ( es, Felipe; 19 December 1683 – 9 July 1746) was King of Spain from 1 November 1700 to 14 January 1724, and again from 6 September 1724 to his death in 1746. His total reign of 45 years is the longest in the history of the Spanish mon ...

, the French claimant to the thrones of Spain, in 1714. Francesco wanted Elisabetta's eldest son,

, to ascend the Farnese dominions when his brother and heir, Antonio, died. Francesco, therefore, tried to dissuade Antonio from marrying and perpetuating his line, a plan which worked for the duration of Francesco's lifetime. Antonio, though married to Enrichetta d'Este of Modena, died childless in 1731, paving the way for Don Carlos's accession. Don Carlos, however, left Parma four years later for the Kingdom of Naples, bringing with him all the Farnese treasures, including the Ducal Palace's marble staircase.Acton, p 28.

Ancestors

References

Citations

Bibliography

*Armstrong, Edward (1892). ''Elisabeth Farnese: "The Termagent of Spain"''. Longmans, Green, & Co: New York. *Solari, Giovanna (1968). ''The House of Farnese: A Portrait of a Great Family of the Renaissance''. Doubleday & Company: New York. *Acton, Harold (1956). ''The Bourbons of Naples (1734–1825)''. Methuen & Co: London.

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Farnese, Francesco 1678 births 1727 deaths Francesco Francesco Francesco Francesco Burials at the Sanctuary of Santa Maria della Steccata