Margherita Maria Farnese (24 November 1664 – 17 June 1718) was an Italian noblewoman born into the

House of Farnese 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 II ...

. She was the Duchess of Modena and Reggio by marriage to her first cousin

Francesco II d'Este, Duke of Modena Francesco II d'Este (6 March 1660 – 6 September 1694) was Duke of Modena and Reggio from 1662 to 1694. Biography He was born in Modena to Alfonso IV d'Este, duke of Modena, and Laura Martinozzi, niece of Cardinal Mazarin. His sister, Mary of ...

. Her niece was

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 ...

, wife of

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 ...

Biography

Margherita Maria was the eldest child of

Ranuccio II Farnese, Duke of Parma Ranuccio II Farnese (17 September 1630 – 11 December 1694) was the sixth Duke of Parma and Piacenza from 1646 until his death nearly 50 years later and Duke of Castro from 1646 until 1649. Biography Birth and Succession Ranuccio was the elde ...

and his second wife

Isabella d'Este Isabella d'Este (19 May 1474 – 13 February 1539) was Marchioness of Mantua and one of the leading women of the Italian Renaissance as a major cultural and political figure. She was a patron of the arts as well as a leader of fashion, whos ...

. Her mother died in childbirth in 1666 after giving birth to Odoardo, Hereditary Prince of Parma (father of the famous

, Queen of Spain). Her father Ranuccio had previously been married to Margaret Yolande of Savoy but the marriage produced no surviving issue; as such, Margherita Maria was the first of Ranuccio's children to survive infancy. Her younger half brothers Francesco Farnese and Antonio Farnese were successively the rulers of Parma. When the latter died, the House of Farnese became extinct. Her father married her aunt Maria d'Este with whom he had nine further children. She was married to her cousin

who had previously been part of a Franco-Modenese alliance proposed with Francesco and a princess of Lorraine named Béatrice Hiéronyme de Lorraine but the marriage never materialised. Francesco was the son of the late Alfonso IV d'Este, Duke of Modena and

Laura Martinozzi Laura Martinozzi (27 May 1639 – 19 July 1687) was a Duchess consort of Modena by marriage to Alfonso IV d'Este, Duke of Modena. She served as regent of Modena during the minority of her son Francesco from 1662 until 1674. Biography Early life ...

, niece of

Cardinal Mazarin Cardinal Jules Mazarin (, also , , ; 14 July 1602 – 9 March 1661), born Giulio Raimondo Mazzarino () or Mazarini, was an Italian cardinal, diplomat and politician who served as the chief minister to the Kings of France Louis XIII and Louis X ...

. He was also the brother of Mary of Modena, second wife of

James II of England James VII and II (14 October 1633 16 September 1701) was King of England and King of Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685. He was deposed in the Glorious Re ...

She married Francesco 14 July 1692 in

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 mos ...

. The couple had no children, Francesco dying in 1694 after just two years of marriage of

gout Gout ( ) is a form of inflammatory arthritis characterized by recurrent attacks of a red, tender, hot and swollen joint, caused by deposition of monosodium urate monohydrate crystals. Pain typically comes on rapidly, reaching maximal intens ...

and

polyarthritis Polyarthritis is any type of arthritis that involves 5 or more joints simultaneously. It is usually associated with autoimmune conditions and may be experienced at any age and is not sex specific. Causes Polyarthritis is most often caused by an au ...

. The widowed Duchess of Modena retired to her native

where she died in the summer of 1718 at the Ducal Palace of Colorno, the summer residence of the Farnese. She was buried at the

Sanctuary of Santa Maria della Steccata The Shrine of Santa Maria della Steccata is a Greek-cross design Renaissance church in central Parma, Italy. The name derives from the fence (Italian: ''steccato'') in the church. A Nursing Madonna is enshrined within, crowned on 27 May 1601 by ...

in Parma.

Ancestors

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Farnese, Margherita Maria Margherita Maria Nobility from Parma 1664 births 1718 deaths House of Este Margherita Maria Margherita 17th-century Italian nobility 17th-century Italian women 18th-century Italian women Burials at the Sanctuary of Santa Maria della Steccata