Maria d'Este (8 December 1644 – 20 August 1684) was a Modenese princess and

Duchess of Parma Duchess consort of Parma House of Farnese, 1545–1731 House of Bourbon-Anjou, 1731–1735 :None House of Habsburg, 1735–1748 House of Bourbon-Parma, 1748–1802 House of Habsburg-Lorraine, 1814–1847 House of Bourbon-Parma ...

as the wife 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 ...

. She was a daughter of

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

Maria Caterina Farnese Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial * 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 *Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, d ...

Family

Maria was the eighth child and fourth daughter of Francesco I d'Este, the reigning Duke of Modena since 1629. Her mother was a daughter of

Ranuccio I Farnese, Duke of Parma 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 n ...

Biography

Maria was born in Modena to

and his consort

. A member of the House of Este, she was a princess of Modena by birth. In order to cement relations between 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 ...

, Maria's older sister

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 ...

had been married to Ranuccio Farnese, Duke of Parma, son of

Odoardo Farnese, Duke of Parma Odoardo Farnese (28 April 1612 – 11 September 1646), also known as Odoardo I Farnese to distinguish him from his grandson Odoardo II Farnese, was Duke of Parma, Piacenza and Castro from 1622 to 1646. Biography Odoardo was the eldest legit ...

and

Margherita de' Medici Margherita de' Medici (31 May 1612 – 6 February 1679) was Duchess of Parma and Piacenza by her marriage to Odoardo Farnese, Duke of Parma. Margherita was regent of Piacenza in 1635, and regent of the entire duchy from 1646 until 1648 during ...

in 1664. Isabella died in 1666 as a result of childbirth.The child she gave birth to was

Odoardo Farnese, Hereditary Prince of Parma Odoardo Farnese (12 August 1666 – 6 September 1693) was the eldest son of Duke Ranuccio II Farnese, Duke of Parma and Piacenza. Odoardo was the ''Hereditary Prince of Parma'' from his birth until his death. He was the father of the famously dom ...

, the father of the famous

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 ...

Queen of Spain , coatofarms = File:Coat_of_Arms_of_Spanish_Monarch.svg , coatofarms_article = Coat of arms of the King of Spain , image = Felipe_VI_in_2020_(cropped).jpg , incumbent = Felipe VI , incumbentsince = 19 Ju ...

. In order to preserve the union between the two ducal houses, the unmarried Maria became Ranuccio's next consort. A wedding was signed by proxies in October 1667 and formally in Modena on 1 January 1668 she was duly married to the widowed Ranuccio Farnese. The marriage produced seven children; she also had two stillborn children. Out of the seven, three survived infancy, however none of them went on to have further children. Maria died in Parma at the age of 39. Her husband survived her by ten years. Her two youngest sons, Francesco and Antonio, each became the Duke of Parma. Antonio was the last member of the House of Farnese, the duchy of Parma going to the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

House of Bourbon in 1731. Maria 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 on 21 August 1684. She has no surviving descendants.

Issue

#Isabella Francesca Maria Lucia Farnese (14 December 1668 – 9 July 1718). She was a Benedictine nun in Santa Maria di Campagna Monastery of Piacenza; #Vittoria Maria Francesca Farnese (24 December 1669 – 15 September 1671); #A son (24 June 1671 – 28 June 1671); #Vittoria Farnese (19 November 1672), twin of Caterina; #Caterina Farnese (19 November 1672), twin of Vittoria; #A son (26 December 1674); #Eleonora Farnese (1 September 1675 – 3 November 1675); # Francesco Maria Farnese (19 May 1678 – 26 February 1727) succeeded as Duke of Parma; married Dorothea Sophie of the Palatinate, had issue; # Antonio Francesco Farnese, Duke of Parma (29 November 1679 – 20 January 1731) married

Enrichetta d'Este Princess Enrichetta d'Este (Enrichetta Maria; 27 February 1702 – 30 January 1777) was a Duchess of Parma by marriage to her cousin Antonio Farnese, Duke of Parma. She was the Regent of Parma in 1731 during her alleged pregnancy in the interr ...

, no issue.

Family

Biography

Issue

Ancestry

References and notes

See also