Francesco Maria Farnese (15 August 1619 – 12 July 1647) was an Italian

Roman Catholic cardinal A cardinal is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. As titular members of the clergy of the Diocese of Rome, they serve as advisors to the pope, who is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. Ca ...

. He was born in

Parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...

, the son of

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

duke of Parma The Duke of Parma and Piacenza () was the ruler of the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza, a List of historic states of Italy, historical state of Northern Italy. It was created by Pope Paul III (Alessandro Farnese) for his son Pier Luigi Farnese, Du ...

, and Margherita Aldobrandini, niece of

Pope Clement VIII Pope Clement VIII (; ; 24 February 1536 – 3 March 1605), born Ippolito Aldobrandini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 30 January 1592 to his death in March 1605. Born in Fano, Papal States to a prominen ...

. He was appointed as cardinal by Pope

Innocent X Pope Innocent X (6 May 1574 – 7 January 1655), born Giovanni Battista Pamphilj (or Pamphili), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 September 1644 to his death, in January 1655. Born in Rome of a family fro ...

in 1644, but he never came to Rome to receive the cardinalatial hat. After the death of his brother Odoardo I Farnese in 1646, Francesco Maria acted for two years as regent of the Duchy of Parma of Piacenza for his nephew Ranuccio II. He died at Parma in 1647.

References

House of Farnese 17th-century Italian cardinals 17th-century regents Religious leaders from Parma 1619 births 1647 deaths Burials at the Sanctuary of Santa Maria della Steccata Sons of dukes Regents in the Holy Roman Empire {{Italy-RC-cardinal-stub