Isabella d'Este was Duchess of Parma, and second wife of Duke Ranuccio II Farnese

Ranuccio II Farnese, Duke of Parma

Ranuccio II Farnese was the sixth Duke of Parma and Piacenza from 1646 until his death nearly 50 years later.-Birth and Succession:...

. She was the paternal grandmother of Elisabetta Farnese.

Princess of Modena

Isabella was a daughter of the Duke of Modena Francesco I d'Este and Maria Caterina Farnese

Maria Caterina Farnese

Maria Caterina Farnese was a member of the Ducal House of Farnese. She was the Duchess of Modena as the first wife of Francesco I d'Este, Duke of Modena...

, daughter of Ranuccio I Farnese, Duke of Parma

Ranuccio I Farnese, Duke of Parma

Ranuccio I Farnese 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 nobles' hitherto vast prerogative...

. She was the sister of two Dukes of Modena, Alfonso IV d'Este (1634–1662) and Rinaldo (1655–1737). At the death of her mother, her father married again twice.

Duchess of Parma

After the death of his first wife Marguerite Yolande of Savoy, Ranuccio II married in 1663 his niece Isabella. But the couple only met on 18 February 1664, when Isabella arrived in Parma. For this occasion, a grandiose celebration and musical spectacles were organised. The couples had three children all of which would survive childhood. Only the latter Odoardo, would have issue; he was the father of Elisabeth Farnese, queen of Spain and ancestor of most modern royalty.

But the birth of her son proved fatal to Isabella, who died of complications nine days later on 21 August, at Colorno

Colorno

Colorno is a comune in the Province of Parma in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about 90 km northwest of Bologna and about 15 km north of Parma...

. She was the paternal grandmother of Elisabeth Farnese, Queen of Spain. She was buried at the Sanctuary of Santa Maria della Steccata

Sanctuary of Santa Maria della Steccata

The Shrine of Santa Maria della Steccata is a Greek-cross design Renaissance church in central Parma, Italy.-History:By 1392, the site held a small oratory to shelter a miraculous image of St. John the Baptist and was neighboring a religious confraternity that had an equally miraculous image of the...

 in the city of Parma on the 23 August. Her husband remarried in October 1668 to her sister Maria d'Este

Maria d'Este

Maria d'Este was a Modenese princess and Duchess of Parma as the wife of Ranuccio II Farnese, Duke of Parma. She was a daughter of Francesco I d'Este, Duke of Modena and Maria Caterina Farnese.-Family:...

. By her he had a further seven children as well as the last two Farnese Dukes of Parma.

Issue

• Margherita Maria Farnese
  Margherita Maria Farnese
  Margherita Maria Farnese was an Italian noblewoman born into the House of Farnese. She was the Duchess of Modena and Reggio by marriage to her first cousin Francesco II d'Este, Duke of Modena...
  
   (24 November 1664 - 17 June 1718), married 1692 Francesco II d'Este, Duke of Modena.
• Teresa Farnese (1665–1702), married 1695 Gustav II, Duke of Merten.
• Odoardo Farnese, Hereditary Prince of Parma (12 August 1666 - 1693), heir to the Duchy of Parma und Piacenza, but who died before his father. He married Countess Palatine Dorothea Sophie of Neuburg, and was the father of Isabelle Farnese, future Queen of Spain.

Ancestry

Titles and styles

• 3 October 1635 – 18 February 1664 Her Highness Isabella d'Este, Princess of Modena
• 18 February 1664 – 21 August 1666 Her Highness the Duchess of Parma

See also