For the illegitimate son of Ranuccio I Farnese, see Ottavio Farnese (1598-1643)

Ottavio Farnese (1598-1643)

Ottavio Farnese was an Italian nobleman. He was an illegitimate son of Ranuccio I Farnese, Duke of Parma by his lover Briseide Ceretoli, daughter of colonel Ottavio Ceretoli - the couple also had an illegitimate daughter, Isabella.In 1600 Ranuccio married Margherita Aldobrandini, grandchild of...

.

Ottavio Farnese (9 October 1524 – 18 September 1586) reigned as Duke of Parma and Piacenza from 1547 and Duke of Castro

Castro (city)

Castro was an ancient city on the west side of Lake Bolsena in the present-day comune of Ischia di Castro, northern Lazio, Italy. It was destroyed at the conclusion of the Wars of Castro in the 17th century.-Early history:...

 from 1545 until his death.

Biography

Born in Valentano

Valentano

thumb|250px|View of Valentano.Valentano is a town and comune of the province of Viterbo, in the Lazio region of central Italy. It is 33 km from the provincial capital, Viterbo.left|thumb|220px|Rocca Farnese in Valentano....

, he was the second son of Pierluigi Farnese, Duke of Parma and Piacenza

Piacenza

Piacenza is a city and comune in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Piacenza...

, grandson of Pope Paul III

Pope Paul III

Pope Paul III , born Alessandro Farnese, was Pope of the Roman Catholic Church from 1534 to his death in 1549. He came to the papal throne in an era following the sack of Rome in 1527 and rife with uncertainties in the Catholic Church following the Protestant Reformation...

, and brother to Cardinal Ranuccio Farnese

Ranuccio Farnese (Cardinal)

Ranuccio Farnese was an Italian prelate, who was Cardinal of Santa Lucia in Messina, Sicily from 1545 to his death in 1565....

.

On 4 November 1538 he married Margaret of Austria

Margaret of Parma

Margaret, Duchess of Parma , Governor of the Netherlands from 1559 to 1567 and from 1578 to 1582, was the illegitimate daughter of Charles V and Johanna Maria van der Gheynst...

, the illegitimate daughter of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor

Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...

. Ottavio was 14 years old, while Margaret, recently widowed by the death of Alessandro de' Medici, was 15. At first she disliked her youthful bridegroom, but when he returned wounded from an expedition to Algiers

Algiers

' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...

 in 1541 her aversion was turned to affection.
Farnese had become lord of Camerino

Camerino

Camerino is a small town of 7.135 inhabitants in the Marches , in the province of Macerata, Italy. It is located in the Apennines bordering Umbria, between the valleys of the rivers Potenza and Chienti, about 40 miles from Ancona....

 in 1540, but he gave up that fief

Fiefdom

A fee was the central element of feudalism and consisted of heritable lands granted under one of several varieties of feudal tenure by an overlord to a vassal who held it in fealty in return for a form of feudal allegiance and service, usually given by the...

 when his father became duke of Parma

Parma

Parma is a city in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna famous for its ham, its cheese, its architecture and the fine countryside around it. This is the home of the University of Parma, one of the oldest universities in the world....

 in 1545. After the Parmesan nobility assassinated Pierluigi Farnese in 1547, troops of the Emperor occupied Piacenza

Piacenza

Piacenza is a city and comune in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Piacenza...

. Pope Paul III attempted to regain Piacenza; he set aside Ottavio's claims to the succession of Parma, where he appointed a papal legate

Papal legate

A papal legate – from the Latin, authentic Roman title Legatus – is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic Church. He is empowered on matters of Catholic Faith and for the settlement of ecclesiastical matters....

, giving him back Camerino in exchange, and then claimed Piacenza from the emperor — not for the Farnese, but for the Church.

Farnese attempted to seize Parma by force, and having failed, entered into negotiations with Ferrante Gonzaga

Ferrante Gonzaga

Ferrante I Gonzaga was an Italian condottiero, a member of the House of Gonzaga and the founder of the branch of the Gonzaga of Guastalla.-Biography:...

. This rebellion on the part of his grandson is believed to have hastened the Pope's death on 10 November 1549. During the interregnum

Interregnum

An interregnum is a period of discontinuity or "gap" in a government, organization, or social order...

 that followed, Ottavio again tried to induce the governor of Parma to give up the city to him, but met with no better success; however, on the election of Giovanni Maria Giocchi to the papacy as Julius III

Pope Julius III

Pope Julius III , born Giovanni Maria Ciocchi del Monte, was Pope from 7 February 1550 to 1555....

, the duchy was conferred on him in 1551.

This did not end Farnese's quarrel with the Emperor Charles V, for Gonzaga refused to give up Piacenza and even threatened to occupy Parma, so that Ottavio was driven into the arms of France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

. Julius III, who was anxious to be on good terms with Charles V on account of the Council of Trent

Council of Trent

The Council of Trent was the 16th-century Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church. It is considered to be one of the Church's most important councils. It convened in Trent between December 13, 1545, and December 4, 1563 in twenty-five sessions for three periods...

 which was then sitting, ordered Farnese to hand Parma over to the papal authorities once more, and on his refusal hurled censures and admonitions at his head, and deprived him of his Roman fiefs, while Charles did the same with regard to those in Lombardy

Lombardy

Lombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region, making it the most populous and richest region in the country and one of the richest in the whole of Europe...

. A French army came to protect Parma, war broke out, and Gonzaga at once laid siege to the city. But the duke came to an arrangement with his father-in-law, by which he regained Piacenza and his other fiefs. The rest of his life was spent quietly at home, where the moderation and wisdom of his rule won for him the affection of his people.

At his death in 1586 his only legitimate son Alessandro succeeded him.

Issue

On August 27, 1545, his wife Margherita

Margaret of Parma

Margaret, Duchess of Parma , Governor of the Netherlands from 1559 to 1567 and from 1578 to 1582, was the illegitimate daughter of Charles V and Johanna Maria van der Gheynst...

 gave birth to twin boys:

• Carlo
• Alessandro
  Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma
  Alexander Farnese was Duke of Parma and Piacenza from 1586 to 1592, and Governor of the Spanish Netherlands from 1578 to 1592.-Biography:...
  
  

Only the latter survived infancy.

He also had two other daughters:

• Violante, married to Torquato Conti(c. 1520-c. 1575) and had issue,
• Ersilia (1565–1596), married to Renato Borromeo, Conte di Arona (1555–1608), first cousin of St. Charles Borromeo, and had issue.