Ranuccio II Farnese

Ranuccio II Farnese
Portrait of Ranuccio II by Jacob Denys
Duke of Parma and Piacenza
Reign	11 September 1646 – 11 December 1694
Predecessor	Odoardo
Successor	Francesco
Regents	1646–1648: Francesco Maria Farnese Margherita de' Medici
Born	(1630-09-17)17 September 1630 Parma
Died	11 December 1694(1694-12-11) (aged 64) Parma
Burial	Sanctuary of Santa Maria della Steccata
Spouse	Margaret Yolande of Savoy Isabella d'Este Maria d'Este
Issue	Margherita Maria Odoardo Francesco Antonio
House	Farnese
Father	Odoardo Farnese, Duke of Parma
Mother	Margherita de' Medici

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 eldest son of Odoardo Farnese, the fifth sovereign duke of Parma, and his Tuscan wife, Margherita de' Medici. After his father's sudden death, Ranuccio succeeded as duke. As he was a minor and had not yet reached his majority, he ruled the first two years of his reign under the regency of his uncle, Francesco Maria Farnese and his mother.

Ranuccio belonged to the House of Farnese, whose duchy were founded by his patrilineal ancestor, Pope Paul III, formerly Alessandro Farnese. The Farnese Dukes had been ruling Parma and Piacenza since Pope Paul's illegitimate son Pier Luigi Farnese was given it as a possession. Pier Luigi was also Duke of Castro, a title he was bestowed upon by his father, after the latter created it from the lands recovered after the death of Ranuccio the Elder, Pier Luigi's younger brother.

Conflicts with the Papacy

Pope Innocent X, conqueror and destructor of Castro

During Odoardo's reign the declining Duchy had been involved in the Wars of Castro, over the above-mentioned duchy of Castro, which was a Farnese fief in the Papal States, north of Rome, which the powerful Pope Urban VIII's family, the Barberini, was eager to acquire. They found the excuse when Odoardo was unable to repay his creditors, from whom he had incurred debts. Urban responded to the creditors' plea for help and had Castro occupied. However, the first war ended with Papal defeat.

Ranuccio refused to repay the debts incurred by his father, despite the latter having a signed a peace treaty agreeing to do so. He also refused to recognise the new bishop of Castro, appointed by Urban's successor, Innocent X. In 1649, the new bishop, Cardinal Cristoforo Giarda, was murdered on his way to Castro. Innocent accused Ranuccio of the murder and in retaliation, forces loyal to the Pope besieged Castro, and then razed it to the ground. In August of that same year the Parmense troops had been crushed not far from Bologna, and Ranuccio remained with no means to gain back his fief, despite his attempts to buy it back with money.

In 1672 he bought the principate of Bardi and Compiano from Gianandrea Doria Landi, giving the Duchy its final shape. In the last days of his reign, the Duchy suffered heavily from the presence of Imperial troops, who were fighting in the dispute between Victor Amadeus II of Savoy and France.

Family

Margaret Yolande, Ranuccio's first wife

Ranuccio II was married three times:

On 29 April 1660, Ranuccio married firstly Marguerite Yolande of Savoy (b. 15 November 1635 – d. 29 April 1663), a daughter of Victor Amadeus I, Duke of Savoy and Christine Marie of France. They had two children:

Name of child	Lifespan	Marriages and Issue
unnamed daughter	14 December 1661 – 14 December 1661	None
unnamed son	27 April 1663 – 28 April 1663	None

On 18 February 1664 Ranuccio married secondly Isabella d'Este of Modena (b. 3 October 1635 – d. 17 August 1666), a daughter of Francesco I d'Este and his cousin. They had three children:

Name of child	Lifespan	Marriages and Issue
Margherita Maria Farnese	24 November 1664 – 17 June 1718	Francesco II d'Este, Duke of Modena, no issue
Teresa Farnese	10 October 1665 – 9 November 1702	Never Married; Benedictine nun in Sant’ Alessandro Monastery of Parma
Odoardo Farnese, Hereditary Prince of Parma	12 August 1666 – 6 September 1693	Countess Palatine Dorothea Sophie of Neuburg, had issue

On 1 January 1668 he married Maria d'Este of Modena, (b. 8 December 1644 – d. 20 August 1684), his second wife's sister. They had nine children:

Name of child	Lifespan	Marriages and Issue
Isabella Francesca Maria Lucia	14 December 1668 – 9 July 1718	Never Married; Benedictine nun in Santa Maria di Campagna Monastery of Piacenza.
Vittoria Maria Francesca Farnese	24 December 1669 – 15 September 1671
Unnamed illegitimate son	24 June 1671 – 28 June 1696
Vittoria Farnese	19 November 1672 – 19 November 1672
Caterina Farnese	19 November 1672 – 19 November 1672
Unnamed son	26 December 1674 – 26 December 1674
Eleonora Farnese	1 September 1675 – 3 November 1675
Francesco Farnese, Duke of Parma	19 May 1678 – 26 February 1727	Countess Palatine Dorothea Sophie of Neuburg, no issue
Antonio, Duke of Parma	29 November 1679 – 20 January 1731	Enrichetta d'Este, no issue

Ancestry

Ancestors of Ranuccio II Farnese, Duke of Parma

16. Ottavio Farnese, Duke of Parma 8. Alessandro Farnese, Duke of Parma 17. Margaret of Austria 4. Ranuccio I Farnese, Duke of Parma 18. Edward, Duke of Guimarães 9. Maria of Portugal 19. Isabel of Braganza 2. Odoardo Farnese, Duke of Parma 20. Giorgio Aldobrandini 10. Giovanni Francesco Aldobrandini 21. Margherita del Corno 5. Margherita Aldobrandini 22. Pietro Aldobrandini 11. Olimpia Aldobrandini 23. Flaminia Ferracci 1. Ranuccio II Farnese, Duke of Parma 24. Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany 12. Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany 25. Eleanor of Toledo 6. Cosimo II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany 26. Charles III, Duke of Lorraine 13. Christina of Lorraine 27. Claude of Valois 3. Margherita de' Medici 28. Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor 14. Charles II, Archduke of Inner Austria 29. Anne of Bohemia and Hungary 7. Maria Magdalena of Austria 30. Albert V, Duke of Bavaria 15. Maria Anna of Bavaria 31. Anna of Austria

References

• https://web.archive.org/web/20050204142743/http://www.comune.piacenza.it/english/history/Ifarnese.htm (Retrieved January 23, 2005)
• http://www.italycyberguide.com/History/factspersons/wxyz.htm (Retrieved January 23, 2005)
• http://page.freett.com/mako_vl/name/hausf.html (Retrieved January 23, 2005)