Duke of Parma and Piacenza from 1622?1646
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
[
edit
]
Odoardo Farnese depicted on a gold 2 doppie coin (1626).
Odoardo was the eldest legitimate son of
Ranuccio I Farnese
and
Margherita Aldobrandini
. After Ranuccio's natural son and his potential rival,
Ottavio
, was relegated in a prison, he reigned initially under the regency of his uncle
Odoardo Farnese
and, after the latter's death, of his mother, Margherita Aldobrandini.
[1]
Margherita de' Medici
He came of age in 1628 and in the same year he married
Margherita de' Medici
, Grand Duke of Tuscany
Cosimo II de' Medici
's daughter. His first notable act as Duke was an alliance with
France
in 1633, a move designed to counter
Spanish
predominance in northern Italy and support his territorial ambitions. He also asked for loans to improve the army, but his first campaigns were ineffective:
Piacenza
was occupied by the Spanish troops, and his army was defeated by
Francesco I d'Este
. Spanish troops overran the duchy and devastated the countryside, but did not attempt to lay siege to the cities. In the absence of French assistance, Odoardo was convinced by
Pope Urban VIII
to sign a treaty of peace with Spain in 1637.
[1]
His aggressive rule of
Castro
, a Farnese
fief
in the
Papal States
north of
Rome
, who the
Barberini
(Pope Urban's family) were eager to acquire, caused Odoardo to be
excommunicated
in 1641.
[2]
Instead of reconciliation, he sought alliances with
Venice
,
Florence
and the
Duchy of Modena
, and invaded northern
Lazio
with 7,000 troops. His army was composed mostly of cavalry, and were unable to recover Castro by siege. Although the Farnese fleet was destroyed and the Duke often proved recalcitrant, in the peace of 1644, the city of Castro was returned to him and Odoardo was reconciled with the
Roman Catholic Church
and readmitted to the
Sacraments
.
[2]
Odoardo died suddenly in
Piacenza
, his favorite residence, on 11 September 1646.
[1]
Marriage and children
[
edit
]
Odoardo Farnese married
Margherita de Medici
(31 May 1612 ? 6 February 1679) on 11 October 1628, the daughter of
Cosimo II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany
. They had the following children:
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
Odoardo Farnese, Duke of Parma
Born:
28 April 1612
Died:
11 September 1646
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Duke of Parma
and
Piacenza
1622?1646
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Princes of Parma
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