The Duke of Parma and Piacenza (Italian: duca di Parma e Piacenza) was the ruler of the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza, a historical state of Northern Italy. It was created by Pope Paul III (Alessandro Farnese) for his son Pier Luigi Farnese.[1] It existed between 1545 and 1802, and again from 1814 to 1859.

Duke of Parma and Piacenza
Coat of arms of the House of Bourbon-Parma as Dukes of Parma and Piacenza.
(1848-1859)
Details
StyleRoyal Highness
First monarchPier Luigi Farnese
Last monarchRobert I
Formation16 September 1545
Abolition3 December 1859
Pretender(s)Carlos, Duke of Parma

The Duke of Parma was also Duke of Piacenza, except for the first years of the rule of Ottavio Farnese (1549–1556), and the time of the Napoleonic wars, when the two were established as separate positions held by two different individuals. The Duke of Parma also usually held the title of Duke of Guastalla from 1746 (when Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor occupied the Duchy of Guastalla after the last Gonzaga duke died childless) until 1847 (when the territory was ceded to Modena), except for the Napoleonic era, when Napoleon's sister Pauline was briefly Duchess of Guastalla and of Varella. The last duke, Robert I, was driven from power in a revolution following France and Sardinia's victory over Austria. Its territory was merged into Sardinia in 1860.

The position is currently claimed by a member of the House of Bourbon-Parma. A recent pretender to the extinct Parmese throne, the late Carlos-Hugo, was also a pretender to the Spanish throne in the 1970s (see Carlism).

Reigning Dukes of Parma and Piacenza (1545–1802) edit

House of Farnese 1545–1731 edit

Duke Portrait Birth Marriages Death
Pier Luigi
16 September 1545 – 10 September 1547
  19 November 1503
Rome
son of Cardinal Alexander Farnese (future Pope Paul III) and probably Silvia Ruffini
Girolama Orsini
1519
Rome
4 children
10 September 1547
Piacenza
aged 43
Ottavio
9 November 1549 – 18 September 1586
  9 October 1524
Valentano
son of Pier Luigi Farnese, Duke of Parma and Girolama Orsini
Margaret of Parma
4 November 1538
Rome
2 children
18 September 1586
Parma
aged 61
Alessandro
18 September 1586 – 3 December 1592
  27 August 1545
Rome
son of Ottavio Farnese, Duke of Parma and Margaret of Parma
Maria of Portugal
11 November 1565
Brussels
3 children
3 December 1592
Saint Waast, Netherlands
aged 47
Ranuccio I
3 December 1592 – 5 March 1622
  28 March 1569
Parma
son of Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma and Maria of Portugal
Margherita Aldobrandini
7 May 1600
Rome
9 children
5 March 1622
Parma
aged 52
Odoardo
5 March 1622 – 11 September 1646
  28 April 1612
Parma
son of Ranuccio I Farnese, Duke of Parma and Margherita Aldobrandini
Margherita de Medici
11 October 1628
Florence
4 children
11 September 1646
Piacenza
aged 34
Ranuccio II
11 September 1646 – 11 December 1694
  17 September 1630
Casalmaggiore
son of Odoardo Farnese, Duke of Parma and Margherita de Medici
(1) Marguerite of Savoy
29 April 1660
Turin
2 children
(2) Isabella of Modena
18 February 1664
Modena
3 children
(3) Maria of Modena
1 October 1668
Modena
9 children
11 December 1694
Parma
aged 64
Francesco
11 December 1694 – 26 February 1727
  19 May 1678
Parma
son of Ranuccio II Farnese, Duke of Parma and Maria of Modena
Dorothea Sophie of Neuburg
7 December 1696
Parma
no issue
26 February 1727
Piacenza
aged 48
Antonio
26 February 1727 – 20 January 1731
  29 November 1679
Parma
son of Ranuccio II Farnese, Duke of Parma and Maria of Modena
Enrichetta d'Este
5 February 1728
Parma
no issue
20 January 1731
Parma
aged 51

House of Bourbon 1731–1735 edit

Duke Portrait Birth Marriages Death
Charles I
29 December 1731 – 3 October 1735
  20 January 1716
Madrid
son of Philip V of Spain and Elizabeth of Parma
Maria Amalia of Saxony
19 June 1738
13 children
14 December 1788
Madrid
aged 72

House of Habsburg 1735–1748 edit

Duke Portrait Birth Marriages Death
Emperor Charles VI
3 October 1735 – 20 October 1740
  1 October 1685
Vienna
son of Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor and Eleonore-Magdalena of Neuburg
Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
1 August 1708
Barcelona
4 children
20 October 1740
Vienna
aged 55
Maria Theresa
20 October 1740 – 18 October 1748
  13 May 1717
Vienna
daughter of Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor and Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor
12 February 1736
16 children
29 November 1780
Vienna
aged 63

House of Bourbon-Parma 1748–1802 edit

Duke Portrait Birth Marriages Death
Philip
18 October 1748 – 18 July 1765
  15 March 1720
Madrid
son of Philip V of Spain and Elisabeth Farnese
Princess Louise Élisabeth of France
25 October 1739
3 children
18 July 1765
Alessandria
aged 45
Ferdinand
18 July 1765 – 9 October 1802
  20 January 1751
Parma
son of Philip, Duke of Parma and Princess Louise Élisabeth of France
Archduchess Maria Amalia of Austria
19 July 1769
7 children
9 October 1802
Fontevivo
aged 51

French dukedoms of Parma (1808–1814) edit

These did not actually rule over any territory of Parma and Piacenza, but were of the honorary, hereditary type duché grand-fief, granted by Napoleon I in 1808.

Duke Portrait Birth Marriages Death
Jean-Jacques-Régis de Cambacérès
1808–1814
  18 October 1753
Montpellier
son of Jean-Antoine de Cambacérès and Marie-Rose Vassal
never married 8 March 1824
Paris
aged 70
Charles-François Lebrun, duc de Plaisance
1808–1814
  19 March 1739
Saint-Sauveur-Lendelin
fourth son of Paul Lebrun and Louise Le Cronier
Anne Delagoutte[2]1773

3 sons and 2 daughters

16 June 1824
Sainte-Mesme
aged 85

Reigning dukes of Parma (1814–1859) edit

House of Habsburg-Lorraine, 1814–1847 edit

Duke Portrait Birth Marriages Death
Marie Louise
11 April 1814 – 17 December 1847
  12 December 1791
Vienna
daughter of Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor and Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily
(1) Napoleon I
1 April 1810
Louvre
1 son
(2) Adam Albert, Count von Neipperg
7 September 1821
Parma
3 children
(3) Charles René, Count of Bombelles
Parma
17 February 1834
no issue
17 December 1847
Parma
aged 56

House of Bourbon-Parma, 1847–1859 edit

Duke Portrait Birth Marriages Death
Charles II
17 December 1847 – 17 May 1849
  22 December 1799
Madrid
son of Louis of Etruria and Maria Louisa, Duchess of Lucca
Maria Teresa of Savoy
5 September 1820
2 children
16 April 1883
Nice
aged 83
Charles III
17 May 1849 – 27 March 1854
  14 January 1823
Pianore
son of Charles II, Duke of Parma and Maria Teresa of Savoy
Louise Marie Thérèse of France
10 November 1845
4 children
27 March 1854
Parma
aged 31
Robert I
27 March 1854 – 9 June 1859
  9 July 1848
Florence
son of Charles III, Duke of Parma and Louise Marie Thérèse of France
(1) Maria Pia of the Two Sicilies
5 April 1869
12 children

(2) Maria Antonia of Portugal
15 October 1884
12 children
16 November 1907
Viareggio
aged 59

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Dickens, A. G. (1968). The Counter Reformation. London: Thames and Hudson. p. 96.
  2. ^ "Anne Delagoutte, * 1755 | Geneall.net". Geneall. Archived from the original on 18 October 2016. Retrieved 9 July 2023.