Odoardo Farnese, Duke of Parma


Odoardo Farnese, 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

Odoardo was the eldest legitimate son of Ranuccio I Farnese and his wife, Margherita Aldobrandini. After Ranuccio's natural son and potential rival, Ottavio, was relegated to a prison, he initially reigned under the regency of his uncle, Odoardo Farnese, and, after the latter's death, under that of his mother, Margherita Aldobrandini.
He came of age in 1628, and in the same year, he married Margherita de' Medici, the 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 Spanish troops, and Francesco I d'Este defeated his army. 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.
His aggressive rule of Castro, a Farnese fief in the Papal States north of Rome, which the Barberini were eager to acquire, caused Odoardo to be excommunicated in 1641. Instead of reconciliation, he sought alliances with Venice, Florence, and the Duchy of Modena, and invaded northern Lazio with 7,000 troops. His army, composed mostly of cavalry, was unable to recapture 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.
Odoardo died suddenly in Piacenza, his favorite residence, on 11 September 1646.

Marriage and children

Odoardo Farnese married Margherita de Medici on 11 October 1628, the daughter of Cosimo II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany. They had the following children: