Margherita Maria Farnese (24 November 1664 – 17 June 1718) was an Italian noblewoman born into the
House of Farnese
The House of Farnese family (, also , ) was an influential family in Renaissance Italy. The titles of Duke of Parma and Piacenza and Duke of Castro were held by various members of the family.
Its most important members included Pope Paul II ...
. She was the
Duchess of Modena and Reggio by marriage to her first cousin
Francesco II d'Este, Duke of Modena
Francesco II d'Este (6 March 1660 – 6 September 1694) was Duke of Modena and Reggio from 1662 to 1694.
Biography
He was born in Modena to Alfonso IV d'Este, duke of Modena, and Laura Martinozzi, niece of Cardinal Mazarin. His sister, Mary of ...
. Her niece was
Elisabeth Farnese
Elisabeth Farnese ( Italian: ''Elisabetta Farnese'', Spanish: ''Isabel Farnesio''; 25 October 169211 July 1766) was Queen of Spain by marriage to King Philip V. She exerted great influence over Spain's foreign policy and was the ''de facto'' r ...
, wife of
Philip V of Spain
Philip V ( es, Felipe; 19 December 1683 – 9 July 1746) was King of Spain from 1 November 1700 to 14 January 1724, and again from 6 September 1724 to his death in 1746. His total reign of 45 years is the longest in the history of the Spanish mon ...
.
Biography
Margherita Maria was the eldest child of
Ranuccio II Farnese, Duke of Parma
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 elde ...
and his second wife
Isabella d'Este
Isabella d'Este (19 May 1474 – 13 February 1539) was Marchioness of Mantua and one of the leading women of the Italian Renaissance as a major cultural and political figure. She was a patron of the arts as well as a leader of fashion, whos ...
. Her mother died in childbirth in 1666 after giving birth to
Odoardo, Hereditary Prince of Parma (father of the famous
Elisabeth Farnese
Elisabeth Farnese ( Italian: ''Elisabetta Farnese'', Spanish: ''Isabel Farnesio''; 25 October 169211 July 1766) was Queen of Spain by marriage to King Philip V. She exerted great influence over Spain's foreign policy and was the ''de facto'' r ...
, Queen of Spain).
Her father Ranuccio had previously been married to
Margaret Yolande of Savoy
Margaret Yolande of Savoy (15 November 1635 – 29 April 1663) was Princess of Savoy from birth and later Duchess consort of Parma. A proposed bride for her first cousin Louis XIV of France, she later married Ranuccio Farnese, son of the late O ...
but the marriage produced no surviving issue; as such, Margherita Maria was the first of Ranuccio's children to survive infancy. Her younger half brothers
Francesco Farnese
Francesco Farnese (19 May 1678 – 26 February 1727) reigned as the seventh Farnese Duke of Parma and Piacenza from 1694 until his death. Married to Dorothea Sophia of the Palatinate, his brother Odoardo's widow, to avoid the return of her dowry ...
and
Antonio Farnese were successively the
rulers of Parma. When the latter died, the House of Farnese became extinct.
Her father married her aunt
Maria d'Este
Maria d'Este (8 December 1644 – 20 August 1684) was a Modenese princess and Duchess of Parma as the wife of Ranuccio II Farnese, Duke of Parma. She was a daughter of Francesco I d'Este, Duke of Modena and Maria Caterina Farnese.
Family
Maria ...
with whom he had nine further children. She was married to her cousin
Francesco II d'Este, Duke of Modena
Francesco II d'Este (6 March 1660 – 6 September 1694) was Duke of Modena and Reggio from 1662 to 1694.
Biography
He was born in Modena to Alfonso IV d'Este, duke of Modena, and Laura Martinozzi, niece of Cardinal Mazarin. His sister, Mary of ...
who had previously been part of a Franco-Modenese alliance proposed with Francesco and a
princess of Lorraine named
Béatrice Hiéronyme de Lorraine but the marriage never materialised.
Francesco was the son of the late
Alfonso IV d'Este, Duke of Modena
Alfonso IV d'Este (2 February 1634 – 16 July 1662) was Duke of Modena and Reggio from 1658 until his death. He was the father of Mary of Modena, consort of James II of England.
Alfonso was born in Modena, the eldest son of Francesco I d'E ...
and
Laura Martinozzi
Laura Martinozzi (27 May 1639 – 19 July 1687) was a Duchess consort of Modena by marriage to Alfonso IV d'Este, Duke of Modena. She served as regent of Modena during the minority of her son Francesco from 1662 until 1674.
Biography
Early life
...
, niece of
Cardinal Mazarin
Cardinal Jules Mazarin (, also , , ; 14 July 1602 – 9 March 1661), born Giulio Raimondo Mazzarino () or Mazarini, was an Italian cardinal, diplomat and politician who served as the chief minister to the Kings of France Louis XIII and Louis X ...
. He was also the brother of
Mary of Modena, second wife of
James II of England
James VII and II (14 October 1633 16 September 1701) was King of England and King of Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685. He was deposed in the Gloriou ...
She married Francesco 14 July 1692 in
Parma
Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmigiano-Reggiano, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 ...
. The couple had no children, Francesco dying in 1694 after just two years of marriage of
gout
Gout ( ) is a form of inflammatory arthritis characterized by recurrent attacks of a red, tender, hot and swollen joint, caused by deposition of monosodium urate monohydrate crystals. Pain typically comes on rapidly, reaching maximal intensit ...
and
polyarthritis
Polyarthritis is any type of arthritis that involves 5 or more joints simultaneously. It is usually associated with autoimmune conditions and may be experienced at any age and is not sex specific.
Causes
Polyarthritis is most often caused by an au ...
. The widowed Duchess of Modena retired to her native
Parma
Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmigiano-Reggiano, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 ...
where she died in the summer of 1718 at the
Ducal Palace of Colorno, the summer residence of the Farnese. She was buried at the
Sanctuary of Santa Maria della Steccata
The Shrine of Santa Maria della Steccata is a Greek-cross design Renaissance church in central Parma, Italy. The name derives from the fence (Italian: ''steccato'') in the church. A Nursing Madonna is enshrined within, crowned on 27 May 1601 by ...
in Parma.
Ancestors
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Farnese, Margherita Maria
Margherita Maria
Nobility from Parma
1664 births
1718 deaths
House of Este
Margherita Maria
Margherita
Margherita is an Italian feminine given name. It also is a surname. As a word, in Italian it means " daisy".
Given name
As a name, it may refer to:
*Margherita Aldobrandini (1588–1646), Duchess consort of Parma
*Margherita de' Medici (1612 ...
17th-century Italian nobility
17th-century Italian women
18th-century Italian women
Burials at the Sanctuary of Santa Maria della Steccata