Ottavio Farnese (

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 ...

, 20 December 1598 – Parma, 1643) was an Italian nobleman. He was an illegitimate son of

Ranuccio I Farnese, Duke of Parma Ranuccio I Farnese (28 March 1569 – 5 March 1622) reigned as Duke of Parma, Piacenza and Castro from 1592. A firm believer in absolute monarchy, Ranuccio, in 1594, centralised the administration of Parma and Piacenza, thus rescinding the no ...

and Briseide Ceretoli, who was at that time unmarried; she was the daughter of Ottavio Ceretoli, a captain who had died in Flanders in the following of

Alessandro Farnese, Duke of Parma Alexander Farnese ( it, Alessandro Farnese, es, Alejandro Farnesio; 27 August 1545 – 3 December 1592) was an Italian noble and condottiero and later a general of the Spanish army, who was Duke of Parma, Piacenza and Castro from 1586 to 159 ...

. The couple also had an illegitimate daughter, Isabella. In 1600 Ranuccio married

Margherita Aldobrandini Margherita Aldobrandini (29 March 1588 — 9 August 1646), was an Italian noblewoman member of the Aldobrandini family and by marriage Duchess consort of Parma and Piacenza during 1600–1622. She was also Regent of both Duchies during 1626–1628 ...

, grandchild of

pope Clement VIII Pope Clement VIII ( la, Clemens VIII; it, Clemente VIII; 24 February 1536 – 3 March 1605), born Ippolito Aldobrandini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1592 to his death in March 1605. Born ...

. The marriage was initially childless, so in 1605 Ranuccio legitimised Ottavio and recognised him as his successor in order to secure an heir for the dukedom. From 1607 to 1620 Ottavio was lord of

Borgo San Donnino Fidenza (Parmigiano: ; locally ) is a town and ''comune ''in the province of Parma, Emilia-Romagna region, Italy. It has around 27,000 inhabitants. The town was renamed Fidenza in 1927, recalling its Roman name of ''Fidentia''; before, it was cal ...

Fiorenzuola Fiorenzuola d'Arda (; egl, label= Piacentino, Fiurinsöla, or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Italy in the province of Piacenza, part of the Emilia-Romagna region. Its name derives from ''Florentia'' ("prosperous" in Latin). The "d'Arda" portion r ...

, Val di Nure,

Leonessa :''Leonessa is also the name of a ''frazione'' of Bassano Romano.'' Leonessa is a town and ''comune'' in the far northeastern part of the Province of Rieti in the Lazio region of central Italy. Its population in 2008 was around 2,700. Situated in ...

Cittaducale Cittaducale (locally ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Rieti in the Italian region Lazio, located about northeast of Rome and about southeast of Rieti. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 6,799 and an area of . It wa ...

, Montereale,

Penne Penne () is an extruded type of pasta with cylinder-shaped pieces, their ends cut at an angle. ''Penne'' is the plural form of the Italian ''penna'' (meaning ''feather'' but ''pen'' as well), deriving from Latin ''penna'' (meaning "feather" or " ...

Campli Campli ( Abruzzese: ') is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Teramo, in the Abruzzo region of central Italy. It is located in the natural park known as the Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga National Park. Geography The towns of Bellante, Civit ...

Ortona Ortona (Neapolitan language, Abruzzese: '; grc, Ὄρτων, Órtōn) is a coastal town and municipality of the Province of Chieti in the Italy, Italian region of Abruzzo, with some 23,000 inhabitants. In 1943 Ortona was the site of a Battle o ...

Altamura Altamura (, ; nap, label= Barese, Ialtamùre) is a town and ''comune'' of Apulia, in southern Italy. It is located on one of the hills of the Murge plateau in the Metropolitan City of Bari, southwest of Bari, close to the border with Basilic ...

, Castellamare and Roccaguglielma. The suggestion that he married Sofronia Sanvitale, daughter of Girolamo, marchese of

Sala Baganza Sala Baganza (Parmigiano: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Parma in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about northwest of Bologna and about southwest of Parma. Sala Baganza borders the following municipalities: Calesta ...

and

Colorno Colorno (Parmigiano: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Parma in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about northwest of Bologna and about north of Parma. Colorno borders the following municipalities: Casalmaggiore, Gus ...

, is spurious; she never existed. In 1610 Ranuccio's wife had a son, Alessandro, but he proved to be deaf and was felt incapable of succeeding him. In 1612 she had another male child,

Odoardo Odoardo is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Odoardo Barri (1844–1920), the pseudonym of Edward Slater *Odoardo Beccari (1843–1920), Italian naturalist, discovered the titan arum in Sumatra in 1878 *Odoardo Borrani (1833–19 ...

, later followed by two daughters and one more son. After ten years of marriage, Ranuccio now had legitimate male issue and so recognised Odoardo as his heir instead of Ottavio. Ottavio thus organised a conspiracy against his father, but this failed and he was stripped of his titles and imprisoned in Parma in 1621, dying in prison twenty-one years later, probably of the plague.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Farnese, Ottavio 1598 births 1643 deaths

Ottavio Ottavio is the Italian form of Octavius. Its feminine given name version is Ottavia. Ottavio may refer to: Given name * Ottavio Cinquanta, the President of the International Skating Union * Ottavio Leoni, Italian painter * Ottavio Piccolomini, (15 ...

Illegitimate children of Italian monarchs Sons of monarchs