Alessandro Farnese (10 January 1635 – 18 February 1689) was an Italian military leader who was

governor of the Habsburg Netherlands The governor () or governor-general () of the Habsburg Netherlands was a representative appointed by the Holy Roman emperor (1504-1556), the king of Spain (1556-1598, 1621-1706), and the archduke of Austria (1716-1794), to administer the Burgund ...

from 1678 to 1682. He is not to be confused with his better-known great-grandfather

Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma Alexander Farnese (, ; 27 August 1545 – 3 December 1592) was an Italian noble and military leader, who was Duke of Parma, Piacenza and Castro from 1586 to 1592, as well as Governor of the Spanish Netherlands from 1578 to 1592. Nephew to Kin ...

. This Alessandro was often called Alessandro di Odoardo (son of Odoardo). His elder brother Ranuccio II was the sixth

duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

Parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...

and

Piacenza Piacenza (; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Piacenza, eponymous province. As of 2022, Piacenza is the ninth largest city in the region by population, with more ...

Biography

He was born in

, the second son of

Odoardo Farnese Odoardo Farnese may refer to: *Odoardo Farnese (cardinal) (1573–1626) * Odoardo Farnese, Duke of Parma (1612–1646) *Odoardo Farnese, Hereditary Prince of Parma Odoardo Farnese (12 August 1666 – 6 September 1693) was the eldest son of Duke ...

, fifth duke of Parma, and Margherita de' Medici. He was general in the army of

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

, fighting the

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic of Turkey * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic lang ...

, and later admiral in the

Spanish Navy The Spanish Navy, officially the Armada, is the Navy, maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces and one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Spanish Navy was responsible for a number of major historic achievements in navigation ...

. He became governor of the Southern Netherlands after the

Franco-Dutch War The Franco-Dutch War, 1672 to 1678, was primarily fought by Kingdom of France, France and the Dutch Republic, with both sides backed at different times by a variety of allies. Related conflicts include the 1672 to 1674 Third Anglo-Dutch War and ...

. Alexander died in Madrid in 1689.

Family

By his mistress Maria de Lao y Carillo had the following children: * Alessandro Odoardo (Badajoz, 12 April 1663 – Cacéres, 21 May 1666) * Alessandro Maria (Badajoz, 30 October 1664 – 28 September 1726), Colonel in Spanish army * Margherita (Badajoz, 5 June 1665 – Parma, November 1718), nun in Parma * Isabella (Badajoz, 19 September 1666 – Parma, 27 December 1741), nun in Parma

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Farnese, Alexander 1635 births 1689 deaths Military personnel from Parma

Alexander Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here ar ...

Governors of the Habsburg Netherlands Viceroys of Navarre Viceroys of Catalonia Knights of the Golden Fleece Republic of Venice military personnel Spanish admirals 17th-century Italian nobility Nobility from Parma Sons of dukes