Antonio Farnese (29 November 1679 – 20 January 1731) was the eighth and final Farnese

Duke of Parma and Piacenza The Duke of Parma and 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. It existed between 1545 and 1802 ...

. He married, in 1727,

Enrichetta d'Este Princess Enrichetta d'Este (Enrichetta Maria; 27 May 1702 – 30 January 1777) was a Duchess of Parma by marriage to her cousin Antonio Farnese, Duke of Parma. She was the Regent of Parma in 1731 during her alleged pregnancy in the interregnu ...

Modena Modena (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It has 184,739 inhabitants as of 2025. A town, and seat of an archbis ...

with the intention of begetting an heir. The marriage, however, was childless, leading to the succession of Charles of Spain, whose mother,

Elisabeth Farnese Elisabeth Farnese (Italian: ''Elisabetta Farnese'', Spanish: ''Isabel de Farnesio''; 25 October 169211 July 1766) was Queen of Spain by marriage to King Philip V. She was the '' de facto'' ruler of Spain from 1714 until 1746, since she managed ...

, was Antonio's niece, to the ducal throne.

Biography

Born in

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, ...

, Antonio was the third son 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. He was also the Duke of Castro from 1646 until 1649. Biography Birth and Succession Ranuccio ...

, and his wife

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 Mar ...

of the

. At the age of 18, Prince Antonio embarked on a Grand Tour of Europe with the intention of establishing contacts in courts across the continent; however, he simply dissipated 1,580,000 lire on galas. As a prince he spent most of his time at the court of his cousin the Hereditary Prince of Modena, because his sister-in-law, Duchess Dorothea Sophia, banned masques and other merriments, distractions which Antonio revelled in.Solari, p 276. The castle of Sala, which he zealously enlarged and renovated, served as his Parmese residence. Here, Antonio threw lavish parties frequented by his favourite and mistress, the "domineering" Countess Margherita Bori Giusti. Farnese coat of arms as Duke of Parma

By the time of his accession in February 1727, the morbidly obese Antonio had scant desire to rule.Solari, p 275. His life of hedonism continued unperturbed: he stayed up all night, sat for dinner one hour before dawn, played faro and

basset Bassets are a sub-type of scenthound deliberately bred with short legs, that are used for hunting where the hunters accompany the hunting hounds on foot. History Bassets were originally developed in France from where they spread throughout Europe ...

and attended Countess Bori's salons on a daily basis. As there was no heir to the duchy, the secretary of state, Count Anvidi, and Bori coerced an unwilling Antonio to marry

, the sister of his friend the Hereditary Prince of Modena. On 21 July 1727 the marriage contract was signed. His bride was adored by the people of Parma, and Antonio treated her kindly. The marriage, despite all Antonio's attempts at conception, was childless.

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

and the

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands ...

provided for the Parmese male-line succession failure in the Treaty of London (1718), agreeing that the heir to the duchy would be the Infante Charles (future Charles III of Spain), who was the eldest son of

and

Philip V of Spain Philip V (; 19 December 1683 – 9 July 1746) was List of Spanish monarchs, 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 (45 years and 16 days) is the longest in the ...

. Believing the treaty would not remain in force, Elizabeth obtained in 1729 France's permission to install 6,000 Spanish troops in Parma. France further agreed to repudiate the

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...

Charles VI's claim of suzerainty over the duchy. An incensed Charles VI responded by stationing 40,000 soldiers in his

Duchy of Milan The Duchy of Milan (; ) was a state in Northern Italy, created in 1395 by Gian Galeazzo Visconti, then the lord of Milan, and a member of the important Visconti of Milan, Visconti family, which had been ruling the city since 1277. At that time, ...

, north of Parma. In the midst of the diplomatic fray Antonio died, ostensibly from a boil, caused, according to a contemporary, by often sporting "a wig that was too hot for him".Solari, p 283. Thus ended the House of Farnese, who for 184 years had served as sovereigns to Parma and Piacenza. Six days after his death on 20 January 1731, Austrian troops marched into the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza, intent on staying there until Spain re-subscribed to the terms of the Treaty of London. However, it was soon discovered that Antonio's will left the country to "the pregnant stomach of my wife". A diplomatic flurry ensued.

Pope Clement XII Pope Clement XII (; ; 7 April 16526 February 1740), born Lorenzo Corsini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 July 1730 to his death in February 1740. Clement presided over the growth of a surplus in the papal ...

, the

King of France France was ruled by monarchs from the establishment of the kingdom of West Francia in 843 until the end of the Second French Empire in 1870, with several interruptions. Classical French historiography usually regards Clovis I, king of the Fra ...

and Elisabeth Farnese doubted Enrichetta's pregnancy. They were correct: Austria convinced Enrichetta that she was pregnant to keep the Bourbons out of Italy long enough for it to occupy Parma. Upon discovering she was in fact not pregnant, Spain and Austria put aside their differences so as not to worsen the "precarious state of European affairs". The ensuing ''rapprochement'' saw Charles of Spain mount the ducal throne as a vassal of the Emperor. Charles, after resigning the throne of Parma in 1735, took all the Farnese treasures, including several pieces by

Correggio Antonio Allegri da Correggio (August 1489 – 5 March 1534), usually known as just Correggio (, also , , ), was an Italian Renaissance painter who was the foremost painter of the Parma school of the High Renaissance, who was responsible for som ...

, the

Farnese Collection The Farnese Collection is one of the first collections of artistic items from Greco-Roman antiquity. It includes some of the most influential classical works, including the sculptures that were part of the Farnese Marbles, their collection of st ...

of Ancient sculpture, the Ducal library and archives and the Ducal Palace's marble staircase, with him to

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

, the seat of his new kingdom.Acton, p 28.

Ancestors

References

Citations

Bibliography

*Acton, Harold: ''The Bourbons of Naples'', Methuen & Co, London, 1956 *Solari, Giovanna: ''The House of Farnese: A Portrait of a Great Family of the Renaissance'', Doubleday & Company, New York, 1968

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Farnese, Antonio, Duke Of Parma 1679 births 1731 deaths 18th-century dukes of Parma

Antonio Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan language, Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language–speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top ...

Burials at the Sanctuary of Santa Maria della Steccata