FARNESE FAMILY. – Their origins are not well known. It seems that they took their name, between the 11th and 12th centuries, from their fief of *Castrum Farneti*. Until the 15th century, the F. were minor feudal lords in the service of various cities, particularly Viterbo and Orvieto.
The earliest document concerning them records that in 1154 PRUDENZIO F. received, as representative of Orvieto, Pope Adrian IV. Pietro defended that city against Henry VI, while another Pietro went to the aid of Florence when it was threatened by Henry VII. Gundo was bishop of Orvieto in 1392 and in 1399 consecrated its cathedral. During the Schism, the F. remained loyal to the legitimate popes; though favored by them, they retained their status as nobles of the countryside, with their possessions in the area of Lake Bolsena. With RANUCCIO the Elder (d. c. 1460), the F. moved to Rome. Ranuccio was made senator in 1477, and from Martin V and Eugene IV he received benefices and vicariates (Monte, La terra, Canino). Through the sons of Ranuccio, the F. entered the Roman aristocracy: GABRIELE married Isabella Orsini, and Pier Luigi married Giovannella Caetani of Sermoneta. A son of Gabriele, RANUCCIO, died in the battle of Fornovo; from Pier Luigi came Baron Tommeo, who founded the branch of the F. of Latera (which became extinct in 1668); Giulia, married to Orsino Orsini, famous for her beauty and the rumors of her affairs with Alexander VI (her daughter Laura married Niccolò della Rovere, nephew of Julius II); ALESSANDRO, who became Pope Paul III (v.). Before taking holy orders, he had several natural children, whom he obtained legitimized by Julius II and Leo X; PAOLO and RANUCCIO, who died young; COSTANZA and PIER LUIGI. Pier Luigi (d. 1547), after serving in the imperial army, in which he participated in the Sack of Rome, was created by Paul III gonfalonier of the Church in 1537; he received from him Castro and Rocciglione, and in 1545 the lordship of Parma and Piacenza was erected into a duchy. Since this grant was made without the consent of Charles V, then at odds with the Pope over conciliar matters, a conspiracy by the nobles of Piacenza against the new duke found the Milanese viceroy to be an accomplice. Pier Luigi was killed, Piacenza was occupied in the name of the Emperor, and Parma was handed over to a papal representative.
From Pier Luigi were born: Vittoria, who married Guidobaldo della Rovere, Duke of Urbino; Alessandro (d. 1589), archbishop of Parma and cardinal, who in Rome built the Gesù, the Farnesina, and the villa on the Palatine; Ranuccio (d. 1565), archbishop of Naples and cardinal, noted for his wide learning and irregular morals; Orazio (d. 1553), Duke of Castro and prefect of Rome, who married Diana, natural daughter of Henry II, fought for France against Charles V, and died defending Hesdin; Ottavio (d. 1584), who succeeded his father in the ducal title. Julius III, having reconciled with Charles V, in 1550 restored Parma to Ottavio; but the following year, as the Pope seemed inclined to allow the Spanish occupation of Parma and Piacenza, Ottavio allied with France. Spain and the Pope waged war on the duke, but in 1552 a truce was concluded, and after the peace Parma’s possession was recognized to the duke. Later (in 1557) Ottavio also recovered Piacenza from Philip II. The son of Ottavio, Alessandro (b. 1545, d. 1592), served the King of Spain. He fought at St. Quentin and Lepanto. Appointed governor of the Netherlands, he succeeded by his skill in breaking the Union of Ghent: since the southern, Catholic provinces had risen only in defense of their autonomies, which Philip II had sought to abolish, Alessandro restored the privileges they had enjoyed under
