Ottavio Farnese (1598-1643)
Encyclopedia
Ottavio Farnese was an Italian nobleman. He was an illegitimate son of Ranuccio I Farnese, Duke of Parma
Ranuccio I Farnese, Duke of Parma
Ranuccio I Farnese 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 nobles' hitherto vast prerogative...

 by his lover Briseide Ceretoli, daughter of colonel Ottavio Ceretoli - the couple also had an illegitimate daughter, Isabella.

In 1600 Ranuccio married Margherita Aldobrandini
Margherita Aldobrandini
Margherita Aldobrandini was a Duchess consort of Parma. She was the regent of Parma 1626-1628.-Life:...

, grandchild of pope Clement VIII
Pope Clement VIII
Pope Clement VIII , born Ippolito Aldobrandini, was Pope from 30 January 1592 to 3 March 1605.-Cardinal:...

. 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, Fiorenzuola, Val di Nure, Leonessa
Leonessa
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 a small plain at the foot of Mt...

, Cittaducale
Cittaducale
Cittaducale is a comune in the Province of Rieti in the Italian region Latium, located about 70 km northeast of Rome and about 7 km southeast of Rieti. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 6,799 and an area of 71.0 km²...

, Montereale
Montereale
Montereale may refer to the following Italian comuni:*Montereale, Abruzzo, in the Province of L'Aquila*Montereale Valcellina, in the Province of Pordenone...

, Penne
Penne
Penne is a type of pasta with cylinder-shaped pieces. Penne is the plural form of the Italian penna, deriving from Latin penna . In Italy, penne are produced in two main variants: "penne lisce" and "penne rigate" , the latter having ridges on each penna...

, Campli
Campli
Campli 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:...

, Ortona
Ortona
Ortona is a coastal town and municipality of the Province of Chieti in the Italian region of Abruzzo, with some 23,000 inhabitants.Ortona was the site of fierce fighting between German and Canadian forces during the Italian campaign in World War II...

, Altamura
Altamura
Altamura is a town and comune of Apulia, southern Italy. It is located on the Murge plateau in the province of Bari, 45 km South-West of Bari, close to the border with Basilicata. As of 2011 its population was of 69,728.-Overview:...

, Castellamare
Castellammare di Stabia
Castellammare di Stabia is a comune in the province of Naples, Campania region, southern Italy. It is situated on the Bay of Naples about 30 kilometers southeast of Naples, on the route to Sorrento.-History:...

 and Roccaguglielma
Roccaguglielma
Roccaguglielma is a medieval rocca fort which dominates the town of Esperia and once formed its historic town-centre. It is now also known as Esperia superiore ....

. Around 1620, he may have married Sofronia Sanvitale, daughter of Girolamo, marchese of Sala
Sala
- Geography :* Sala Municipality, Sweden - a municipality in Sweden* Sala, Sweden - a city in Sweden, seat of Sala Municipality* Sala municipality, Latvia - a municipality in Latvia* Sala, Latvia - a village in Latvia, an administrative centre of Sala municipality...

 and Colorno
Colorno
Colorno is a comune in the Province of Parma in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about 90 km northwest of Bologna and about 15 km north of Parma...

.

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, 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.
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