Pier Luigi Farnese

duke of Parma and Piacenza

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Pier Luigi Farnese was the first duke of Parma and Piacenza, ruling from 1545 to 1547. He was the son of Pope Paul III, who established the duchies by detaching them from papal dominions. Pier Luigi instituted a council of justice and a ducal chamber, conducted a census, and reduced the power of feudal lords. His son, Ottavio, succeeded him and made Parma the capital, continuing his father's work of internal consolidation. Pier Luigi's grandson, Alessandro Farnese, was a distinguished military leader who served as regent of the Netherlands for Spain.12

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Duchy of Parma and Piacenza
…hereditary duchy for his son, Pier Luigi Farnese (died 1547). It was retained by the Farnese family until the family’s extinction in 1731, when it passed to the Spanish Bourbons in the person of Don Carlos (the future Charles III of Spain). Except for one brief interruption, the Spanish Bourbons…
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…hereditary duchy for his son, Pier Luigi Farnese (died 1547). It was retained by the Farnese family until the family’s extinction in 1731, when it passed to the Spanish Bourbons in the person of Don Carlos (the future Charles III of Spain). Except for one brief interruption, the Spanish Bourbons…
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Farnese Family
Pier Luigi (1503–47), the first duke, was Paul’s son by a woman whose name is unknown. He instituted a supreme council of justice and a ducal chamber, ordered a census of the population, reduced the Valtarese to submission, and curbed the power of the feudal…
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Pier Luigi (1503–47), the first duke, was Paul’s son by a woman whose name is unknown. He instituted a supreme council of justice and a ducal chamber, ordered a census of the population, reduced the Valtarese to submission, and curbed the power of the feudal…
Read More