Ottavio Farnese
| Ottavio Farnese | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Duke of Parma and Piacenza | |
| Reign | 10 September 1547 – 18 September 1586 |
| Predecessor | Pier Luigi |
| Successor | Alexander |
| Born | 9 October 1524 |
| Died | 18 September 1586 (aged 61) |
| Spouse | Margaret of Parma |
| Issue | Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma |
| House | House of Farnese |
| Father | Pier Luigi Farnese, Duke of Parma |
| Mother | Gerolama Orsini |
Ottavio Farnese (9 October 1524 – 18 September 1586) reigned as Duke of Parma and Piacenza from 1547 and Duke of Castro from 1545 until his death.
Born in Valentano, he was the second son of Pier Luigi Farnese, Duke of Parma and Piacenza, grandson of Pope Paul III, and brother to Cardinal Ranuccio Farnese.
On 4 November 1538 he married Margaret of Austria, the illegitimate daughter of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. Ottavio was 14 years old, while Margaret, recently widowed by the death of Alessandro de' Medici, was 15. At first she disliked her youthful bridegroom, but when he returned wounded from an expedition to Algiers in 1541 her aversion was turned to affection.
Farnese had become lord of Camerino in 1540, but he gave up that fief when his father became duke of Parma in 1545. After the Parmesan nobility assassinated Pierluigi Farnese in 1547, troops of the Emperor occupied Piacenza. Pope Paul III attempted to regain Piacenza; he set aside Ottavio's claims to the succession of Parma, where he appointed a papal legate, giving him back Camerino in exchange, and then claimed Piacenza from the emperor — not for the Farnese, but for the Church.
Farnese attempted to seize Parma by force, and having failed, entered into negotiations with Ferrante Gonzaga. This rebellion on the part of his grandson is believed to have hastened the Pope's death on 10 November 1549. During the interregnum that followed, Ottavio again tried to induce the governor of Parma to give up the city to him, but met with no better success; however, on the election of Giovanni Maria Ciocchi del Monte to the papacy as Julius III, the duchy was conferred on him in 1551.
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