Ranuccio I, duke of Parma
| Ranuccio I | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Duke of Parma and Piacenza | |
| Reign | 3 December 1592 – 5 March 1622 |
| Predecessor | Alessandro |
| Successor | Odoardo |
| Born |
28 March 1569 Parma, Parma |
| Died | 5 March 1622 (aged 52) Parma, Parma |
| Consort | Margherita Aldobrandini |
| Issue |
Prince Ottavio Maria, Duchess of Modena and Reggio Odoardo, Duke of Parma Vittoria, Duchess of Modena Cardinal Francesco Maria |
| House | House of Farnese |
| Father | Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma |
| Mother | Infanta Maria of Guimarães |
| Religion | Roman Catholicism |
Ranuccio I Farnese (28 March 1569 – 5 March 1622) 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. He is best remembered for the "Great Justice" of 1612, which saw the executions of a large number of Piacentine nobles suspected of plotting against him. Because one of the conspirators, Gianfrancesco Sanvitale, falsely implicated several Italian princes, namely Vincenzo Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua and Cesare d'Este, Duke of Modena, in the plot, Vincenzo and Cesare's names appeared on the list of conspirators during formal court proceedings; as a result, Ranuccio's reputation among the rulers of Italy was irreparably damaged because it was evident that he gave credence to Gianfrancesco's obviously false confession. When, consequently, in the early 1620s, Ranuccio was looking for a bride for his younger legitimate son and heir, Odoardo, none of the Italian ruling families were forthcoming with princesses. He did, however, manage to engineer a match with Margherita de' Medici, daughter of Cosimo II of Tuscany.
The husband of Margherita Aldobrandini, niece of Pope Clement VIII, Ranuccio, the son of a Portuguese infanta, was considered as a potential king of Portugal when his childless great-uncle King Henry I died. The throne, however, passed to Philip II of Spain, whose troops had promptly occupied the country after Henry I's death.
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