Gerolama Orsini

Gerolama Orsini (* around 1503; † 1570 in Viterbo ), sometimes also called Girolama Orsini, came from the house of the Roman magnate family of the Orsini , from the line of the Counts of Pitigliano . As the wife of Pier Luigi II Farnese , Duke of Parma and Piacenza (1545–1547), she became the daughter-in-law of Pope Paul III. and at the same time to the closer ancestral mother of the line of the Farnese , which ruled the duchies of Parma and Piacenza until 1731. Through her sons she became a brother-in-law with Emperor Charles V and King Henry II of France . Gerolama's descendant Elisabetta Farnese (* 1692; † 1766), the heiress of the duchies, became Queen of Spain and the ancestral mother of the reigning there until today through her marriage to King Philip V of Spain (1700–1746), from the House of Bourbon Royalty.

Orsini family coat of arms

origin

Girolama came from the Roman magnate family of the Orsini , which is derived from the Roman family of the Bobonen, from which Romano Bobone was appointed cardinal as early as 928 .

Gentile Orsini († November 15, before 1246), lord of Pitigliano, Mugnano, Penna , was the founder of the Orsini line, descended from Gerolama, the lords - since the 14th century counts - of Pitigliano (in the province of Grosseto ) and Nettuno . This was a younger brother of Giovanni Gaetano Orsini (* 1210/20; † August 22, 1280), who was Senator of Rome from 1241 to 1243, cardinal deacon of San Nicola in Carcere Tulliano, and finally as Pope Nicholas III. ruled from 1275 to 1280.

Gerolama's father was Ludovico Orsini (* approx. 1470; † January 27, 1534 in Pitigliano), 7th Conte (Count) di Pitigliano, Lord of Fiano Romano , Filacciano ( Province of Rome ), Manciano in the Tuscan Maremma in ( Province of Grosseto ) , Montemerano (locality in the municipality of Manciano), Saturnia (today thermal resort in the municipality of Manciano) and Soriano nel Cimino (northwest of Rome in the province of Viterbo ). In 1511 he was one of the curators of the city of Orvieto and a well-known general of his time, serving the Church in 1491 as a condottiere , from 1496 in the Republic of Siena , from 1505 to 1515 in the service of the Republic of Florence and finally in 1522 in the service of the King Francis I of France (1515–1547) was.

View of Pitigliano

The mother Gerolamas came from the important Roman noble family of Conti , from which such important popes as Innocent III. (1198-1216), Gregory IX. (1227-1241) and Alexander IV. (1254-1261). Her father was Jacopo Conti from the house of the Counts of Segni.

Life

youth

Gerolama was born as the third child of her parents in the first years of the 16th century and grew up in her father's castle in Pitigliano with her siblings who were very close to her. They were:

• Giovanni Francesco Orsini (* before 1503; † May 8, 1567), who succeeded her father as the 8th Count of Pitigliano in 1534 and, through his marriage to Ersilia Caetani , daughter of Guglielmo Caetani, 3rd Duca (Duke) of Sermoneta from the eponymous Roman magnate family, descended from the Lombards from the city of Gaeta , became the immediate progenitor of the line of the Counts of Pitigliano. This county, however, was sold by Giannantonio Orsini († 1613) in 1604 to Grand Duke Ferdinando I de 'Medici (1587-1609), who raised him to Marchese (Margrave) di Monte San Savino.
• Gerolama's younger sister Marzia Orsini (* 1515; † 1547) was in her first marriage with Livio Attilio d´Alviano Signore di Pordenone , patrician of Venice and in her second marriage c. Married in 1545 to Gian Giacomo Medici, known as "il Medeghino" (* January 25, 1498 - † November 8, 13.08.1548 in Frascarolo), the first Marchese di Marignano , a famous imperial general since 1528 ( Battle of Mühlberg on April 24th 1547), was also conte (count) of Lecco and Marchese di Musso and senator of Milan. Marzia thus became the sister-in-law of Giovanni Angelo Medici, who ruled the Catholic Church from 1559 to 1565 as Pope Pius IV , and became the aunt of St. Charles Borromeo .
• Gerolama's youngest sister Ersilia Orsini married Virginio Orsini, the first Duke of San Gemini.

Pier Luigi Farnese portrait by Titian

Object of family policy

Life with her family did not last long. As early as 1513, at the age of ten, she was betrothed to Pier Luigi II Farnese (born November 19, 1503 in Rome , † September 10, 1547 in Piacenza ), who was legitimized by Pope Julius II (1503-1513), illegitimate in 1505 Son of Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, later Pope Paul III. was. At the age of sixteen, the wedding took place in 1519, which was celebrated at great expense in Valentano in the Farnese castle. This marriage was celebrated in Latin verse by the educator Pier Luigis, the famous humanist Baldassare Molossi from Casalmaggiore , called Tranquillius.

Gerolama's marriage was of course not a love affair, but part of the family policy of her father-in-law, Pope Paul III., Who wanted to establish his son as hereditary prince in Italy and therefore wanted to marry him off to a daughter from the powerful Orsini family, who was at the head of the Pope-friendly party of the " Guelfs " stood. The strategy of Pope Paul III. proved to be quite successful: the marriage of his only son to Gerolama was fruitful, his descendants ruled for almost 200 years as dukes of Parma and Piacenza, were related by marriage to the first houses in Europe.

The Farnese Castle in Valentano

Gerolama lived the first years of their marriage in Valentano Castle in the province of Viterbo , which had been in the Farnese's possession since the time of Cardinal Gil Álvarez Carillo de Albornoz - who was papal legate in Italy from 1353 to 1367. This fortress, which was expanded into a castle, also had her father-in-law and his sister Giulia Farnese (* 1474; † 1524), the lover of Pope Alexander VI. (1492–1503) served as a residence. After completion of the planned residence, the Palazzo Farnese in Gradoli (in the province of Viterbo, near Valentano) by Antonio da Sangallo the Younger (* 1483, † 1546), Gerolama and her family also lived there.

Gerolama and her children may have liked the tranquility and the rural atmosphere, but soon it bothered her husband Pier Luigi, who urged to prove himself as a general. He did not prove to be an ordinary condottiere , but became a stereotype of a brave, daring but also wild and amoral warlord who himself expropriated his own relatives and abandoned the traditionally papal-friendly " guelfish " attitude of his family in order to enter into imperial military service.

In 1527 he took part in the “ Sacco di Roma ”, d. h., at the infamous sacking of the city of Rome by German mercenaries and Spanish mercenaries of Emperor Charles V in part, thereby compensated for the missing wages payments. He was successful in Manfredonia in 1528 and then in Tuscany under Ferrante I. Gonzaga .

Gerolama was often left to fend for himself and the upbringing of the five children. She is described by contemporary sources as virtuous and particularly pious, but not as an outstanding political or cultural personality. The fact that she lived with her ingenious but vicious husband with "extraordinary nobility" suggests that she suffered considerably from the rather violent nature of her husband. This character trait was shown, among other things, in the fact that Pier Luigi was excommunicated and banned by the Pope for excessive acts of violence.

Daughter-in-law of the Pope

Pope Paul III, painting by Titian

A decisive turning point in Gerolama's life came in October 1534 after her father-in-law, Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, became Pope Paul III. was chosen. This was not only an occasion to celebrate this high calling within the family, but also quickly resulted in direct benefits. Her son Alessandro Farnese was named cardinal by his grandfather on December 18, 1534 at the age of 14 . Emperor Charles V, who wanted to secure the goodwill of the new Pope in the struggle against France, gave her husband Pier Luigi the margraviate of Novara , while his father Paul III. appointed Gonfaloniere (Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces) of the Church.

After his father took office, Pier Luigi undertook the task of gonfaloniere of the church to bring territories controlled by local rulers back under the direct control of the church. In 1540/41 this led to military actions against the rebelling Baglioni , the lords of Perugia , and to the smashing of the "state" of the Colonna house , which controlled the south of the city of Rome. The role that Pier Luigi played for his father, Pope Paul III. played, can therefore be compared with the role that Cesare Borgia half a century earlier for his father Alexander VI. had played.

In 1537 he temporarily took possession of the County of Pitigliano, which had been confiscated from his brother-in-law, Giovan Francesco Orsini, because he had entered the service of the King of France.

The famous historian and genealogist Pompeo Conte Litta (* September 24, 1781; † August 17, 1852) described him as "Cattivo come uomo, pessimo come principe" (Malicious as a person and worst of the princes), which may seem a bit too negative. However, it is certain that Gerolama's marriage - despite the 5 children - was not a happy one.

Duchess of Castro

Gerolama - now Margravine of Novara - soon received a further increase in rank: in 1537, Pope Paul III erected. from family estates and new acquisitions the Duchy of Castro in the Papal States , which stretched from Lake Bolsena to the Tyrrhenian Sea . He passed this on to his son Pier Luigi, making Gerolama the Duchess of Castro.

Pierluigi wanted his new duchy to have a suitable capital, so Antonio da Sangallo the Younger had the small town of Castro - probably not without Gerolama's help - expand it into a ducal residence. That is why he not only had a suitable Palazzo Ducale built there, but also a princely guest house (l'Hostaria) and a minting city for minting its own coins. The city walls were also raised and renewed and the structure of the city was fundamentally modernized in line with the Renaissance . Today nothing of this can be seen, as the city of Castro was largely destroyed by papal troops in 1649 at the instigation of enemies of the Farnese.

By marriage with Emperor Charles V

Detail from a portrait of Margaret of Parmas by Antonio Moro

In the following year Gerolama even came into brotherhood with Emperor Charles V, because her younger son, the fourteen-year-old Ottavio Farnese (* 1524 - † 1586), on November 4, 1538 in the Sistine Chapel in Rome Margaret of Austria (* 1522, †) 1586) married. She was an illegitimate daughter of the emperor and widow of Alessandro de 'Medici (* July 22, 1510, † January 6, 1537), called il Moro ("the Moor "). This was Duca della città di Penna , city lord of Florence from 1530 to 1537 and from 1532 duke in Florence ci, at the same time he was also a half-brother of Caterina de 'Medici , the wife of Heinrich von Valois, who was called Henry II from 1547 to 1559 was king of France .

Continuation of family policy

Thanks to the targeted family policy of her father-in-law there was again cause for joy for Gerolama in 1540, since her son Ottavio in 1540 at the age of sixteen was taken over by his grandfather Paul III. in a secret consistory to the hereditary Duke of Camerino - who had belonged to the Varano family for centuries - and was made Lord of Nepi .

Careful to secure the position of the family through a balanced foreign policy and to balance the emperor-friendly policies of his eldest son Pier Luigi II, Pope Paul III decided. to make a gesture towards France that repeatedly claimed Italian territory. This was done by - to Gerolama's little delight - by sending her twelve-year-old son Orazio Farnese (* 1532; † 1553) to the court of the rival of Emperor Charles V in 1543 - that of King Francis I of France (1515-1547) posted.

Two years later, Gerolama had the pleasure that only very few women had of seeing a second son - Ranuccio Farnese (* 1530; † 1565) at the tender age of 15 in cardinal purple .

Duchess of Parma and Piacenza

Pier Luigi did not want to be satisfied with the Duchy of Castro. He wanted a state largely independent of the Church, so he directed his ambitions to other areas, such as the Duchy of Milan, the Republic of Siena or the city of Piacenza .

Since Emperor Charles V refused the enfeoffment with Milan, Pope Paul III decided. to enfeoff his son Pier Luigi with the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza. The relevant decision was made on August 17, 1545 in the consistory . With the papal bull “Apostolicae Sedis” Pier Luigi was enfeoffed with the duchy, but at the same time obliged to pay an annual fee of 9,000 ducats and to cede the Duchy of Castro to his son Ottavio Farnese (* 1524; † 1586).

Gerolama therefore no longer bore the title of Duchess of Castro from 1545, but the much more important Duchess of Parma and Piacenza. At the same time she was about to move to Piacenza again, where Pier Luigi set up his apartment in the old castle.

In the same year, on August 27, 1545, she was able to celebrate the birth of her grandson Alessandro Farnese , later Duke of Parma and Piacenza, who was the only one to continue the tribe of the house. Two years later, on June 29, 1547, Gerolama was able to attend the solemn wedding of her only daughter Vittoria Farnese to Guidobaldo II della Rovere , Duke of Urbino and Gubbio.

The catastrophe

This new phase of Gerolama's life was to end very quickly and tragically: on September 10, 1547, her husband, Duke Pier Luigi, was murdered in the old citadel of Piacenza.

The assassination attempt came suddenly, but not entirely unexpected: Pier Luigi had made enemies of the local nobility through his hard hand - the government of his duchy was in the hands of strangers, the local nobility was ousted and persecuted. At the same time, he had annoyed Emperor Charles V with his presumptuousness, who regarded Parma and Piacenza as actually imperial fiefs and therefore never recognized him as Duke of Parma and Piacenza, but only as Duke of Castro.

With the support of the Imperial Governor of Milan , Ferrante I Gonzaga , a conspiracy of the local nobility led by Counts Giovanni Anguissola and Agostino Landi broke out. They penetrated the citadel, murdered Pier Luigi and threw his corpse out of the window into the moat with the cry of "libertà e impero" (freedom and empire). As if that weren't enough, Ferrante I Gonzaga arrived in Piacenza the next day to take possession of the duchy for the emperor, who in turn made claims to the duchy.

A world collapsed for Gerolama, as not only the seemingly unstoppable rise of her husband suddenly ended, but the loss of the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza, which had only been preserved two years earlier, threatened the family.

Saving the Duchy of Parma

Fortunately, the head of the family - Pope Paul III. - still alive and was therefore able to avert the catastrophe. Outraged by the murder of his only son, he accused the Consistory of Ferrante I Gonzaga of the murder of Duke Pier Luigi and at the same time appointed his grandson - Gerolama's son - Ottavio Farnese as the new Duke of Parma and Piacenza and gonfalonier of the Church.

Ottavio immediately rushed to Parma, which Ferrante Gonzaga had not occupied, and was able to establish himself there as heir. Pope Paul, however, hesitated in the face of the threatening confrontation with Emperor Charles V, withdrew his support for Ottavio, reclaimed Parma for the church, ordered Ottavio to withdraw from Parma and had Parma occupied by a general of the church.

Ottavio retired to the strong fortress Torrechiara near Langhirano - about 18 km from Parma - determined not to give up his claim to this duchy. He successfully defended himself there and negotiated with Emperor Charles V - his father-in-law. When Pope Paul III. Having learned this, he is said to have become so angry at the disobedience of his grandson that this excitement would have contributed to his death soon thereafter. A few hours before the Pope's death on November 10, 1549, Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, Gerolama's eldest son, managed to persuade his grandfather to accept the factual situation.

The successor to the Holy See, Julius III. , Pope from 1550 to 1555, finally confirmed the enfeoffment only with Parma and even Emperor Charles V accepted this compromise in 1550.

After worries about the continuation of the princely role of the House of Farnese, Gerolama was undoubtedly relieved that at least the Duchy of Parma and thus the rank of the family among the first houses in Italy was secured.

Sisterhood with the King of France

Marriage of Diana with Orazio Farnese, fresco by Taddeo Zuccari

Soon after, Gerolama was able to look forward to a significant success of her father-in-law's forward-looking family policy: the stay of her third son Orazio Farnese in France was not without consequences: In February 1553, he married Diane , Duchess of Angoulême and Étampes in the Cathedral of Siena ( * July 25, 1538 in Fossano ; † January 11, 1619 in Paris ). She was an illegitimate but legitimate daughter of King Henry II of France , who was married by another mistress of the king - Diane de Poitiers , Duchess of Étampes and Valentinois - (a duchy founded in 1498 by King Louis XII (1498-1515) ) was created for Cesare Borgia ) - was educated. Gerolama thereby came into brotherhood with the King of France.

Restoration of the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza

The desire to restore the duchy to its full extent was a common concern of both Gerolamas and their son Ottavio Farnese . With the abdication of Emperor Charles V in 1556 in favor of his son Philip II , the animosity with the House of Austria , which assumed that Parma and Piacenza actually had imperial fiefs, since the Spanish Habsburgs were interested in the battle for the, dissolved Influence on Italy to build the Farnese as an ally. In the Treaty of Ghent on September 15, 1556, Parma , Piacenza , Novara and the possessions and rents in the Kingdom of Naples , which Duchess Margarethe had brought into the marriage, were transferred to Ottavio Farnese as a fiefdom of the empire. The fortress of Piacenza, where Gerolama had lived with Pier Luigi II, was left to a Spanish occupation.

Later years

Gerolama's joy about this success was clouded by the fact that her youngest son Orazio Farnese , 3rd Duke of Castro, in 1555 in a battle in France on the border with Artois near Hesdin , the Duke Emanuel Philibert of Savoy (1553-1580) in Order of the Emperor Charles V besieged, died childless at the age of only 22. The Duchy of Castro therefore fell to his older brother Ottavio Farnese.

In 1561 her son Ottavio Farnese began in Parma - which he had designated as the capital of his duchies - probably not without the assistance of his mother - with the construction of the "Palazzo del Giardino" also known as "alazzo Ducale del Giardino", which until the middle of the It served as the seat of the ducal court in the 16th century and was therefore undoubtedly also inhabited by his mother. (Today the headquarters of the Carabinieri)

The Palazzo del Giardino in Parma.

Four years later, in 1565, their second youngest son, Ranuccio Farnese, Cardinal Bishop of Sabina , died, an office that Gerolama's eldest son, Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, took over.

Infanta Maria of Portugal

In the autumn of the same year, however, there was cause for joy, since Gerolama's grandson Alessandro Farnese , who later succeeded as the 3rd Duke of Parma, Piacenza, 4th Duke of Castro and Ronciglione (1586-1592), on November 11, 1565 in Brussels married at the court of King Philip II with Maria Infanta of Portugal (born December 8, 1538 in Lisbon, † September 7, 1577). She was a daughter of the Infante Eduard (Duarte), the fourth Duke of Guimarães and Elisabeth (Isabel) of Braganza and therefore a granddaughter of King Manuel I of Portugal (1495-1521).

Two years before her death, Gerolama was able to take part in the laying of the foundation stone of the important Palazzo Farnese in Piacenza, which was built by order of her son, Duke Ottavio Farnese according to plans by the architect Francesco Paciotto da Urbino on the site where the old citadel previously stood Gerolama had lived with her husband Pier Luigi II Farnese from 1545 and where he had been murdered. (Today city museum)

Gerolama also witnessed the birth of her great grandson Ranuccio I Farnese (son of her grandson, 3rd Duke Alessandro Farnese) on March 28, 1569 , who succeeded him from 1592 to 1622 as the fourth Duke of Parma and Piacenza.

Gerolama died in Viterbo in 1570 at an advanced age (around 67 years of age) and was buried with her husband, Duke Pier Luigi, in the traditional burial place of the Farnese family on Isola Bisentina in Lake Bolsena in the church of Santa Maria.

Marriage and offspring

Gerolama Orsini married in 1519 in the castle of Farnese in Valentano Pier Luigi II Farnese (born November 19, 1503 in Rome , † murdered September 10, 1547 in Piacenza ), 1st Duke of Parma and Piacenza (1545–1547) 1st Duke of Castro and Ronciglione (1538) Gonfaloniere of the Roman Church 1537, Margrave of Novara 1538, Count of Pitigliano and Lord of Nepi (1537), son of Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, who was Pope Paul III from 1534 to 1549 . ruled, from his extramarital relationship with Silvia Ruffini.

Children:

• Alessandro Farnese (* December 18, 1520 in Valentano; † March 4, 1589), known as “il Gran Cardinale” (the Great Cardinal) cardinal dean , vice-chancellor of the church, several legates to Emperor Charles V and King Henry II of France, etc. ., famous art patron.
• Ottavio Farnese (October 9, 1524 - September 18, 1586 in Parma ), Duke of Camerino (1540–1545), 2nd Duke of Castro (1545–1547), 2nd Duke of Parma and Piacenza (1547–1586) ⚭ 1538 Margarethe von Österreich (1522–1586), illegitimate, recognized daughter of Emperor Karl V./I. from Spain
• Orazio Farnese (* in February 1532 in the castle of Valentano; † falls at Hesdin on July 18, 1553), 3rd Duke of Castro (1547–1553), Prefect of Rome ⚭ February 13, 1553 in Siena Diane , Duchess of Angoulême and Étampes (born July 25, 1538 in Paris, † January 11, 1619 in Paris), illegitimate, legitimate daughter of King Henry II of France (1547–1559). She was in her second marriage to François de Montmorency (* 1530; † 1579), the 2nd Duc (Duke) of Montmorency, Marshal of France etc., a son of Anne de Montmorency (* 1493; † 1567), the famous Connétable of France and the first Duke of Montmorency , with whom Gerolama came into brotherhood.
• Ranuccio Farnese (born August 11, 1530 in Valentano; † October 29, 1565 in Parma), 1544 - at the age of 14 - Archbishop of Naples, 1545 cardinal , known as “cardinalino di Sant'Angelo” (the little cardinal of Sant'Angelo) , 1565 Cardinal Bishop of Sabina , great patron of the arts.
• Vittoria Farnese (* 1521 in Rome; † September 13, 1602 in Pesaro) ⚭ Guidobaldo II. Della Rovere (* April 2, 1514 in Urbino ; † September 28, 1574 in Pesaro ), Duke of Urbino (1538–1574).

See also

• List of rulers of Parma

Individual evidence

1. ↑ See article “Bobone” on Wikipedia in Italian
2. ↑ http://www.sardimpex.com/Orsini/orsiniantichi.htm  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
3. ↑ See article Gian Gacomo Medici on Wikipedia in Italian.
4. ↑ http://genealogy.euweb.cz/italy/medici4.html
5. ↑ http://www.sardimpex.com /Orsini/orsiniantichi.htm
6. ↑ see article "Pier Luigi Farnese" in Wikipedia in Italian.
7. ^ Emilio Nasalli Rocca: "I Farnese", dall'Oglio editore, 1969, p. 62.
8. ^ Emilio Nasalli Rocca: op. Cit. S75
9. ^ Emilio Nasalli Rocca: op. Cit. P. 83.
10. ↑ Dante Zucchelli e Renzo Fedocci, Il Palazzo Ducale di Parma, Artegrafica Silva, Parma 1980th
11. ↑ See article “Palazzo Farnese (Piacenza)” from Wikipedia in Italian
12. ↑ http://genealogy.euweb.cz/farnese2.html  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  

literature

• Beatrice Quaglieri:  GIROLAMA Orsini, duchessa di Parma e Piacenza. In: Mario Caravale (ed.): Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (DBI). Volume 56:  Giovanni di Crescenzio – Giulietti. Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, Rome 2001.
• Emilio Nasalli Rocca: I Farnese. dell'Oglio editore, 1969.
• Giovanni Drei: I Farnese, grandezza e decadenza di una dinastia italiana. La Libreria dello Stato, Roma 1954.