Alessandro Farnese

The son of the grandson of Pope Paul III, Ottavio Farnese, and the illegitimate daughter of the Emperor Charles V, Margaret of Austria, Alessandro Farnese (1545-1592) was the third Duke of Parma and Piacenza and one of the most important military leaders of the sixteenth century. Very attached to his uncle Philip II of Spain and his cousin Don John of Austria, Alessandro completed his training at the court of Madrid. In 1571 he took part in the victorious battle of Lepanto and in 1577 arrived in Flanders, where the following year he took the place of Don John as the new governor of the Netherlands. The many military successes of the following years earned him the prestigious award of the Golden Fleece. He became Duke of Parma and Piacenza after the death of his father Ottavio (1586). He never returned to his estates and was sent by Philip II to France which was torn by the Wars of Religion. He died of a wound in battle.