House of Farnese in the context of "Duchy of Castro"

The Duchy of Parma and Piacenza (Italian: Ducato di Parma e Piacenza, Latin: Ducatus Parmae et Placentiae) was an Italian state created in 1545 and located in northern Italy, in the current region of Emilia-Romagna.

Originally a realm of the Farnese family after Pope Paul III made it a hereditary duchy for his son, Pier Luigi Farnese, it was ruled by the dynasty until 1731, when the last duke, Antonio Farnese, died without direct heirs. After a decade of Habsburg rule, the duchy passed to the House of Bourbon-Parma.

Palazzo Farnese ([paˈlattso farˈneːze, -eːse]) or Farnese Palace is one of the most important High Renaissance palaces in Rome. Owned by the Italian Republic, it was given to the French government in 1936 for a period of 99 years, and currently serves as the French embassy in Italy.

First designed in 1517 for the Farnese family, the building expanded in size and conception when Alessandro Farnese became Pope Paul III in 1534, to designs by Antonio da Sangallo the Younger. Its building history involved some of the most prominent Italian architects of the 16th century, including Michelangelo, Jacopo Barozzi da Vignola and Giacomo della Porta.

The Villa Farnese, also known as Villa Caprarola, is a pentagonal mansion in the town of Caprarola in the province of Viterbo, Northern Lazio, Italy, approximately 50 kilometres (31 mi) north-west of Rome, originally commissioned and owned by the House of Farnese. A property of the Republic of Italy, Villa Farnese is run by the Polo Museale del Lazio. This villa is not to be confused with two similarly-named properties of the family, the Palazzo Farnese and the Villa Farnesina, both in Rome.

The Villa Farnese is situated directly above the town of Caprarola and dominates its surroundings. It is a massive Renaissance and Mannerist construction, opening to the Monte Cimini, a range of densely wooded volcanic hills. It is built on a five-sided plan in reddish gold stone; buttresses support the upper floors. As a centerpiece of the vast Farnese holdings, Caprarola was always an expression of Farnese power, rather than a villa in the more usual agricultural or pleasure senses.

Caprarola is a town and comune in the province of Viterbo, in the Lazio region of central Italy. The village is situated in a range of volcanic hills known as the Cimini Mounts.

The town is home to the large Renaissance mansion or villa which dominates the surrounding country-side, Villa Farnese (or Villa Caprarola). Not to be confused with the Palazzo Farnese in Rome, it was initially built as a fortress, as the town and the surrounding area was a feud of the House of Farnese, by the cardinal Alessandro Farnese senio in 1530, according to a project of the architect Antonio da Sangallo the Younger. After only four years the project came to a halt when the cardinal was elected pope in 1534 under the name Paul III.

Antonio Farnese (29 November 1679 – 20 January 1731) was the eighth and final Farnese Duke of Parma and Piacenza. He married, in 1727, Enrichetta d'Este of Modena with the intention of begetting an heir. The marriage, however, was childless, leading to the succession of Charles of Spain, whose mother, Elisabeth Farnese, was Antonio's niece, to the ducal throne.

Pico is a town and comune in the province of Frosinone, in the Lazio region of central Italy. It is bounded by other comunes of San Giovanni Incarico, Campodimele, Pontecorvo, Pastena and Lenola.

It is part of the Comunità Montana Monti Ausoni. Sights include the Farnese castle, founded around the 11th century AD. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages of Italy").

Giulia Farnese (Italian pronunciation: [ˈdʒuːlja farˈneːze, -eːse]; 1474 – 23 March 1524) was an Italian noblewoman, a mistress to Pope Alexander VI, and the sister of Pope Paul III. Known as Giulia la Bella (Italian for 'Julia the Beautiful'), she was a member of the noble Farnese family, who were prominent leaders in the Italian regions of Parma and Piacenza. After marrying into the noble Orsini family in the Papal States, Farnese soon acquainted herself with, and initiated an affair with, the Spanish Cardinal Rodrigo de Borja. When the cardinal was elected Pope, Farnese continued the increasingly advantageous liaison, which enabled her to have her brother Alessandro made a cardinal, until losing Alexander's favor at the turn of the century.

Farnese spent most of her later years governing the castle of Carbognano, previously a property which Alexander had given to her husband. She died in 1524 in Rome at the residence belonging to Alessandro, who would later be elected Pope Paul III.