Early years Born on 7 November 1567 in
Parma, Margherita was the eldest child and only daughter of
Alexander Farnese, Hereditary Prince of Parma (since 1586 was ruling Duke of Parma) and
Infanta Maria of Portugal. On the paternal side, the princess was the granddaughter of
Ottavio Farnese, Duke of Parma and
Margaret of Austria (in turn an illegitimate daughter of
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor); on the maternal side, she was the granddaughter of the
Infante Duarte of Portugal, Duke of Guimarães and
Isabel of Braganza. Named after her paternal grandmother, Margherita was baptized on 11 January 1568 with her godparents being
Pope Pius V (represented by Bishop Ferdinando (Ferrante) Farnese –a distant cousin of the Latera branch of the Ducal family) and her paternal great-grandmother
Gerolama Orsini, Dowager Duchess of Parma (represented by Caterina De Nobili Sforza). In 1577, Margherita's mother died; in her will, she entrusted to her mother-in-law the guardianship of her 13-year-old daughter. In March 1580, the princess and her grandmother Margaret of Austria left
Piacenza for the
Netherlands; there Margaret of Austria was going to support her son, Hereditary Prince Alessandro of Parma, who became a
Governor after the death of
John of Austria. In
Namur Margherita was in frequent contact with her father, despite the fact that there was friction between him and her grandmother over their co-Governonship of the Netherlands. In this regard, the famous physiologist Girolamo Fabrici d'Acquapendente was invited to
Parma from
Padua. After examining Margherita, he advised to expand her vagina with a cone-shaped object the size of her husband's penis. Margherita was elected abbess of the monastery of Sant'Alessandro nine times, dying there on 13 April 1643 aged 75. At first, she was buried in the monastery grounds like the other nuns, until 14 December 1853, when
Charles III, Duke of Parma ordered to transfer her remains to the
Sanctuary of Santa Maria della Steccata and to bury her remains in the necropolis of the
Farnese and
Bourbon dynasties. The Margherita's tomb is located next to her father's; on the tombstone are carved the coat of arms of the House of Farnese and an epitaph with a summary of her life. ==In culture==