Alessandro Farnese (5 October 1520 – 2 March 1589) was an Italian cardinal, diplomat, and a great collector and patron of the arts. Farnese was the grandson of Pope Paul III (who also bore the name Alessandro Farnese), and the son of Pier Luigi Farnese, Duke of Parma, who was murdered in 1547. He should not be confused with his nephew, Alessandro Farnese, Governor of the Spanish Netherlands, and the great-grandson of Pope Paul III.
Farnese was born at the family castle at Valentano in Tuscany on 7 October 1520 (current province of Viterbo), the son of Pierluigi Farnese, who was the son of Cardinal Alessandro Farnese (Pope Paul III); and Girolama Orsini, daughter of Ludovico Orsini, seventh Conte di Pitigliano, and Giulia Conti. Pierluigi Farnese and Girolama Orsini were married in Rome on 6 August 1519. Young Alessandro studied at Bologna along with his cousin, Guido Ascanio Sforza di Santa Fiora. He was a member of the Collegio Ancarano, which had been founded in the 15th century by Petrus de Ancarano in Tuscia, for students specializing in legal studies.
On 18 December 1534, at the age of 14, he was appointed Cardinal Deacon of Sant'Angelo in Pescheria by his grandfather Paul III, who had been elected to the papacy two months previously. On 11 August 1535, he was appointed Abbot Commendatory of the Abbey of Tre Fontane on the Via Ostiense, a position he held until 1544. In 1535, he was also appointed Abbot commendatory of S. Étienne de Caën.
Young Cardinal Farnese received many other offices and benefices, becoming Vice-Chancellor of the Holy Roman Church (13 August 1535 – 2 March 1589), He also became Governor of Tivoli (1535–1550), Archpriest of St. Mary Major Basilica (1537–1543), Archpriest of St. Peter's Basilica (1543–1589). On 27 August 1539, at the age of 18, Alessandro Farnese was named titular Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem; he vacated the office on the appointment of a new Patriarch on 28 February 1550. The office was highly lucrative, the duties were nominal and did not necessarily involve episcopal functions.
In 1538, he was appointed Pope Paul III's principal Secretary and, with the assistance of Monsignor (Msgr.) Marcello Cervino, he managed most of the papal business until 1549.
In 1541, Cardinal Farnese was named Protector of the Holy Roman Empire before the Holy See and Protector of Spain before the Holy See. These offices made him the most prominent expediter of all Imperial and Spanish business in the Roman Curia; his opinion was always consulted and, since he was the Pope's nephew, it was often followed. At the same time, he was appointed Papal Legate in Avignon (1541–1565). Royal consent was required.
From 1564 to 1565, he was Bishop of Sabina and it is conjectured (in the absence of positive evidence) that it was in 1564 that Farnese finally was consecrated a bishop. He was certainly a bishop when he was the principal Consecrator of Cardinal Giulio della Rovere on 15 April 1566. From 1565 to 1578, he was Bishop of Tusculum (Frascati). He was the Bishop of Porto from 9 July 1578 to 5 December 1580. He was then Cardinal-Bishop of Ostia and Velletri and Dean of the College of Cardinals from 5 December 1580 until his death on 2 March 1589.
His grandfather, Pope Paul III, immediately named Alessandro Farnese Administrator of the Diocese of Parma (1 November 1534), allowing him to collect the episcopal income during the interregnum. Alessandro resigned on 13 August 1535, when Cardinal Guido Ascanio Sforza di Santa Fiora, another grandson of Paul III and only two years older than Alessandro, was named the new Administrator (enjoying his Parmesan income until he resigned in 1560).
Farnese was appointed Administrator of Jaen, Spain, from 30 July 1535 until another Administrator, Cardinal Alessandro Cesarini, was appointed on 6 July 1537. He was Administrator of the Archdiocese of Avignon from 1535 to 1551 and of the Diocese of Vizeu, Portugal (1547–1552).
On 9 May 1536, the Emperor Charles V named Cardinal Farnese as the new archbishop of Monreale in Sicily; his appointment was confirmed on 15 May 1536, by Pope Paul III. But Monreale was not a happy place, since the monks of the Cathedral of Monreale and the clergy of the diocese were in one squabble after another with each other. On 26 July 1549, the Pope was forced to intervene, in a letter in which he referred to the Cardinal under the title of perpetuus Administrator. A Vicar was appointed for the underage and absentee Archbishop, Msgr. Giovanni Antonio Fassari, titular Bishop of Christopolis in Greece; he was succeeded in 1546 by Pompeo Zambecari. In 1557, he was followed by Msgr. Giovanni Pietro Fortiguerra, Bishop of Cyrene in Libya., The Cardinal allowed the Jesuits to found a college in Monreale, and allowed the priests of the Society to work in the diocese. In 1568, Cardinal Farnese visited his diocese and held a synod. He was accompanied by his librarian, the famous antiquarian and papal biographer, Onofrio Panvinio, who, unhappily, died at Palermo on 16 (?) March 1568. The Cardinal continued to enjoy the income of the diocese until 1573, when he resigned the bishopric.
On 17 June 1537, Farnese was appointed Administrator of the Diocese of Bitonto in the Kingdom of Naples on the resignation of Bishop Lopez de Alarcon; his administration ceased upon the appointment of a new bishop on 8 January 1538. He became Administrator of Diocese of Massa Marittima on 15 November 1538, on the resignation of Bishop Hieronymus de Glanderonibus; since he was only eighteen, he was not canonically eligible to be the bishop, though he could—and did—collect the income of the bishop until a successor was appointed in April 1547. On 16 July 1540, Farnese was named Administrator of the Diocese of Cavaillon in Provence, which he resigned one year later on 20 July 1541. In 1549, his grandfather Pope Paul III died.
He was Administrator of the Archdiocese of Tours from 28 April 1553, until Pope Julius III ordered the issue of bulls for Archbishop Simon de Mailly on 25 June 1554. In the case of Tours, the right of nomination belonged to the King of France, Henri II, whose daughter Diane had married Farnese's youngest brother Orazio in 1552. On 25 June 1554, the same day that his administration of Tours ceased, Farnese was appointed Administrator of the Diocese of Viviers, which lasted until the Pope approved King Henri's nomination of a new bishop on 12 November 1554. He was likewise nominated by the King of France to be Administrator of the Diocese of Cahors, the appointment being approved by Pope Julius III on 12 November 1554; a new bishop was approved by Pope Paul IV on 7 May 1557, ending his appointment. There had been two Conclaves in the interim, accounting probably for the length of his Administration of Cahors. In 1555, Cardinal Farnese was named Administrator of the Diocese of Spoleto, a post he held until a new bishop was appointed on 16 December 1562. Cardinal Alessandro Farnese also served as Administrator of the Archdiocese of Benevento from 22 November 1556, until a new archbishop was approved by Paul IV on 14 January 1558. All of these appointments should be considered as opportunities for financial enrichment, not opportunities for service in vineyards of the Lord far from Rome. The various administrations were carried out by authorized agents.
In 1564, Alessandro Farnese succeeded his brother Ranuccio as Abbot Commendatory of the Monastery of Farfa, which he held until his death in 1589. It was he who introduced the Benedictine monks of the Congregation of Monte Cassino into the monastery in 1567. He also built, or rebuilt, the monastery's water supply.
Farnese also became a Papal Legate, arranging peace between the perpetually warring Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and Francis I of France. In the Consistory of 24 November 1539 he was sent as Apostolic Legatus a latere to attempt to arrange a peace between the two feuding monarchs. He left Rome on 29 November and entered Paris on 31 December. He was in Rouen on 14 January 1540, met with the King on 14 February. He then left for Flanders on 17 February for a meeting with the Emperor; he stayed for three months, and returned to Paris on 14 May. He had a meeting with King Francis on the 17th at Saint-Germain-en-Laye. He returned to Rome on 5 June 1540.