Farnese glories
The term Fasti refers to a series of self-celebratory representations that exalt the fame of the Farnese family through the pictorial representation of the most important events in which family members are protagonists.
The Fasti Farnesiani are divided into two cycles. The first series consists of canvases commissioned by Ranuccio II for the stuccoed apartment, painted by Giovanni Evangelisti Draghi, Sebastiano Ricci, and others, between 1685 and 1687. These depict the stories of Pope Paul III and Alessandro Farnese. The canvases were transferred to Naples at the behest of Charles of Bourbon in 1734 and returned to the Municipality of Piacenza in 1928. They constitute only a portion of the original cycle, as some canvases remain in Naples today.
The second series includes the paintings created in 1714 by Ilario Spolverini, commissioned to continue the cycle, and depict the marriage of Elisabetta Farnese to Philip V of Spain, which took place in 1714. The original cycle is divided between Palazzo Farnese, the Royal Palace of Caserta and the Town Hall of Parma.
The Splendors of Alexander Farnese
Alessandro Farnese witnesses the destruction of the Invincible Armada
Sebastiano Ricci - 1686-87
The cycle of celebrations for the Farnese family was initiated by Duke Ranuccio II following three concurrent favorable events: the acquisition of the principality of Landi, the reopening of the Exchange Fair in Piacenza, and the marriage of Crown Prince Odoardo to Dorothea Sophia of Newburg. The canvases depicting Alessandro Farnese were placed between August 1686 and May 1687. The figure of Alessandro, architect of the Catholic and Spanish reconquest of Flanders and loyal supporter of the King of Spain, Philip II, was widely celebrated after his death in 1592. The painter commissioned by Ranuccio II was Giovanni Evangelista Draghi, already a painter at the Farnese court; he was able to draw on numerous iconographic sources. The De Bello Belgico (1640–48), a historical-documentary compendium commissioned by the Farnese family from the Jesuit Famiano Strada, concerning the Catholic reconquest of Flanders, was a useful documentary source for the iconography of the Fasti paintings. The Duke is depicted here at crucial moments of his brilliant career as a strategist, designing fortifications, developing battle plans, receiving a petition from representatives of conquered cities, receiving the Dedication of the Walloon Provinces, his allies, and finally receiving the Pontifical Stocco, the highest honor awarded to defenders of the Catholic faith.
The glories of Paul III Farnese
Paul III approves the project for the Piacenza Castle
Sebastiano Ricci - 1687-88
There were nineteen paintings in this series, all by Sebastiano Ricci (1659-1734), but currently there are fifteen. The cycle, dedicated to Paul III Farnese, was completed on the occasion of the marriage between Odoardo Farnese and Dorothea Sophia of Newburg in 1690. The paintings present the pope's virtues as a reformer and peacemaker of internal tensions within the Catholic Church.
The paintings belonging to the cycle of Paul III are: Paul III approves the Society of Jesus; Paul III approves the Capuchin order; Paul III among the cardinals; Paul III blesses a fleet setting out against the Saracens; Paul III with a statue of the Madonna; Paul III appoints his son Pier Luigi Duke of Piacenza and Parma; Paul III and the cardinals on their way to Trento; Paul III inspired by Faith to convene the Council of Trent; Faith points to a statue of Paul III; Apotheosis of Paul III; Paul III reconciles Francis I and Charles V; Conclave; Paul III approves the project for the castle of Piacenza.
The Splendors of Elizabeth Farnese 
Elizabeth meets with Cardinals Gozzadini and Acquaviva
Ilario Spolverini - 1714-17
The series dedicated to the marriage of Elisabetta Farnese to the King of Spain, Philip V, which took place in 1714 ideally closes the family's story, which began with the wedding in 1538 of Ottavio to Margaret of Austria, daughter of Emperor Charles V.
The marriage of the last Farnese to the king of Spain was due to the diplomatic astuteness of Cardinal Giulio Alberoni from Piacenza.
The paintings belonging to the celebratory cycle of the wedding, created by Ilario Spolverini between 1714 and 1717, are unfortunately today divided between the Civic Museums of Palazzo Farnese, the Royal Palace of Caserta and the Municipality of Parma.
