The Duchy of Parma was created in 1545 from that part of the Duchy of Milan south of the Po River, which had been conquered by the State of the Church in 1512. These territories, centered on the city of Parma, were given as a fief for Pope Paul III's illegitimate son, Pier Luigi Farnese. The state was originally ruled by the Farnese family before eventually falling to the House of Bourbon by inheritance. Following the creation of the state of Italy in 1859 the duchy was abolished. It was also a state of the Holy Roman Empire till 1806 and had various links with its neighbour the Grand Duchy of Tuscany.
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