FARNESE, ALESSANDRO, DUKE (DUCA) DI PARMA E PIACENZA

born Aug. 27, 1545, Rome died Dec. 3, 1592, Arras, France regent of the Netherlands (157892) for Philip II, the Habsburg king of Spain. He was primarily responsible for maintaining Spanish control there and for perpetuating Roman Catholicism in the southern provinces (now Belgium). In 1586 he succeeded his father as duke of Parma and Piacenza, but he never returned to Italy to rule.