1 Quarantano - Ranuccio II Farnese

Ranuccio II ruled the Farnese duchy for nearly five decades, but his reign was defined less by prosperity than by fiscal deterioration and dependence on Spanish patronage. The quarantano — valued at 40 denari — was a denomination peculiar to the Parma monetary system, and issues under Ranuccio II were produced across a long span with considerable die variation, reflected in the CNI's enumeration of multiple distinct specimens. The duchy's minting activity during this period was constrained by chronic debt; Ranuccio II was notorious for the 1612 witch-trial executions of his own courtiers, an event that preceded his rule but cast a long shadow over Farnese legitimacy well into the later century.