House of Farnese
Cardinals Farnese, Savelli, Correggio, Ricci and Boncompagni were considered as the main "papabili". Farnese was the most active in promoting his own candidature, but he met also with the strongest opposition. His main opponent was Cardinal Medici, because of the rivalry between the House of Medici (Grand Duchy of Tuscany) and the House of Farnese (Duchy of Parma) in Northern Italy. Also king Philip II of Spain opposed Farnese's candidature, because he considered his elevation dangerous to the balance of power in Italy. The worldly Farnese was also unacceptable to the austere Carlo Borromeo. It was generally expected that conclave would last very long, possibly even several months.