Editing Pope Paul III (section)

==Fictional portrayal==
[[Stendhal]]'s novel ''[[La Chartreuse de Parme]]'' was inspired by an inauthentic Italian account of the dissolute youth of Alessandro Farnese.<ref>M. R.B. Shaw, introduction to Penguin Classics 1958 translation of ''[[The Charterhouse of Parma]]''</ref>

The character of [[List of The Tudors characters|Pope Paul III]], played by [[Peter O'Toole]], in the series ''[[The Tudors]]'' is loosely inspired by him. The young Alessandro Farnese is played by [[Diarmuid Noyes]] in the serial ''[[Borgia (TV series)|Borgia]]'' and by [[Cyron Melville]] in ''[[The Borgias (2011 TV series)|The Borgias]]''. His image is portrayed in a parody of the ''[[Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band]]'' album cover, placed inside of the album ''[[We're Only in It for the Money]]'' by the [[Mothers of Invention]].