(By marriage of female heirs – male line became extinct twice.)
The House of Barberini is a family of the Italian nobility that rose to prominence in the 17th century Rome. Their influence peaked with the election of Cardinal Maffeo Barberini to the papal throne in 1623, as Pope Urban VIII. Their urban palace, the Palazzo Barberini, completed in 1633 by Bernini, today houses Italy's Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica (National Gallery of Ancient Art).
The Barberini family was originally a family of minor nobility from the Tuscan town of Barberino Val d'Elsa, who settled in Florence during the early part of the 11th century.[1]
Carlo Barberini (1488–1566) and his brother Antonio Barberini (1494–1559) were successful Florentine grain, wool and textile merchants. In 1530 Antonio participated in the defense of the Florentine Republic but after the capture of the city by Imperial troops, and the return to power of the Medici, Antonio grew weary of Medici rule and left Florence in 1537 to oversee Barberini business in Rome.[2]
In 1552, Carlo's son Francesco followed his uncle to Rome and business flourished. Francesco became a very rich man and bought several high offices within government and the Catholic church. In 1559, his uncle Antonio was murdered by forces loyal to the Medici.
Francesco continued to build his fortune and amass titles until he died in 1600. Ordinarily, his estate would have been "fined" by the Camera Apostolica for operating a business while holding church office but his relatives successfully appealed to the head of the organization Francesco had, himself, once directed. The continuation of Barberini's business fell to his nephews (the sons of his brother, Antonio Barberini, who had died in 1571) including Maffeo Barberini.
Maffeo Barberini as Pope Urban VIII
Barberini coat-of-arms (three bees) surmounted by papal tiara and crossed keys on a coin struck for Pope Urban VIII.Barberini arms in Rome on a plaque commemorating Urban VIII.
The ecclesiastical, diplomatic, and cultural accomplishments of Urban's reign were overshadowed by the nepotism the pope practised. Urban's contemporary, John Bargrave, wrote:[4]
Upon his elevation, his kindred flew from Florence to Rome like so many bees (which are the Barberini's arms), to suck the honey of the Church, which they did excessively.
Likewise, the War of Castro, toward the end of Urban's papacy, sullied Urban's reputation and the popularity of those family members who survived him. It is estimated that during Urban's reign, the Barberini amassed 105 million scudi in personal wealth.[3]
When the pope removed the ancient bronze beams from the portico of the Pantheon to procure bronze for the baldachin of St. Peter's Basilica and for the papal cannon foundry, an anonymous critic punningly wrote:[5]
Quod non fecerunt barbari, fecerunt Barberini
This translates to "What the barbarians did not do, the Barberini did". The pope erected a tablet proudly proclaiming his re-use of these hidden beams for the glory and defense of the church.
Wars of Castro, exile and restoration
The Palazzo Colonna Barberini in Palestrina; the comune over which various Barberini family members were given control.
The Barberini participated extensively in the First War of Castro. The conflict began when Odoardo Farnese, Duke of Parma and Piacenza, visited Rome and insulted the pope's nephews by suggesting the brothers were too young to manage the Pope's affairs. The war produced no clear victor, and Pope Urban died in 1644, only months after a peace accord was signed.[3]
Despite Urban's appointment of several relatives as cardinals, the College of Cardinals elected Pope Innocent X of the Pamphili family. Almost immediately, Innocent X launched an investigation into the conduct of various members of the Barberini family during the wars.[3]
The three nephews who had risen to prominence under their uncle Pope Urban VIII, cardinals Antonio and Francesco and Prince Taddeo were forced into exile and fled to Paris under the protection of Cardinal Mazarin. Antonio and Taddeo left first, by sea, but not before hanging the French coat of arms above the door of the Palazzo Barberini to confirm they were under the protection of France. Francesco joined his brothers soon after.
Taddeo's wife, Anna Colonna also joined her husband and children in Paris but not before making a passionate appeal (in person) to the Pope, urging him not to strip the Barberini of their assets. The Pope agreed and, though he paid some debts out of the Barberini estate, left the Barberini alone.[3]
In Paris, they relied on the hospitality of Louis XIV, King of France, until 1653 when most of the family finally returned to Rome. Though Taddeo died in exile in 1647, his brothers eventually reconciled with the papacy through the marriage of Taddeo's younger son Maffeo with Olimpia Giustiniani, a niece of Pope Innocent. Maffeo was given his father's former title, that of Prince of Palestrina.
In 1728, the Carbognano branch (Colonna di Sciarra) of the Colonna family added the name Barberini to its family name when Giulio Cesare Colonna di Sciarra married Cornelia Barberini, daughter of Urbano Barberini, the last legitimate male Barberini heir.[6]
Though Urbano's wives bore him no legitimate male heirs, Urbano fathered a son, Maffeo Callisto Barberini in 1688 before any one of his three marriages. The will of Urbano Barberini's last wife, Maria Teresa Boncompagni, makes mention of this Maffeo Callisto as the Marquis of Corese. A large portion of the Barberini estate was left for him in her will.[7]
Later her progeny came into conflict with his over claims to the Barberini estate but the quarrel was settled with an agreement signed in Paris in 1811 which divided the estate between the two claimant branches of the family.
The Colonna line became extinct again on the death of Prince Enrico Barberini-Colonna and the name went to his daughter and heiress Maria and her husband Marquis Luigi Sacchetti, who received the title of Prince of Palestrina and permission to use the Barberini name.
On 21 June 2005, Augusto Barberini, the 13th Prince of Palestrina, died in Rome.[8] The family is now represented by Benedetto Francesco Barberini, Prince of Palestrina (born 1961), whose heir is his eldest son.
Patrons of the arts
The Palazzo Barberini, the Barberini library (now a core section of the Vatican's Biblioteca Apostolica), and the many buildings, altars, and other projects spread across Rome (and marked with the heraldic three bees) give evidence of the family's wealth, taste and magnificence in the seventeenth century. The family commissioned many artists, such as Lorenzo Ottoni, to undertake various Barberini-centric projects. The family were also important early patrons of opera, maintaining "star" singers like Marc'Antonio Pasqualini on payroll, and building the private Teatro delle Quattro Fontane. Many objects from the Barberini art collections are scattered in museums around the world including:
A nucleus remains in the hands of the family, as well as in the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica, which occupies part of the Palazzo Barberini in Rome. The cultural influence of the dynasty was considerable, and provided the subject for a major international conference in December 2004 (and subsequent publication), entitled I Barberini e la Cultura Europea.
Barberini family tree
Family tree of the 16th and 17th century Barberini[6] (hereditary patriarchy of the family is indicated by the colored squares).
The House of Colonna, also known as Sciarrillo or Sciarra, is an Italian noble family, forming part of the papal nobility. It was powerful in medieval and Renaissance Rome, supplying one pope and many other church and political leaders. The family is notable for its bitter feud with the Orsini family over influence in Rome, until it was stopped by papal bull in 1511. In 1571, the heads of both families married nieces of Pope Sixtus V. Thereafter, historians recorded that "no peace had been concluded between the princes of Christendom, in which they had not been included by name".
Pope Urban VIII, born Maffeo Vincenzo Barberini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 August 1623 to his death, in July 1644. As pope, he expanded the papal territory by force of arms and advantageous politicking, and was also a prominent patron of the arts, commissioning works from artists like Bernini and a reformer of Church missions. His papacy also covered 21 years of the Thirty Years' War.
The Wars of Castro were a series of conflicts during the mid-17th century revolving around the ancient city of Castro, which eventually resulted in the city's destruction on 2 September 1649. The conflict was a result of a power struggle between the papacy – represented by members of two deeply entrenched Roman families and their popes, the Barberini and Pope Urban VIII and the Pamphili and Pope Innocent X – and the Farnese dukes of Parma, who controlled Castro and its surrounding territories as the Duchy of Castro.
The House of Pamphili was one of the papal families deeply entrenched in Catholic Church, Roman and Italian politics of the 16th and 17th centuries.
Francesco Barberini was an Italian Catholic Cardinal. The nephew of Pope Urban VIII, he benefited immensely from the nepotism practiced by his uncle. He was given various roles within the Vatican administration but his personal cultural interests, particularly in literature and the arts, meant that he became a highly significant patron. His secretary was the antiquarian Cassiano dal Pozzo who was also a discerning patron of the arts. Francesco was the elder brother of Cardinal Antonio Barberini and Taddeo Barberini who became Prince of Palestrina.
Antonio Barberini was an Italian Catholic cardinal, Archbishop of Reims, military leader, patron of the arts and a prominent member of the House of Barberini. As one of the cardinal-nephews of Pope Urban VIII and a supporter of France, he played a significant role at a number of the papal conclaves of the 17th century. With his brothers Cardinal Francesco Barberini and Taddeo Barberini he helped to shape politics, religion, art and music of 17th century Italy. He is sometimes referred to as Antonio the Younger or Antonio Barberini iuniore to distinguish him from his uncle Antonio Marcello Barberini.
The Diocese of Frascati is a Latin suburbicarian see of the Diocese of Rome and a diocese of the Catholic Church in Italy, based at Frascati, near Rome. The bishop of Frascati is a Cardinal Bishop; from the Latin name of the area, the bishop has also been called Bishop of Tusculum. Tusculum was destroyed in 1191. The bishopric moved from Tusculum to Frascati, a nearby town which is first mentioned in the pontificate of Pope Leo IV. Until 1962, the Cardinal-Bishop was concurrently the diocesan bishop of the see. Pope John XXIII removed the Cardinal Bishops from any actual responsibility in their suburbicarian dioceses and made the title purely honorific.
Filippo Colonna, 6th Prince of Paliano, Prince of Paliano, was an Italian nobleman, who was the head of the Colonna family of Rome and the hereditary Gran Connestabile at the court of Naples.
Taddeo Barberini (1603–1647) was an Italian nobleman of the House of Barberini who became Prince of Palestrina and Gonfalonier of the Church; commander of the Papal Army. He was a nephew of Pope Urban VIII and brother of Cardinals Francesco Barberini and Antonio Barberini. Thanks to their uncle's famous nepotism, the brothers shaped 17th-century Italian politics, religion, art, music and architecture.
Francesco Barberini, iuniore was an Italian Cardinal of the family of Pope Urban VIII (1623–1644) and of the Princes of Palestrina.
Antonio Marcello Barberini, OFMCap was an Italian cardinal and the younger brother of Maffeo Barberini, later Pope Urban VIII. He is sometimes referred to as Antonio the Elder to distinguish him from his nephew Antonio Barberini.
Carlo Barberini was an Italian Catholic cardinal and member of the Barberini family. He was the grand-nephew of Maffeo Barberini and son of Taddeo Barberini.
Lucrezia Barberini was an Italian noblewoman and, by marriage, Duchess of Modena. Born into the Barberini family, she was the last wife of Francesco I d'Este, Duke of Modena.
Anna Colonna (1601–1658) was an Italian noblewoman of the Colonna and Barberini families. She was also the Princess of Paliano.
Maffeo Barberini was an Italian nobleman of the Barberini and Prince of Palestrina. He was appointed Gonfalonier of the Church.
Girolamo Colonna was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and member of the noble Colonna family.
Urbano Barberini was an Italian nobleman of the House of Barberini, third hereditary Prince of Palestrina and last legitimate male heir of the Barberini line. His great-grand uncle was Pope Urban VIII.
Olimpia Giustiniani was an Italian noblewoman of the houses of Giustiniani and Barberini. She was the granddaughter of Olimpia Maidalchini, grand-niece of Pope Innocent X and wife of Maffeo Barberini, Prince of Palestrina.
Angelo Giori was an Italian Catholic Cardinal.
Palazzo Barberini ai Giubbonari, also called Casa Grande Barberini, to distinguish it from the more famous palace in the Trevi district, is a historic palace in Rome. It was the family's first residence in the papal capital and, even after the construction of the palace at the Quattro Fontane, it remained the home of Taddeo, prince of Palestrina, until he fled to France. The palace remained the property of the Barberini family until the fourth decade of the eighteenth century, when they sold it to the Discalced Carmelites, who made it the seat of their General Curia; later passed to the Monte di Pietà, it is now owned by the municipality of Rome and home to educational institutions, including the Vittoria Colonna High School.
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