Massimo
Encyclopedia
Massimo is the name of a Roman
princely family of great age; which by its own tradition descends from the ancient Maximi of republican Rome and from Quintus Fabius Maximus
(c. 275 BC – 203 BC), called Cunctator (the Delayer). When asked by Napoleon (with whom he was negotiating the Treaty of Tolentino) whether the family descended from Fabius Maximus, the then Prince Massimo famously replied "I do not know that it is true, but it has been a tradition in the family for some thirteen or fourteen hundred years.". The family genealogical tree starts with a Leone Massimo in the 11th century, but clear records do not begin until the 15th century. The family is generally recognised as one of the oldest noble families in Europe.
and soldier
, born in Rome
around 275 BC. He was consul
five times (233 BC, 228 BC, 215 BC, 214 BC and 208 BC) and was twice dictator
, 221–219 BC, and 217 BC. His nickname Cunctator means "delayer" in Latin, and refers to his tactics in deploying the troops during the Second Punic War
where he defeated Hannibal. Descended from an ancient patrician family, the Fabii, he was a grandson of Quintus Fabius Maximus Gurges
and a great-grandson of Quintus Fabius Maximus Rullianus, both famous consuls. According to Plutarch
, the first of the Fabii was born from the liaison of Hercules
with a nymph
, rendering the family's origins semi-divine.
s to the Catholic Church, both saints - Pope Anastasius I
(died 401), who denounced the Origenist heresy, and Pope Paschal I
(died 824), who was involved in one of the earliest attempts to Christianise Scandinavia.
The family's more reliable history begins in 1012 in the person of Leo de Maximis. Thereafter the family grew in influence among the Roman barons, and played a considerable part in the history of the city in the Middle Ages
, producing numerous Cardinals, ambassadors, and civil and military leaders. The family were significant patrons of the arts, with the brothers Pietro and Francesco Massimo acquiring fame by protecting and encouraging the German printers Sweynheim and Pannartz, who came to Rome
in 1467, where the first printed books in Italy were produced in the Massimo Palace. In the 17th century Cardinal Camillo II Massimo was famous as the patron of both Velasquez and Poussin.
In the 16th century the Massimo were the richest of the Roman nobles. A marquisate was conferred on them in 1544, and the lordship of Arsoli
in 1574, and the Papal Princely title thereafter.
The Palazzo Massimo alle Colonne
in Rome was built by the celebrated Sienese architect Baldassare Peruzzi
by order of Pietro Massimo, on the ruins of an earlier palace destroyed in the sack of Rome in 1527. The curved façade is built on and dictated by the foundations of the stands for the stadium odeon
of the emperor Domitian
. The interior ceilings and vestibules are elaborately ornamented with rosettes and coffered roofs. The entrance ceiling is decorated with a fresco by Daniele da Volterra
, who represented "Life of Fabius Maximus". The chapel on the 2nd floor was a room where the 14 year old Paolo Massimo, son of Prince Fabrizio Massimo, was recalled briefly to life by Saint Philip Neri
on March 16, 1583. The interior of the palace is open to public only on that day each year when the family receive the Cardinals and other high officials to honor the event. Other notable events in the palace of the 16th century including various intra-familial murders. The palace is considered one of the most important early Renaissance mannerist masterpieces and remains the principal residence of the family, along with the Massimo Castle at Arsoli
.
Many of the Massimo princesses who married into the family were from the most important Royal families of Europe. These included HRH Princess Cristina of Saxony, who married Prince Camillo Massimiliano in 1796; HRH Princess Maria-Gabriella of Savoy, who married Prince Camillo Vittorio in 1827; HRH Princess Beatrice of Borbon, daughter of HRH Don Carlos, Duke of Madrid
, the pretender to the Spanish throne who married Prince Fabrizio in 1897; and HRH Princess Maria-Adelaide of Savoy-Genoa, daughter of the Duke of Genoa and niece of King Victor Emmanuel III, who married Prince Leone in 1935.
The family all bear the Princely title (see original Almanach de Gotha, 1922 edition linked below) . The Princely family is represented by Prince Fabrizio Massimo-Brancaccio, Prince of Arsoli and Prince of Triggiano (b. 1963), whose heir Prince Fabrizio has requested not be cited, and Prince Stefano Massimo, Prince of Roccasecca dei Volsci (b. 1955), whose heir is Prince Valerio Massimo (b. 1973) . On the 21 May 2009 Prince Valerio reached the summit of Mount Everest..
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
princely family of great age; which by its own tradition descends from the ancient Maximi of republican Rome and from Quintus Fabius Maximus
Fabius Maximus
Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus Cunctator was a Roman politician and general, born in Rome around 280 BC and died in Rome in 203 BC. He was Roman Consul five times and was twice Dictator in 221 and again in 217 BC. He reached the office of Roman Censor in 230 BC...
(c. 275 BC – 203 BC), called Cunctator (the Delayer). When asked by Napoleon (with whom he was negotiating the Treaty of Tolentino) whether the family descended from Fabius Maximus, the then Prince Massimo famously replied "I do not know that it is true, but it has been a tradition in the family for some thirteen or fourteen hundred years.". The family genealogical tree starts with a Leone Massimo in the 11th century, but clear records do not begin until the 15th century. The family is generally recognised as one of the oldest noble families in Europe.
Quintus Fabius Maximus
Fabius was a Roman politicianPolitician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
and soldier
Soldier
A soldier is a member of the land component of national armed forces; whereas a soldier hired for service in a foreign army would be termed a mercenary...
, born in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
around 275 BC. He was consul
Consul
Consul was the highest elected office of the Roman Republic and an appointive office under the Empire. The title was also used in other city states and also revived in modern states, notably in the First French Republic...
five times (233 BC, 228 BC, 215 BC, 214 BC and 208 BC) and was twice dictator
Dictator
A dictator is a ruler who assumes sole and absolute power but without hereditary ascension such as an absolute monarch. When other states call the head of state of a particular state a dictator, that state is called a dictatorship...
, 221–219 BC, and 217 BC. His nickname Cunctator means "delayer" in Latin, and refers to his tactics in deploying the troops during the Second Punic War
Second Punic War
The Second Punic War, also referred to as The Hannibalic War and The War Against Hannibal, lasted from 218 to 201 BC and involved combatants in the western and eastern Mediterranean. This was the second major war between Carthage and the Roman Republic, with the participation of the Berbers on...
where he defeated Hannibal. Descended from an ancient patrician family, the Fabii, he was a grandson of Quintus Fabius Maximus Gurges
Quintus Fabius Maximus Gurges (consul 292 BC)
Quintus Fabius Maximus Gurges was the son of Quintus Fabius Maximus Rullianus and a Consul in 292 and 276 BC.In 295 BC he was curule aedile, and fined certain matrons of noble birth for their disorderly life. With the proceeds of the fines built a temple to Venus near the Circus Maximus.He was...
and a great-grandson of Quintus Fabius Maximus Rullianus, both famous consuls. According to Plutarch
Plutarch
Plutarch then named, on his becoming a Roman citizen, Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus , c. 46 – 120 AD, was a Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist known primarily for his Parallel Lives and Moralia...
, the first of the Fabii was born from the liaison of Hercules
Hercules
Hercules is the Roman name for Greek demigod Heracles, son of Zeus , and the mortal Alcmene...
with a nymph
Nymph
A nymph in Greek mythology is a female minor nature deity typically associated with a particular location or landform. Different from gods, nymphs are generally regarded as divine spirits who animate nature, and are usually depicted as beautiful, young nubile maidens who love to dance and sing;...
, rendering the family's origins semi-divine.
Massimo family
The Massimo family claims to have provided two PopePope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
s to the Catholic Church, both saints - Pope Anastasius I
Pope Anastasius I
Pope Saint Anastasius I, born in Rome the son of Maximus, was pope from November 27, 399 to 401.He condemned the writings of the Alexandrian theologian Origen shortly after their translation into Latin. He fought against these writings throughout his papacy and in 400 he called a council to discuss...
(died 401), who denounced the Origenist heresy, and Pope Paschal I
Pope Paschal I
Pope Saint Paschal I was pope from January 25, 817 to February 11, 824. A native of Rome and son of Bonosus, he was raised to the pontificate by the acclamation of the clergy, shortly after the death of Pope Stephen IV, and before the sanction of the emperor Louis the Pious had been obtained - a...
(died 824), who was involved in one of the earliest attempts to Christianise Scandinavia.
The family's more reliable history begins in 1012 in the person of Leo de Maximis. Thereafter the family grew in influence among the Roman barons, and played a considerable part in the history of the city in the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, producing numerous Cardinals, ambassadors, and civil and military leaders. The family were significant patrons of the arts, with the brothers Pietro and Francesco Massimo acquiring fame by protecting and encouraging the German printers Sweynheim and Pannartz, who came to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
in 1467, where the first printed books in Italy were produced in the Massimo Palace. In the 17th century Cardinal Camillo II Massimo was famous as the patron of both Velasquez and Poussin.
In the 16th century the Massimo were the richest of the Roman nobles. A marquisate was conferred on them in 1544, and the lordship of Arsoli
Arsoli
Arsoli is a town and comune in the province of Rome, central Italy.The fair held on St. Bartholomew's Day at Arsoli is one of the oldest attested fairs of the region.-History:Arsoli was mentioned first in AD 997....
in 1574, and the Papal Princely title thereafter.
The Palazzo Massimo alle Colonne
Palazzo Massimo alle Colonne
The Palazzo Massimo alle Colonne is a Renaissance palace in Rome, Italy. The palace was designed by Baldassarre Peruzzi in 1532-1536 on a site of three contiguous palaces owned by the old Roman Massimo family and built after arson destroyed the earlier structures during the Sack of Rome...
in Rome was built by the celebrated Sienese architect Baldassare Peruzzi
Baldassare Peruzzi
Baldassare Tommaso Peruzzi was an Italian architect and painter, born in a small town near Siena and died in Rome. He worked for many years, beginning in 1520, under Bramante, Raphael, and later Sangallo during the erection of the new St. Peter's...
by order of Pietro Massimo, on the ruins of an earlier palace destroyed in the sack of Rome in 1527. The curved façade is built on and dictated by the foundations of the stands for the stadium odeon
Odeon (building)
Odeon is the name for several ancient Greek and Roman buildings built for singing exercises, musical shows and poetry competitions. They were generally small in size, especially compared with a full-size ancient Greek theatre....
of the emperor Domitian
Domitian
Domitian was Roman Emperor from 81 to 96. Domitian was the third and last emperor of the Flavian dynasty.Domitian's youth and early career were largely spent in the shadow of his brother Titus, who gained military renown during the First Jewish-Roman War...
. The interior ceilings and vestibules are elaborately ornamented with rosettes and coffered roofs. The entrance ceiling is decorated with a fresco by Daniele da Volterra
Daniele da Volterra
Daniele Ricciarelli , better known as Daniele da Volterra, was an Italian mannerist painter and sculptor.He is best remembered for his association, for better or worse, with the late Michelangelo. Several of Daniele's most important works were based on designs made for that purpose by Michelangelo...
, who represented "Life of Fabius Maximus". The chapel on the 2nd floor was a room where the 14 year old Paolo Massimo, son of Prince Fabrizio Massimo, was recalled briefly to life by Saint Philip Neri
Philip Neri
Saint Philip Romolo Neri , also known as Apostle of Rome, was an Italian priest, noted for founding a society of secular priests called the "Congregation of the Oratory".-Early life:...
on March 16, 1583. The interior of the palace is open to public only on that day each year when the family receive the Cardinals and other high officials to honor the event. Other notable events in the palace of the 16th century including various intra-familial murders. The palace is considered one of the most important early Renaissance mannerist masterpieces and remains the principal residence of the family, along with the Massimo Castle at Arsoli
Arsoli
Arsoli is a town and comune in the province of Rome, central Italy.The fair held on St. Bartholomew's Day at Arsoli is one of the oldest attested fairs of the region.-History:Arsoli was mentioned first in AD 997....
.
Many of the Massimo princesses who married into the family were from the most important Royal families of Europe. These included HRH Princess Cristina of Saxony, who married Prince Camillo Massimiliano in 1796; HRH Princess Maria-Gabriella of Savoy, who married Prince Camillo Vittorio in 1827; HRH Princess Beatrice of Borbon, daughter of HRH Don Carlos, Duke of Madrid
Carlos, Duke of Madrid
Infante Carlos María de los Dolores Juan Isidro José Francisco Quirin Antonio Miguel Gabriel Rafael de Borbón y Austria-Este, Duke of Madrid was the senior member of the House of Bourbon from 1887 until his death...
, the pretender to the Spanish throne who married Prince Fabrizio in 1897; and HRH Princess Maria-Adelaide of Savoy-Genoa, daughter of the Duke of Genoa and niece of King Victor Emmanuel III, who married Prince Leone in 1935.
The family all bear the Princely title (see original Almanach de Gotha, 1922 edition linked below) . The Princely family is represented by Prince Fabrizio Massimo-Brancaccio, Prince of Arsoli and Prince of Triggiano (b. 1963), whose heir Prince Fabrizio has requested not be cited, and Prince Stefano Massimo, Prince of Roccasecca dei Volsci (b. 1955), whose heir is Prince Valerio Massimo (b. 1973) . On the 21 May 2009 Prince Valerio reached the summit of Mount Everest..