Pamphili
Encyclopedia
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
, Roman
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...
and Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
politics of the 16th and 17th centuries .
Later, the Pamphili family line merged with the Doria
Doria
Doria, originally de Auria , meaning "the sons of Auria", and then de Oria or d'Oria, is the name of an old and extremely wealthy Genoese family who played a major role in the history of the Republic of Genoa and in Italy, from the 12th century to the 16th century.-Origins:According to legend, a...
and Landi family lines to form the Doria-Pamphili-Landi family line.
Family history
The Pamphili surname originated in GubbioGubbio
Gubbio is a town and comune in the far northeastern part of the Italian province of Perugia . It is located on the lowest slope of Mt. Ingino, a small mountain of the Apennines. See also Mount Ingino Christmas Tree.-History:...
and went to Rome under the pontificate of Pope Innocent VIII
Pope Innocent VIII
Pope Innocent VIII , born Giovanni Battista Cybo , was Pope from 1484 until his death.-Early years:Giovanni Battista Cybo was born at Genoa of Greek extraction...
(1484–1492).
The peak of Pamphili power came with the election of Giovanni Battista Pamphili as Pope Innocent X
Pope Innocent X
Pope Innocent X , born Giovanni Battista Pamphilj , was Pope from 1644 to 1655. Born in Rome of a family from Gubbio in Umbria who had come to Rome during the pontificate of Pope Innocent IX, he graduated from the Collegio Romano and followed a conventional cursus honorum, following his uncle...
, who reigned from 1644–1655. Like the reign of his predecessor Pope Urban VIII
Pope Urban VIII
Pope Urban VIII , born Maffeo Barberini, was pope from 1623 to 1644. He was the last pope to expand the papal territory by force of arms, and was a prominent patron of the arts and reformer of Church missions...
(of the equally papal Barberini
Barberini
The Barberini are a family of the Italian nobility that rose to prominence in 17th century Rome. Their influence peaked with the election of Cardinal Maffeo Barberini to the papal throne in 1623, as Pope Urban VIII...
family) Innocent X's rule was littered with examples of nepotism
Nepotism
Nepotism is favoritism granted to relatives regardless of merit. The word nepotism is from the Latin word nepos, nepotis , from which modern Romanian nepot and Italian nipote, "nephew" or "grandchild" are also descended....
and other Pamphili family members did exceptionally well from the Innocent X papacy.
Following family members were created cardinals:
- Camillo PamphiliCamillo Francesco Maria PamphiliCamillo Francesco Maria Pamphili was an Italian Catholic Cardinal and later nobleman of the Pamphili family. His name is often spelled with the final long i orthography; Pamphilj.-Early life:...
(1644), his nephew and son of Olimpia MaidalchiniOlimpia MaidalchiniOlimpia Maidalchini , also spelled Olympia and known as Donna Olimpia, was the sister-in-law of Pope Innocent X .- Early life :...
, the Pope's sister-in-law and close adviser. He later renounced his cardinalate to marry Olimpia AldobrandiniOlimpia AldobrandiniOlimpia Aldobrandini was a member of the Aldobrandini family of Rome, and the sole heiress to the family fortune.-Biography:...
, widow of Paolo Borghese - Francesco Maidalchini (1647), nephew of Olimpia MaidalchiniOlimpia MaidalchiniOlimpia Maidalchini , also spelled Olympia and known as Donna Olimpia, was the sister-in-law of Pope Innocent X .- Early life :...
. - Camillo AstalliCamillo AstalliCamillo Astalli was an Italian cardinal, elevated on 19 September 1650 by Pope Innocent X, who simultaneously adopted him into the Pamphili family and appointed him Cardinal-Nephew...
(1650 as Camillo Astalli-Pamphili) a cousin of Olimpia MaidalchiniOlimpia MaidalchiniOlimpia Maidalchini , also spelled Olympia and known as Donna Olimpia, was the sister-in-law of Pope Innocent X .- Early life :...
whom the Pope had adopted as a Cardinal-NephewCardinal-nephewA cardinal-nephew is a cardinal elevated by a Pope who is that cardinal's uncle, or, more generally, his relative. The practice of creating cardinal-nephews originated in the Middle Ages, and reached its apex during the 16th and 17th centuries. The word nepotism originally referred specifically to...
. He was later deprived of this title due to his unloyalty towards Innocent X - Benedetto PamphiliBenedetto PamphiliBenedetto Pamphili was an Italian cardinal, patron of the arts, composer and librettist.-Life:...
, son of Camillo Pamphili and Olimpia Aldobrandini, created by Innocent XI in 1681.
Like other Italian noble families, the Pamphili bought property (palazzo or "palaces" and other estates) and created self-styled principalities
Principality
A principality is a monarchical feudatory or sovereign state, ruled or reigned over by a monarch with the title of prince or princess, or by a monarch with another title within the generic use of the term prince....
. Family members regularly had regal titles bestowed upon them by family patriarchs or matriarchs. Olimpia Maidalchini
Olimpia Maidalchini
Olimpia Maidalchini , also spelled Olympia and known as Donna Olimpia, was the sister-in-law of Pope Innocent X .- Early life :...
, received the honorific title of Princess of San Martino, effectively turning the small enclave of San Martino into a principality in its own right. After he left the cardinalate to marry, Camillo Pamphili
Camillo Francesco Maria Pamphili
Camillo Francesco Maria Pamphili was an Italian Catholic Cardinal and later nobleman of the Pamphili family. His name is often spelled with the final long i orthography; Pamphilj.-Early life:...
was given the titles Prince of San Martino and Prince of Valmontone (he bought the Valmontone
Valmontone
Valmontone is a comune in the Province of Rome in the Italian region Lazio, located about 45 km southeast of Rome.-Geography:...
comune
Comune
In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...
in 1634 from the Barberini family
Barberini
The Barberini are a family of the Italian nobility that rose to prominence in 17th century Rome. Their influence peaked with the election of Cardinal Maffeo Barberini to the papal throne in 1623, as Pope Urban VIII...
).
Family tree
Pamphili family tree from 1574 to 1760:Wars of Castro
Between 1639 and 1649, the Pamphili fought the Wars of CastroWars of Castro
The Wars of Castro is a term referring to a series of events in the mid-17th century revolving around the ancient city of Castro , which eventually resulted in the city's destruction on 2 September 1649...
alongside the Barberini
Barberini
The Barberini are a family of the Italian nobility that rose to prominence in 17th century Rome. Their influence peaked with the election of Cardinal Maffeo Barberini to the papal throne in 1623, as Pope Urban VIII...
against the Farnese dukes of Parma
Duchy of Parma
The Duchy of Parma was created in 1545 from that part of the Duchy of Milan south of the Po River, as a fief for Pope Paul III's illegitimate son, Pier Luigi Farnese, centered on the city of Parma....
who controlled Castro
Castro (city)
Castro was an ancient city on the west side of Lake Bolsena in the present-day comune of Ischia di Castro, northern Lazio, Italy. It was destroyed at the conclusion of the Wars of Castro in the 17th century.-Early history:...
and its surrounding territories. The conflict raged first under Barberini Pope Urban VIII
Pope Urban VIII
Pope Urban VIII , born Maffeo Barberini, was pope from 1623 to 1644. He was the last pope to expand the papal territory by force of arms, and was a prominent patron of the arts and reformer of Church missions...
and later under Pamphili Pope Innocent X
Pope Innocent X
Pope Innocent X , born Giovanni Battista Pamphilj , was Pope from 1644 to 1655. Born in Rome of a family from Gubbio in Umbria who had come to Rome during the pontificate of Pope Innocent IX, he graduated from the Collegio Romano and followed a conventional cursus honorum, following his uncle...
.
Pope Urban VIII died in 1644 only two months after a peace accord was signed between the papal families and the dukes. Pope Innocent X was elected to replaced him. Innocent set about investigating some of the finances related to the conflict which had been administered by the Barberini. A number of Barberini family members were forced into exile but were later reconciled with the papacy and the Pamphili through the marriage of Maffeo Barberini (son of exiled Taddeo Barberini
Taddeo Barberini
Taddeo Barberini 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...
) and Olimpia Giustiniani
Olimpia Giustiniani
Olimpia Giustiniani was an Italian noblewoman of the houses of Giustiniani and Barberini. She was the grand-daughter of Olimpia Maidalchini, niece of Pope Innocent X and wife of Maffeo Barberini, Prince of Palestrina....
, a niece of Pope Innocent X.
On the orders of Innocent X, Castro was razed on 2 September 1649 by troops of the Papal Army and never rebuilt.
Family property
Palazzo PamphiljPalazzo Pamphilj
Palazzo Pamphilj, also spelled Palazzo Pamphili, is a palace facing onto the Piazza Navona in Rome. It was built between 1644 and 1650.Since 1920 the palace has housed the Brazilian Embassy in Italy, and in 1964 it became the property of the Federative Republic of Brazil.-History:In 1644, Cardinal...
, by the architects Girolamo Rainaldi and Francesco Borromini, is located in the heart of Rione
Rioni of Rome
A rione is an Italian term used since the Middle Ages to name the districts of Rome, according to the administrative divisions of that time. The word originates from the Latin word regio A rione (pl. rioni) is an Italian term used since the Middle Ages to name the districts of Rome, according to...
Parione
Parione
For the isopod genus in the family Bopyridae, see Parione Parione is the VI rione of Rome.Its name comes from the fact that in the area there was a huge ancient wall, maybe belonging to the stadium of Domitianus; the nickname people gave to this wall was Parietone , from which the name "Parione"...
, south of the church of Sant'Agnese in Agone
Sant'Agnese in Agone
Sant'Agnese in Agone is a seventeenth century Baroque church in Rome, Italy. It faces onto the Piazza Navona, one of the main urban spaces in the historic centre of the city and the site where the Early Christian Saint Agnes was martyred in the ancient Stadium of Domitian.The rebuilding of the...
in Piazza Navona
Piazza Navona
Piazza Navona is a city square in Rome, Italy. It is built on the site of the Stadium of Domitian, built in 1st century AD, and follows the form of the open space of the stadium. The ancient Romans came there to watch the agones , and hence it was known as 'Circus Agonalis'...
, the Pamphili neighborhood of Rome, named for this reason Isola de' Pamphili. From 1652, on Saturdays and Sundays in August, the piazza was turned into a lake to celebrate the Pamphili family, a festival that was suppressed in 1866. Today, the palace functions as the Brazilian Embassy in Rome. The tomb of Innocent X is located in Sant'Agnese.
The Pamphilj bought the baronial palace in Valmontone
Valmontone
Valmontone is a comune in the Province of Rome in the Italian region Lazio, located about 45 km southeast of Rome.-Geography:...
, a town near Palestrina
Palestrina
Palestrina is an ancient city and comune with a population of about 18,000, in Lazio, c. 35 km east of Rome...
(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 the year 1634: Camillo Pamphili was determined to create a sort of new “ideal city”, so the palace and the main church were rebuilt and decorated by important baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
artists, like the architect Mattia de Rossi
Mattia de Rossi
Mattia de Rossi was an Italian architect of the Baroque period, active mainly in Rome and surrounding towns.Born in Rome to a family of architects and artisans, he rose to prominence under the mentorship of Gian Lorenzo Bernini, and even inherited the position as chief architect of the Fabbrica di...
(who rose to prominence under the mentorship of Bernini), and the painters Pier Francesco Mola
Pier Francesco Mola
Pier Francesco Mola was an Italian painter of the High Baroque, mainly active around Rome.-Biography:Mola was born at Coldrerio . At the age of four, he moved to Rome with his father Giovanni Battista, a painter...
, Gaspard Dughet
Gaspard Dughet
Gaspard Dughet , also known as Gaspard Poussin, was a French painter born in Rome.A pupil of Nicolas Poussin, Gaspard Dughet was the brother of Poussin's wife...
, Guglielmo Cortese, Francesco Cozza
Francesco Cozza (painter)
Francesco Cozza was an Italian painter of the Baroque period.He was born in Stilo in Calabria and died in Rome. As a young man, he went to Rome and apprenticed with Domenichino...
and Mattia Preti
Mattia Preti
Mattia Preti was an Italian Baroque artist who worked in Italy and Malta.- Biography :Born in the small town of Taverna in Calabria, Preti was sometimes called Il Cavalier Calabrese...
.