Ludovico Ludovisi (22 or 27 October 1595 – 18 November 1632) was an Italian

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

and statesman of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. He was an art connoisseur who formed a famous collection of antiquities, housed at the

Villa Ludovisi The Villa Ludovisi was a suburban villa in Rome, built in the 17th century on the area once occupied by the Gardens of Sallust (''Horti Sallustiani'') near the Porta Salaria. On an assemblage of vineyards purchased from Giovanni Antonio Orsini, C ...

in Rome.

Biography

Ludovico Ludovisi was born in

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

, then part of the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...

, the son of

Orazio Ludovisi Orazio Ludovisi (1561–1624) was an Italian nobleman, military commander and patrician of Bologna. During his brother's reign as Pope Gregory XV, he became Commander of the Papal Armies and Duke of Fiano and Zagarolo. Early life Ludovisi was bor ...

and Lavinia Albergati. Following in the footsteps of his uncle Alessandro Ludovisi, he was trained at the Jesuit Collegio Germanico of Rome, and went on to the

University of Bologna The University of Bologna ( it, Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna, UNIBO) is a public research university in Bologna, Italy. Founded in 1088 by an organised guild of students (''studiorum''), it is the oldest university in continuo ...

, where he received his doctorate in

canon law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...

on 25 February 1615. Ludovico Ludovisi with Gregory XV

When Alessandro Ludovisi was acclaimed pope, taking the name

Gregory XV Pope Gregory XV ( la, Gregorius XV; it, Gregorio XV; 9 January 15548 July 1623), born Alessandro Ludovisi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 February 1621 to his death in July 1623. Biography Early life Al ...

, Ludovico was made cardinal the day after his coronation, though he was only 25. The following month he was made

archbishop of Bologna The Archdiocese of Bologna is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Northern Italy. The cathedra is in the cathedral church of San Pietro, Bologna. The current archbishop is Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, ...

though he remained in Rome. His uncle had great faith in his judgement and energy and was in need of a strong and able assistant to help govern the

(the Pope was, after all, in his late 60s). On the same day,

, Ludovico's father, was put at the head of the pontifical army. Gregory XV was not disappointed in his nephew. As the ''Catholic Encyclopedia'' avers: He was sent as legate in

Fermo Fermo (ancient: Firmum Picenum) is a town and ''comune'' of the Marche, Italy, in the Province of Fermo. Fermo is on a hill, the Sabulo, elevation , on a branch from Porto San Giorgio on the Adriatic coast railway. History The oldest hum ...

in 1621 and in

Avignon Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region of So ...

, 1621–1623. He served briefly as

Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church The Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church is an office of the papal household that administers the property and revenues of the Holy See. Formerly, his responsibilities included the fiscal administration of the Patrimony of Saint Peter. As regul ...

(19 April 1621 to 7 June 1623). In August 1623, Ludovisi participated in the

papal conclave A papal conclave is a gathering of the College of Cardinals convened to elect a Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop of Rome, also known as the pope. Catholics consider the pope to be the Apostolic succession, apostolic successor of Saint ...

that elected

Pope Urban VIII Pope Urban VIII ( la, Urbanus VIII; it, Urbano VIII; baptised 5 April 1568 – 29 July 1644), 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 po ...

. Due to conflict with the new pope's family, Ludovisi was forced to leave Rome. He continued, however, as

prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect's ...

of the sacred consulta of the

Propaganda Fide Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...

(1622 to 1632) and

Vice-Chancellor of the Holy Roman Church The Apostolic ChanceryCanon 260, ''Code of Canon Law'' of 1917, translated by Edward N. Peters, Ignatius Press, 2001. ( la, Cancellaria Apostolica; also known as the "Papal" or "Roman Chanc(ell)ery") was a dicastery of the Roman Curia at the serv ...

(1623 to 1632). He died in Bologna in 1632.

Patron of the arts

Cardinal Ludovisi is remembered as a connoisseur and patron of arts. He paid for the construction of the Jesuit Chiesa di Sant'Ignazio and Palazzo Ludovisi (now

Palazzo Montecitorio The Palazzo Montecitorio () is a palace in Rome and the seat of the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of the Italian Parliament. History The palace's name derives from the slight hill on which it is built, which was claimed to be the ''Mons ...

), where

Gian Lorenzo Bernini Gian Lorenzo (or Gianlorenzo) Bernini (, , ; Italian Giovanni Lorenzo; 7 December 159828 November 1680) was an Italian sculptor and architect. While a major figure in the world of architecture, he was more prominently the leading sculptor of his ...

was his architect. He rapidly assembled from private owners and the Carmelite brothers of

Santa Maria in Traspontina The Church of Santa Maria del Carmelo in Traspontina (Saint Mary of Carmel Across the Bridge) is a Roman Catholic titular church in Rome, run by the Carmelites. The bridge referred to is the Ponte Sant'Angelo. The church is on the Via della Conci ...

a holding of vineyards and small plots to create the

, a vast complex of gardens and buildings on the Monte Pincio near Porta Pinciana, in the so-called "

Gardens of Sallust The Gardens of Sallust ( la, Horti Sallustiani) was an ancient Roman estate including a landscaped pleasure garden developed by the historian Sallust in the 1st century BC. It occupied a large area in the northeastern sector of Rome, in what would ...

" on the site where

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...

and his heir,

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...

, had had their villas. The ''

Ludovisi Ares The Ludovisi Ares is an Antonine Roman marble sculpture of Mars, a fine 2nd-century copy of a late 4th-century BCE Greek original, associated with Scopas or Lysippus: thus the Roman god of war receives his Greek name, Ares. Ares/Mars is portray ...

'', a spectacular discovery of 1622, found its way quickly to the collection. He employed

Alessandro Algardi Alessandro Algardi (July 31, 1598 – June 10, 1654) was an Italian high-Baroque sculptor active almost exclusively in Rome, where for the latter decades of his life, he was, along with Francesco Borromini and Pietro da Cortona, one of the major ...

to restore other finds, some of which were unearthed in the grounds of the Villa itself. The sculpture was lightly restored by Bernini and joined the ''

Dying Gaul Dying is the final stage of life which will eventually lead to death. Diagnosing dying is a complex process of clinical decision-making, and most practice checklists facilitating this diagnosis are based on cancer diagnoses. Signs of dying ...

'' in the Cardinal's gallery. The Ludovisi collection was enlarged with purchases from Cardinal Altemps' collection, all housed at the splendid Villa Ludovisi, which he surrounded with gardens.

Guercino Giovanni Francesco Barbieri (February 8, 1591 – December 22, 1666),Miller, 1964 better known as Guercino, or il Guercino , was an Italian Baroque painter and draftsman from Cento in the Emilia region, who was active in Rome and Bologna. The vig ...

painted frescoes at the villa, and Cardinal Ludovisi's house poet was

Alessandro Tassoni Alessandro Tassoni (28 September 156525 April 1635) was an Italian poet and writer, from Modena, best known as the author of the mock-heroic poem ''La secchia rapita'' (''The Rape of the Pail'', or ''The stolen bucket''). Life He was born in M ...

. At the casino of the Villa, Cardinal Ludovisi employed

Carlo Maderno Carlo Maderno (Maderna) (1556 – 30 January 1629) was an Italian architect, born in today's Ticino, who is remembered as one of the fathers of Baroque architecture. His façades of Santa Susanna, St. Peter's Basilica and Sant'Andrea della Valle ...

to rebuild a simple house further up the hill. In a small ground-floor gallery of the casino,

frescoed a ceiling with his ''Chariot of

Aurora An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...

'' (1621–1623).Riccardo Cigola, "Casino dell'Aurora Ludovisi"
It remains one of the most famous painted decors of Rome. His cousin,

Niccolò Albergati-Ludovisi Cardinal Niccolò Albergati-Ludovisi. Niccolò Albergati-Ludovisi (15 September 16089 August 1687) was an Italian Catholic Cardinal and Archbishop of Bologna. Biography He was a cousin of Cardinal Ludovico Ludovisi. On 16 September 1640, he wa ...

, was made cardinal in 1645.

Episcopal succession

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ludovisi, Ludovico 1595 births 1632 deaths Ludovico Cardinal 17th-century Italian cardinals Cardinal-nephews Roman Catholic archbishops of Bologna 17th-century Italian Roman Catholic archbishops Cardinal Secretaries of State Members of the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith Camerlengos of the Holy Roman Church Clergy from Bologna