Princess Giovanna van den Eynde (also spelled ''Vandeneinden'', ''Vandeneynden'', ''Van den Eynden'', and ''Van den Einden'') ( – 1716) was a member of the Van den Eynde family, Marchioness of Castelnuovo by birth, and the Princess consort of Galatro and Sonnino. She was the daughter of

Ferdinand van den Eynde, 1st Marquess of Castelnuovo Ferdinand van den Eynde, 1st Marquess of Castelnuovo (mid-17th century1674) was an Italian nobleman and magnate of Flemish people, Flemish descent. He was the son of Jan van den Eynde, and the father of Elisabeth van den Eynde, Princess of Belveder ...

, son of the

magnate The magnate term, from the late Latin ''magnas'', a great man, itself from Latin ''magnus'', "great", means a man from the higher nobility, a man who belongs to the high office-holders, or a man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or ot ...

Jan van den Eynde, and Olimpia Piccolomini, of the

House of Piccolomini The House of Piccolomini (pronounced ) is the name of an Italian noble family, Patricians of Siena, who were prominent from the beginning of the 13th century until the 18th century. The family achieved the recognised titles of Pope of the Cathol ...

. Through her marriage to Giuliano Colonna, Giovanna became a member of the

House of Colonna 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 (Martin V) and many other church and politica ...

, and the first Princess of Sonnino. Through his marriage to her, Giovanna's husband acquired the title of Marquess of Castelnuovo.

Family

She was born into the Van den Eynde family, a powerful and influential Neapolitan noble family of

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

origin. Her father was

, the son of Jan van den Eynde, a wealthy merchant from

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

who became one of the richest and most prominent men in

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

. The Marquess Ferdinand married Olimpia Piccolomini, of the

, a nephew of Cardinal Celio Piccolomini, by whom he had three daughters, Catherine, the eldest, Giovanna, the secondborn, and

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...

. Her grandfather Jan had acquired the monumental

Palazzo Zevallos Stigliano The Palazzo Zevallos Stigliano is a Baroque palace located on Via Toledo number 185 in the quartiere San Ferdinando of central Naples, Italy. It is also called the Palazzo Zevallos or Palazzo Colonna di Stigliano, and since 2014 serves as a museu ...

in central Naples in 1653, sumptuously renovating it in the following years. Jan van den Eynde was also the owner of the largest collection of paintings in Naples, which was bequeathed to his son upon his death. In 1674, the Marquess Ferdinand also inherited a sizable collection of 70 or 90 paintings from his longtime friend and business partner

Gaspar Roomer Gaspar Roomer ( Antwerp, between 1596 and 1606 - Naples, 3 April 1674) was a prominent Flemish merchant, banker, art patron and art collector who was active in Naples in the 17th century. Biography Born in Antwerp, he lived for at least four dec ...

. However, Marquess Ferdinand died that same year, and his collection, and assets, were split between his then-infant daughters, Giovanna and Elizabeth (his eldest daughter, Catherine, was later judged incapacitated, according to some sources). Van den Eynde's assets were frozen until each of his daughter reached adulthood and married.

Luca Giordano Luca Giordano (18 October 1634 – 3 January 1705) was an Italian late-Baroque painter and printmaker in etching. Fluent and decorative, he worked successfully in Naples and Rome, Florence, and Venice, before spending a decade in Spain. Ear ...

, another longtime friend of Van den Eynde, took care himself of the inventory for Van den Eynde's inheritance. While drawing up the inventory, Giordano counted ten paintings executed by himself in Van den Eynde's collection. Among the paintings inherited by Giovanna, there were six paintings by Giordano and

Mattia Preti Mattia Preti (24 February 1613 – 3 January 1699) was an Italian Baroque artist who worked in Italy and Malta. He was appointed a Member of the Order of Saint John. Life Born in the small town of Taverna in Calabria, Preti was called ''Il Cava ...

's ''

Belshazzar's Feast Belshazzar's feast, or the story of the writing on the wall (chapter 5 in the Book of Daniel), tells how Belshazzar holds a great feast and drinks from the vessels that had been looted in the destruction of the Solomon's Temple, First Temple. A ...

'' and '' The Banquet of Absalom''.

Marriage

In February 1688, she married Don Giuliano Colonna, of the

, one of the most powerful families in Italy. Likewise, her sister Elizabeth married Don Carlo Carafa, of the

House of Carafa The House of Carafa or Caraffa is the name of an old and influential Neapolitan aristocratic family of Italian nobles, clergy, and men of arts, known from the 12th century. History The House of Carafa is a cadet branch of the noble House of C ...

, an equally powerful Italian family. Through their marriage, she became part of the House of Colonna and the first Princess of Sonnino, while her husband benefited from a huge dowry, and acquired the title of Marquess of Castelnuovo, as well as the opulent

Progeny

She married Giuliano Colonna, 1st Prince of Sonnino. They had the following progeny: * Ferdinando Colonna, 2nd Prince of Sonnino, 3rd Marquess of Castelnuovo *Girolamo Colonna, Knight of Malta *Gennaro Colonna, Knight of Malta *Filippo Colonna *Cleria *Virginia *Lorenzo

References

{{Authority control 1716 deaths Italian nobility Italian art collectors Colonna family