Maffeo Barberini (19 August 1631 – 28 November 1685) was an Italian nobleman of the

Barberini The House of 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. Their urban palace ...

and '' Prince of Palestrina''. He was appointed

Gonfalonier of the Church The gonfalonier of the Church or papal gonfalonier ( it, Gonfaloniere della Chiesa, "standard-bearer"; la, Vexillifer Ecclesiæ) was a military and political office of the Papal States. Originating from the use of the Papal banner during comba ...

Family

Born in 1631, Barberini was one of the five children of

Taddeo Barberini 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 France ...

and Anna Colonna, daughter of Filippo I Colonna. His siblings included cardinal

Carlo Barberini Carlo Barberini (1 June 1630 – 2 October 1704) was an Italian Catholic cardinal and member of the Barberini family. He was the grand-nephew of Maffeo Barberini (Pope Urban VIII) and son of Taddeo Barberini ( Prince of Palestrina). Early life a ...

and Lucrezia Barberini who married

Francesco I d'Este, Duke of Modena Francesco I d'Este (6 September 1610 – 14 October 1658) was Duke of Modena and Reggio from 1629 until his death. The eldest son of Alfonso III d'Este, he became reigning duke after his father's abdication. Biography The pestilence of 1630– ...

. His great uncle (on his father's side) was Barberini

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 ...

Wars of Castro

Between 1639 and 1649, the Barberini fought the

Wars of Castro The Wars of Castro were a series of conflicts during the mid-17th century revolving around the ancient city of Castro (located in present-day Lazio, Italy), which eventually resulted in the city's destruction on 2 September 1649. The conflict ...

alongside the

Pamphili The House of Pamphili (often with the final ''long i'' orthography, Pamphilj) was one of the papal families deeply entrenched in Catholic Church, Roman and Italian politics of the 16th and 17th centuries. Later, the Pamphili family line merged w ...

family. Maffeo's father, Taddeo, and

Luigi Mattei Luigi Mattei (died 1665) was an Italian military General and Marquis de Belmonte. During the 17th century he commanded troops loyal to the papal armies of Barberini Pope Urban VIII and Pamphili Pope Innocent X during the Wars of Castro. Biograp ...

led the papal armies loyal to

and the Barberini family. In 1644, after the first ''War of Castro'',

died and

family

Pope Innocent X Pope Innocent X ( la, Innocentius X; it, Innocenzo X; 6 May 1574 – 7 January 1655), born Giovanni Battista Pamphilj (or Pamphili), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 September 1644 to his death in Januar ...

was elected in his place. Pope Innocent subsequently began an investigation into

Antonio Barberini Antonio Barberini (5 August 1607 – 3 August 1671) 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 ...

(Maffeo's uncle), prompting him to flee into exile with his two brothers,

Francesco Francesco, the Italian (and original) version of the personal name " Francis", is the most common given name among males in Italy. Notable persons with that name include: People with the given name Francesco * Francesco I (disambiguation), sev ...

and

Taddeo Taddeo is a masculine given name which may refer to: * Taddeo Alderotti (between 1206 and 1215-1295), Italian doctor and professor of medicine * Taddeo Altini O.S.A. (1609-1685), Roman Catholic Bishop of Civita Castellana e Orte, and Titular Bisho ...

(Maffeo's father).

Marriage and titles

Taddeo Barberini died in exile in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

but the Barberini and Pamphili families were reconciled when, in 1653, his son Maffeo married Olimpia Giustiniani, grand-niece of

. The marriage had been engineered by Giustiniani's maternal grandmother, papal power-broker

Olimpia Maidalchini Olimpia Maidalchini Pamphilj (26 May 1591 – 27 September 1657), (also spelled Pamphili and known as Olimpia Pamphili), was the sister-in-law of Pope Innocent X (Pamphili). She was perceived by her contemporaries as having influence regarding pap ...

, and Barberini's uncle, Cardinal

. Maidalchini, realizing her influence over Pope Innocent was waning, arranged the marriage to facilitate a return of the Barberini to Rome in order to curry favor with a number of the Barberini family's

cardinals 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 ...

. The Barberini, too, were keen to return to Rome and were enthusiastic about Maidalchini's plan to marry Pope Innocent's grand-niece, Guistiniani, into their family. Despite the fact that 12-year-old Guistiniani stubbornly refused to marry her 22-year-old suitor, surprising few, the two were married at a lavish ceremony celebrated by Pope Innocent himself. After the ceremony, however, the child refused to go home with her new groom to allow the marriage to be

consummate In many traditions and statutes of civil or religious law, the consummation of a marriage, often called simply ''consummation'', is the first (or first officially credited) act of sexual intercourse between two people, following their marriage to ...

d. Her mother, who had barely been involved in her upbringing, appealed to her by telling her that other girls were forced to marry decrepit old men and that, by comparison, Barberini was a far better option. When the child still refused, Maidalchini forced her granddaughter into a carriage that took her to the

Palazzo Barberini The Palazzo Barberini ( en, Barberini Palace) is a 17th-century palace in Rome, facing the Piazza Barberini in Rione Trevi. Today, it houses the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica, the main national collection of older paintings in Rome. History ...

and a new life as a daughter of the Barberini. left, 250 px, Palestrina as it appeared in 1671 during Maffeo Barberini's administration. Barberini was later restored to his father's former title of ''Prince of Palestrina'' - nominal patriarch of the

Palestrina Palestrina (ancient ''Praeneste''; grc, Πραίνεστος, ''Prainestos'') is a modern Italian city and ''comune'' (municipality) with a population of about 22,000, in Lazio, about east of Rome. It is connected to the latter by the Via Pren ...

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

owned by the Barberini family. He was likely also appointed

on the same basis. Barberini commissioned the construction of the ''Church of Santa Rosalia'' in Palestrina (opened in 1677) which includes a tribute to Maffeo's father Taddeo by

Bernardino Cametti Bernardino Cametti (1669–1736) was an Italian sculptor of the late Baroque . Biography Cametti was born in Rome. Among his earliest works was a marble relief of the ''Canonization of St Ignatius'' (1695–1698) for the Church of the Gesù, ba ...

. In 1662, on the death of his uncle (his mother's brother), he applied to King

Philip IV of Spain Philip IV ( es, Felipe, pt, Filipe; 8 April 160517 September 1665), also called the Planet King (Spanish: ''Rey Planeta''), was King of Spain from 1621 to his death and (as Philip III) King of Portugal from 1621 to 1640. Philip is remembered f ...

to acquire all

feud A feud , referred to in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, or private war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially families or clans. Feuds begin because one part ...

s and titles (within the King's dominion) which had belonged to the

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 ...

. The king agreed, despite potential claims from Colonna descendants, and gave Maffeo permission to take control of a series of comunes including and

Petrella Salto Petrella Salto ( Sabino: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Rieti in the Italian region Latium, located about northeast of Rome and about southeast of Rieti Rieti (; lat, Reate, Sabino: ) is a town and ''comune'' in Lazio, ...

. Barberini was also given permission to take control of the comune of

Torre Annunziata Torre Annunziata (; nap, Torr'Annunziata) is a city and commune in the Metropolitan City of Naples, region of Campania in Italy. It is located on the Gulf of Naples at the foot of Mount Vesuvius. History The city was destroyed in the Vesuvius ...

which had been owned by the

Orsini family The House of Orsini is an Italian noble family that was one of the most influential princely families in medieval Italy and Renaissance Rome. Members of the Orsini family include five popes: Stephen II (752-757), Paul I (757-767), Celestine II ...

but had been seized by the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

Treasury several years earlier. After further negotiations, in 1664, Barberini officially purchased the

Pacentro Pacentro is a ''comune'' of 1,279 inhabitants of the province of L'Aquila in Abruzzo, Italy. It is a well-preserved historic medieval village located in central Italy, several kilometers from the City of Sulmona about east of Rome. Pacentro has ...

comune from the Colonna and added ''Count of Pacentro'' to his titles. Four years later he purchased the Gagliano comune and thus became ''Count of Gagliano''. In 1668 he was made a Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece. Maffeo Barberini died on 28 November 1685 while he was in residence at the Villa Bagnaia. The villa constituted a part of the estate of

Ippolito Lante Montefeltro della Rovere Ippolito Lante Montefeltro della Rovere (15 June 1618 – 29 June 1688) was an Italian nobleman and Duke of Bomarzo. Biography Lante was the son of Marcantonio Lante (1566–1643) and his wife Lucrezia della Rovere. He was nephew to his f ...

, Duke of Bomarzo and nephew of Cardinal

Marcello Lante della Rovere Marcello Lante della Rovere (1561 – 19 April 1652) was an Italian people Catholic Cardinal appointed Dean and Camerlengo of the College of Cardinals. __TOC__ Family and early life Lante was born 1561, the son of Ludovico Lante of the ''Dukes ...

; a contemporary and ally of Maffeo's uncles and father who had been

Bishop of Palestrina The Roman Catholic Suburbicarian Diocese of Palestrina ( la, Diocesis Praenestina) is a Roman Catholic suburbicarian diocese centered on the comune of Palestrina in Italy. The current bishop of Palestrina is Domenico Sigalini, who from 3 Novemb ...

Patron of the arts

Barberini continued the patronage of the arts started by his family members before him. He was, if only for the purpose of maintaining the wealth of the

a collector of art and became the owner of the art collection previously owned by his uncle

which included at least three paintings by

Caravaggio Michelangelo Merisi (Michele Angelo Merigi or Amerighi) da Caravaggio, known as simply Caravaggio (, , ; 29 September 1571 – 18 July 1610), was an Italian painter active in Rome for most of his artistic life. During the final four years of hi ...

.The Cardsharps; provenance
-

Kimball Art Museum The Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, hosts an art collection as well as traveling art exhibitions, educational programs and an extensive research library. Its initial artwork came from the private collection of Kay and Velma Kimbell, wh ...

, Fort Worth, Texas Barberini also commissioned paintings by Niccolò Tornioli. In 1653, Barberini reopened the

Teatro delle Quattro Fontane The Teatro delle Quattro Fontane (Theatre of the Four Fountains) is an opera house in Rome, Italy, designed (in part) by Gian Lorenzo Bernini and built in 1632 by the Barberini family. It was located in ''Via delle Quattro Fontane'', near the Piaz ...

after it had been closed for more than 10 years while his uncles and father had been in exile. It continued to host

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

tic performances until it was damaged by fire and abandoned.

Issue

Maffeo Barberini and Olimpia Giustiniani had five children: * Costanza Barberini (1655–1687), married duke Francesco Caetani of Caserta in 1680. * Camilla Barberini (1657–1740), married count Carlo Borromeo-Arese in 1689. * Francesco Barberini (1662–1738), cardinal from 1690. *

Urbano Barberini Urbano Barberini Riario Sforza Colonna di Sciarra (born 18 September 1961), best known as Urbano Barberini or sometimes Urbano Barberini Sforza, is an Italian actor. He is also a translator, theater producer and artistic director. He is fluent ...

(1664–1722), who would inherit his father's titles in 1685. *Taddeo Barberini (1666–1702), married Maria Teresa Muti in 1701 but died childless.

References