Niccolò I Ludovisi (1610 – 25 December 1664) was

Prince of Piombino The Lordship of Piombino (''Signoria di Piombino''), and after 1594 the Principality of Piombino (''Principato di Piombino''), was a small state on the Italian peninsula centred on the city of Piombino and including part of the island of Elba. ...

from 1634 until his death, along his military and diplomatic career he was known and recorded in historical documents as Commander ''Niccolò da Candia'', for his engagement in the Venetian colony of

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...

, the Duchy of Candia

Family

He was 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 ...

, patrician of

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 ...

and commander-in-chief of the Papal Army (as well as brother of

Pope 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 ...

), and Lavinia Albergati. He was the nephew of later-Cardinal

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 ...

. He was a brother of

Ludovico Ludovisi Ludovico Ludovisi (22 or 27 October 1595 – 18 November 1632) was an Italian Cardinal (Catholic Church), cardinal and statesman of the Roman Catholic Church. He was an art connoisseur who formed a famous collection of antiquities, housed at the ...

who was made a cardinal by their uncle the pope.

Marriages and legacy

Ludovisi was married three times. He married firstly on 30 November 1622 to Isabella Gesualdo (1611–1629), princess of

Venosa Venosa ( Lucano: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Potenza, in the southern Italian region of Basilicata, in the Vulture area. It is bounded by the comuni of Barile, Ginestra, Lavello, Maschito, Montemilone, Palazzo San Gervasio, ...

, *Lavinia (1627–1634), died in childhood In 1632 Niccolò married secondly to Polissena Appiani (?-1642), the daughter and heiress of Isabella Appiani,

Princess of Piombino The Lordship of Piombino (''Signoria di Piombino''), and after 1594 the Principality of Piombino (''Principato di Piombino''), was a small state on the Italian peninsula centred on the city of Piombino and including part of the island of Elba. It ...

. *Gregorio Filippo (1633-c.1637), died in childhood His third marriage in 1644 was to Costanza

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 ...

(1627–1665), niece of

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 January ...

The Scented Salamander:
''Prince Niccolò I Ludovisi'' and the sister of

Camillo Pamphili Camillo Francesco Maria Pamphili (21 February 1622 – 26 July 1666) was an Italian Catholic cardinal and nobleman of the Pamphili family. His name is often spelled with the final ''long i'' orthography; Pamphilj. Early life Pamphili was ...

who married Ludovisi's niece,

Olimpia Aldobrandini Olimpia Aldobrandini (20 April 1623 – 18 December 1681) was a member of the Aldobrandini family of Rome, and the sole heiress to the family fortune. Biography Donna Olimpia Aldobrandini was born 20 April 1623, the daughter of Giorgio Aldob ...

. * Giovan Battista (1647–1699), Prince of Piombino from 1664 * Olimpia (1656–1700), Princess of Piombino (1700), unmarried * Lavinia (1659–1682), married Giangirolamo, Duke of Atri but had no issue * Ippolita (1663–1733), Princess of Piombino (1700–1733), married

Gregorio II Boncompagni Gregorio II Boncompagni (7 July 1642 – 1 January 1707) was an Italian nobleman and the 5th Duke of Sora. He was the grand-nephew of Pope Gregory XIII He married Giustina Gallio (29 October 1644 – 21 July 1679) and then, when she died, he marri ...

and had issue * Niccolo (c.1664-1665), died in infancy Niccolò Ludovisi died at

Cagliari Cagliari (, also , , ; sc, Casteddu ; lat, Caralis) is an Italian municipality and the capital of the island of Sardinia, an autonomous region of Italy. Cagliari's Sardinian name ''Casteddu'' means ''castle''. It has about 155,000 inhabitant ...

, and was succeeded in his state by his son

Giovan Battista Ludovisi Giovan Battista Ludovisi (''John Baptist Ludovisi'') (1647 - 24 August 1699) was the Prince of Piombino, serving from 1665 until his death in 1699. Life Giovan Battista Ludovisi was the son and heir of Niccolò I Ludovisi and his third wife Cost ...

Titles

After his participation in the Ottoman-Venetian war of Crete, Niccolò was greatly financially compensated for his involvement as Commander and Admiral, becoming known as Commander Niccolò da Candia, and eventually recognized by the noble title of Prince in 1634 after paying the large amount of one million gold

florin The Florentine florin was a gold coin struck from 1252 to 1533 with no significant change in its design or metal content standard during that time. It had 54 grains (3.499 grams, 0.113 troy ounce) of nominally pure or 'fine' gold with a purcha ...

s. After all, he also inherited his father's titles, becoming marquis of

Populonia Populonia or Populonia Alta (Etruscan: ''Pupluna'', ''Pufluna'' or ''Fufluna'', all pronounced ''Fufluna''; Latin: ''Populonium'', ''Populonia'', or ''Populonii'') today is a ''frazione'' of the ''comune'' of Piombino (Tuscany, central Italy). As o ...

and duke of Fiano. Then under the Spanish Crown, he became Spanish Viceroy in

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to sou ...

(1660–1662) and

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...

(1662–1664), and in 1657 he was named a Knight of the

Order of the Golden Fleece The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece ( es, Insigne Orden del Toisón de Oro, german: Orden vom Goldenen Vlies) is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in Bruges by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in 1430, to celebrate his marriage ...

References

Literature

Klaus Jaitner, ''Die Hauptinstruktionen Gregors XV.: Für die Nuntien und Gesandten an den europäischen Fürstenhöfen, 1621-1623'', Bibliothek des Deutsches Historisches Institut in Rom, Max Niemeyer Verlag, 1997, pp. 167–178. ,
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ludovisi, Niccolo Ludovisi, Niccolo 1 Ludovisi, Niccolo 1 Ludovisi, Niccolo 1 Niccolo 1 17th-century Italian nobility