Orazio Ludovisi (1561–1624) was an Italian nobleman, military

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

and patrician of Bologna. During his brother's reign as

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 ...

, he became Commander of the Papal Armies and Duke of Fiano and Zagarolo.

Early life

Ludovisi was born in 1561, son of Pompeo Ludovisi, a patrician of Bologna, and his wife Camillia Bianchini. He was the older brother of Cardinal

Alessandro Ludovisi 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 ...

. He married

Lavinia Albergati In Roman mythology, Lavinia ( ; ) is the daughter of Latinus and Amata, and the last wife of Aeneas. Creation It has been proposed that the character was in part intended to represent Servilia Isaurica, Emperor Augustus's first fiancée. Story ...

and the two had a number of children including: *

Niccolò Ludovisi Niccolò I Ludovisi (1610 – 25 December 1664) was Prince of Piombino from 1634 until his death, along his military and diplomatic career he was known and recorded in historical documents as Commander ''Niccolò da Candia'', for his engagement ...

who inherited his titles *

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 Cardinal by Pope Gregory XV *Ippolita Ludovisi who married and was mother of

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 ...

Papacy of Gregory XV

In February 1621 Ludovisi's brother, Alessandro Ludovisi, was elected to the papal throne as

. A month later, on 13 March 1621, Ludovisi moved to Rome and was immediately appointed Commander of the Papal Armies by his brother. Setting a precedent for his successor (

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 ...

, who would later make habit commonplace), the Pope also purchased the

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 ...

of Fiano from the

House of Sforza The House of Sforza () was a ruling family of Renaissance Italy, based in Milan. They acquired the Duchy of Milan following the extinction of the Visconti family in the mid-15th century, Sforza rule ending in Milan with the death of the last me ...

for 200,000

Écu The term ''écu'' () may refer to one of several French coins. The first ''écu'' was a gold coin (the ''écu d'or'') minted during the reign of Louis IX of France, in 1266. The value of the ''écu'' varied considerably over time, and silver co ...

This reference, including the value of the comune, comes from a French author who quotes the French

rather than the

Papal States scudo The Roman scudo (plural: ''scudi romani'') was the currency of the Papal States until 1866. It was subdivided into 100 baiocchi (singular: ''baiocco''), each of 5 quattrini (singular: ''quattrino''). Other denominations included the ''grosso'' of ...

Italian scudo The ''scudo'' (pl. ''scudi'') was the name for a number of coins used in various states in the Italian peninsula until the 19th century. The name, like that of the French écu and the Spanish and Portuguese escudo, was derived from the Latin ''scu ...

which would more likely have been used for this particular transaction. and Ludovisi was duly appointed Duke of Fiano and also Duke of Zagarolo. During his brother's reign, Ludovisi and his wife were patrons of the Bolognese painter

Giovanni Valesio Giovanni Luigi Valesio, also known as ''Giovanni Valesio'' or ''Luigi Valesio'', (c. 1583–1633) was an Italian painter and, most prominently, an engraver of the early-Baroque, active in his native city of Bologna, and then in Rome. Biography Ma ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ludovisi, Orazio 1561 births 1640 deaths Dukes of Italy Nobility from Bologna Military personnel from Bologna