Virginio Orsini (1615 – 21 August 1676) was an Italian Cardinal. He was of the

ducal Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...

family of Bracciano, He renounced his birthright in his youth, entered the military order of the Knights of Malta and distinguished himself in battle against the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

during the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...

.S Miranda:
Orsini, Virginio He had plans to marry Ippolita Ludovisi (daughter 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 ...

, sister of

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Prince of Piombino from 1634 until his death, along his military and diplomatic career he was known and recorded in historical documents as Commander ''Niccolò da Candia'', for his engagement ...

and a niece of Pope Gregory XV) but

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 ...

had no desire for the marriage to go ahead.''Pope Alexander the Seventh and the College of Cardinals'' by

John Bargrave John Bargrave (1610 – 11 May 1680), was an English author and collector and a canon of Canterbury Cathedral.''Under the Sign: John Bargrave as Collector, Traveler, and Witness'' by Stephen Bann, Michigan, 1995 Early life Bargrave was born in K ...

, edited by

James Craigie Robertson James Craigie Robertson (1813 – 9 July 1882) was a Scottish Anglican churchman, canon of Canterbury Cathedral, and author of a ''History of the Christian Church''. Life Robertson was born at Aberdeen, where his father was a merchant; his mothe ...

(reprint; 2009) Instead, in December 1641, the Pope raised him to the dignity of cardinal, and appointed him Protector of the

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

as well as of the

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

Orient. He was commissioned to direct the building of the new fortifications with which Urban VIII enclosed the

Leonine City The Leonine City (Latin: ''Civitas Leonina'') is the part of the city of Rome which, during the Middle Ages, was enclosed with the Leonine Wall, built by order of Pope Leo IV in the 9th century. This area was located on the opposite side of the ...

and a quarter of Trastevere. In 1675 he became

Cardinal Bishop of Frascati The Diocese of Frascati (Lat.: ''Tusculana'') is a suburbicarian see of the Holy Roman Church and a diocese of the Catholic Church in Italy, based at Frascati, near Rome. The bishop of Frascati is a Cardinal Bishop; from the Latin name of the a ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Orsini, Virginio 1615 births 1676 deaths 17th-century Italian cardinals Cardinal-bishops of Albano Cardinal-bishops of Frascati Cardinals created by Pope Urban VIII People from Bracciano