The House of Aldobrandini is an Italian noble family originally from

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...

, where in the Middle Ages they held the most important municipal offices. Now the Aldobrandini are resident in Rome, with close ties to the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

History

Their Roman fortunes were made when Ippolito Aldobrandini became pope under the name

Pope Clement VIII Pope Clement VIII ( la, Clemens VIII; it, Clemente VIII; 24 February 1536 – 3 March 1605), born Ippolito Aldobrandini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1592 to his death in March 1605. Born ...

. He arranged the marriage that linked the Aldobrandini with the Roman family of

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 ...

. They were also linked to marriage alliances with the Farnese ( Ranuccio I, duke of Parma, had married

Margherita Aldobrandini Margherita Aldobrandini (29 March 1588 — 9 August 1646), was an Italian noblewoman member of the Aldobrandini family and by marriage Duchess consort of Parma and Piacenza during 1600–1622. She was also Regent of both Duchies during 1626–1628 ...

) and

Borghese The House of Borghese is a princely family of Italian noble and papal background, originating as the Borghese or Borghesi in Siena, where they came to prominence in the 13th century and held offices under the ''commune''. During the 16th century, ...

(since

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 ...

married Paolo Borghese). The family also lends its name to the

Palazzo Aldobrandini The Doria Pamphilj Gallery is a large art collection housed in the Palazzo Doria Pamphilj in Rome, Italy, between Via del Corso and Via della Gatta. The principal entrance is on the Via del Corso (until recently, the entrance to the gallery was fr ...

on the

Quirinal Hill The Quirinal Hill (; la, Collis Quirinalis; it, Quirinale ) is one of the Seven Hills of Rome, at the north-east of the city center. It is the location of the official residence of the Italian head of state, who resides in the Quirinal Pala ...

. The Aldobrandini family, having reached the height of its powers when Ippolito Aldobrandini became

(1592–1605), began the building of the villa. In 1600 Clement VIII acquired the Orti Vitelli on the Quirinal hill and in 1601 donated the property to his

Cardinal-nephew A cardinal-nephew ( la, cardinalis nepos; it, cardinale nipote; es, valido de su tío; pt, cardeal-sobrinho; french: prince de fortune)Signorotto and Visceglia, 2002, p. 114. Modern French scholarly literature uses the term "cardinal-neveu'". ...

Pietro Aldobrandini Pietro Aldobrandini (31 March 1571 – 10 February 1621) was an Italian cardinal and patron of the arts. Biography He was made a cardinal in 1593 by his uncle, Pope Clement VIII. He took over the duchy of Ferrara in 1598 when it fell to the P ...

. The old buildings of the Vitelli Family were demolished and construction began on the new villa and adjacent garden. The villa was never the family seat as the Aldobrandini family owned even more splendid residences elsewhere in Rome. The villa on the Quirinal hill served essentially for ceremonial functions. Papst Clemens VIII Italian 17th century

More famous was the

Villa Aldobrandini The Villa Aldobrandini is a villa in Frascati, Italy. It is still owned and lived in by the Aldobrandini family, and known as Belvedere for its location overlooking the valley toward the city of Rome. It is the only grand Pope, Papal garden not o ...

Frascati Frascati () is a city and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital in the Lazio region of central Italy. It is located south-east of Rome, on the Alban Hills close to the ancient city of Tusculum. Frascati is closely associated wit ...

. Also known as Belvedere for its charming location overlooking the whole valley up to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, it was rebuilt on the order of Cardinal Pietro Aldobrandini over a pre-existing edifice built by the Vatican prelate Alessandro Rufini in 1550. The villa, aligned with the cathedral down its axial avenue that is continued through the town as Viale Catone, was rebuilt in the current form by

Giacomo della Porta Giacomo della Porta (1532–1602) was an Italian architect and sculptor, who worked on many important buildings in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica. He was born at Porlezza, Lombardy and died in Rome. Biography Giacomo Della Porta was ...

from 1598 to 1602, and then completed by

Carlo Maderno Carlo Maderno (Maderna) (1556 – 30 January 1629) was an Italian architect, born in today's Ticino, who is remembered as one of the fathers of Baroque architecture. His façades of Santa Susanna, St. Peter's Basilica and Sant'Andrea della Vall ...

and Giovanni Fontana. The villa has an imposing 17th-century façade and some other interesting architectural and environmental features, such as the double gallery order on the rear façade, the spiral-shaped flights, the large exedra of the Water Theatre and the magnificent park. Inside there are paintings of

Mannerist Mannerism, which may also be known as Late Renaissance, is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Ita ...

and Baroque artists such as the Zuccari brothers,

Cavalier D'Arpino Giuseppe Cesari (14 February 1568 – 3 July 1640) was an Italian Mannerist painter, also named Il Giuseppino and called ''Cavaliere d'Arpino'', because he was created ''Cavaliere di Cristo'' by his patron Pope Clement VIII. He was much patroniz ...

and

Domenichino Domenico Zampieri (, ; October 21, 1581 – April 6, 1641), known by the diminutive Domenichino (, ) after his shortness, was an Italian Baroque painter of the Bolognese School of painters. Life Domenichino was born in Bologna, son of a sho ...

. Outside there is a monumental gate by

Carlo Francesco Bizzaccheri Carlo Francesco Bizzaccheri (13 April 1655 Rome - 11 February 1721 Rome) was an Italian architect. He worked in a Baroque and early Rococo style.Nina A. Mallory, ''Carlo Francesco Bizzacheri (1655-1721)'', in: Journal of the Society of Architectur ...

(early 18th century). The

Doria Doria or Dória may refer to: People Surname * Doria (family), a prominent Genoese family ** Andrea Doria (1466–1560), Genoese admiral ** Ansaldo Doria, 12th century Genoese statesman and commander ** Brancaleone Doria (died c. 1409?), husband ...

, Pamphilj, Landi and Aldobrandini families have become united through marriage and descent under the simplified surname Doria Pamphilj (which is now extinct since the death of Princess Orietta Doria Pamphlij in 2000). The Aldobrandini family palazzo and its collections of works of art and furnishings is now the

Doria Pamphilj Gallery The Doria Pamphilj Gallery is a large art collection housed in the Palazzo Doria Pamphilj in Rome, Italy, between Via del Corso and Via della Gatta. The principal entrance is on the Via del Corso (until recently, the entrance to the gallery was fr ...

in Rome. The family name lives on, however, via a branch of the

Borghese family The House of Borghese is a princely family of Italian noble and papal background, originating as the Borghese or Borghesi in Siena, where they came to prominence in the 13th century and held offices under the ''commune''. During the 16th century, ...

, descended from the marriage of Olimpia Aldobrandini with Prince Paolo Borghese in the 17th century. This line is descended from Don Camillo Borghese, Prince Aldobrandini (1816–1902), a leading member of the '' soi-disant''

Black Nobility The black nobility or black aristocracy ( it, nobiltà nera, aristocrazia nera) are Roman aristocratic families who sided with the Papacy under Pope Pius IX after the Savoy family-led army of the Kingdom of Italy entered Rome on 20 September 1 ...

, who in turn was the younger brother of the then Prince Borghese and head of that family. Princess Olimpia Anna Aldobrandini, also a non-lineal descendant of

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

on her mother's side, married into the Rothschild family. The Head of the family today is Prince Camillo Aldobrandini (b. 1945), whose heir is Don Clemente Aldobrandini (b. 1982).

Other notable members of the Aldobrandini family

*Alessandro Cardinal Aldobrandini (1667–1734), raised to the cardinalate 1730. *

Bonifazio Bevilacqua Aldobrandini Bonifazio Bevilacqua Aldobrandini (1571 – 7 April 1627) was an Italian Cardinal. He was the uncle of Pope Gregory XIV. Biography In 1601, Pope Clement VIII associated Count Luigi Bevilacqua and his two brothers, Conte Bonifazio IV (1571–1627 ...

* Ippolito Cardinal Adobrandini junior * Silvestro Cardinal Aldobrandini * Cinzio Passeri Cardinal Aldobrandini, a

of Clement VIII, raised to the cardinalate 1593. * Pietro Cardinal Aldobrandini (1571–1621), raised to the cardinalate 1593 by Clement VIII.Catholic Hierarchy: "Pietro Cardinal Aldobrandini"
/ref>

Sources

Original 1922 Almanach de Gotha (edited by Justice Perthes) entry for the Borghese family (of which the Aldobrandini are a branch – see bottom of p288)
link to the original universally-recognised genealogical reference document, with details of family honours

References

{{Authority control Papal families Italian noble families Families of Florence

History

Other notable members of the Aldobrandini family

Sources

See also

References