Andrea della Valle
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Cardinal Andrea della Valle (29 November 1463, in
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 ...
– 3 August 1534) was an Italian clergyman and art collector.


Life

Andrea belonged to an ancient family of Roman nobles. He was the son of Filippo della Valle, a Roman patrician; the family tomb is in
Santa Maria in Aracoeli The Basilica of St. Mary of the Altar of Heaven ( la, Basilica Sanctae Mariae de Ara coeli in Capitolio, it, Basilica di Santa Maria in Ara coeli al Campidoglio) is a titular basilica in Rome, located on the highest summit of the Campidoglio. I ...
, where an inscription to their father was placed by Andrea and his brother Bartolomeo. Andrea also had a sister, Sigismonda. Andrea was elected bishop of Crotone in 1496. In 1503-05 he directed the
Apostolic Chancery The Apostolic ChanceryCanon 260, ''Code of Canon Law'' of 1917, translated by Edward N. Peters, Ignatius Press, 2001. ( la, Cancellaria Apostolica; also known as the "Papal" or "Roman Chanc(ell)ery") was a dicastery of the Roman Curia at the serv ...
, and served as Apostolic secretary during the pontificate of
Pope Julius II Pope Julius II ( la, Iulius II; it, Giulio II; born Giuliano della Rovere; 5 December 144321 February 1513) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1503 to his death in February 1513. Nicknamed the Warrior Pope or th ...
. He was transferred to the titular diocese of
Miletus Miletus (; gr, Μῑ́λητος, Mī́lētos; Hittite transcription ''Millawanda'' or ''Milawata'' (exonyms); la, Mīlētus; tr, Milet) was an ancient Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia, near the mouth of the Maeander River in a ...
in 1508, which he resigned in favor of his nephew Quinzio Rustici on 26 November 1523. He participated in the
Fifth Lateran Council The Fifth Council of the Lateran, held between 1512 and 1517, was the eighteenth ecumenical council of the Catholic Church and was the last council before the Protestant Reformation and the Council of Trent. It was convoked by Pope Julius II to ...
, 1512, and was created
cardinal 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 ...
priest in the consistory of 1 July 1517. He participated in the conclaves of 1521-22 and 1523."Andrea Cardinal Della Valle"
''
Catholic-Hierarchy.org ''Catholic-Hierarchy.org'' is an online database of bishops and dioceses of the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Catholic Churches. The website is not officially sanctioned by the Church. It is run as a private project by David M. Cheney in ...
''. David M. Cheney. Retrieved May 16, 2016.
As archpriest of the patriarchal Liberian basilica (1520) he ceremonially opened and closed the
Holy Door A Holy Door ( la, Porta Sancta) is traditionally an entrance portal located within the Papal major basilicas in Rome. The doors are normally sealed by mortar and cement from the inside so that they cannot be opened. They are ceremoniously open ...
in the Jubilee Year of 1525.


Art collector

Cardinal della Valle is best remembered, however, as the collector of one of the first collections of Roman antiquities that marked the
High Renaissance In art history, the High Renaissance was a short period of the most exceptional artistic production in the Italian states, particularly Rome, capital of the Papal States, and in Florence, during the Italian Renaissance. Most art historians stat ...
. He inherited some antiquities, which had been collected by the della Valle in the previous century, according to
Vasari Giorgio Vasari (, also , ; 30 July 1511 – 27 June 1574) was an Italian Renaissance Master, who worked as a painter, architect, engineer, writer, and historian, who is best known for his work ''The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculpt ...
. and eagerly acquired more. Inspired by the
Cortile del Belvedere The (Belvedere Courtyard or Belvedere Court) was a major architectural work of the High Renaissance at the Vatican Palace in Rome. Designed by Donato Bramante from 1505 onward, its concept and details reverberated in courtyard design, formalized ...
, in 1520 he commissioned the Rafaellesque sculptor architect
Lorenzetto Lotti Lorenzo Lotti, also known as Lorenzetto, (1490–1541), born Lorenzo di Lodovico di Guglielmo, was an Italian Renaissance sculptor and architect in the circle of Raphael. He was born in Florence and married the sister of Giulio Romano, another ...
to create a suitable setting for the sculptures and inscriptions and other antiquities that he had amassed, the result of a generation of rediscoveries at the turn of the 16th century. On the main floor of the palazzo's new second inner courtyard the sculptures were displayed in a sort of
loggia In architecture, a loggia ( , usually , ) is a covered exterior gallery or corridor, usually on an upper level, but sometimes on the ground level of a building. The outer wall is open to the elements, usually supported by a series of columns ...
, described by
Giorgio Vasari Giorgio Vasari (, also , ; 30 July 1511 – 27 June 1574) was an Italian Renaissance Master, who worked as a painter, architect, engineer, writer, and historian, who is best known for his work ''The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculpt ...
as a ''hortus pensilis'' or hanging garden (''giardino di sopra'') that included planted raised boxes and an
aviary An aviary is a large enclosure for confining birds, although bats may also be considered for display. Unlike birdcages, aviaries allow birds a larger living space where they can fly; hence, aviaries are also sometimes known as flight cages. Av ...
, which "blurred the distinction between garden and courtyard," with inscriptions inviting peace, relaxation and thought, an invocation of ''rus in urbe''. The architectural framing and the great care with which the ensemble was presented— as decorative as it was scholarly, evoking Classical harmony, symmetry and equilibrium, was a model for other Roman collections. Many visitors left written impressions during the 16th century, and more than one artist made sketches.
Maarten van Heemskerck Maarten van Heemskerck or ''Marten Jacobsz Heemskerk van Veen'' (1 June 1498 - 1 October 1574) was a Dutch portrait and religious painter, who spent most of his career in Haarlem. He was a pupil of Jan van Scorel, and adopted his teacher's Itali ...
's early drawing of the loggia, showing the two famous armless satyrs supporting baskets on their heads, set against the piers of the arches, was etched by
Hieronymus Cock Hieronymus Cock, or Hieronymus Wellens de Cock (1518 – 3 October 1570) was a Flemish painter and etcher as well as a publisher and distributor of prints.
in 1558 and circulated among connoisseurs of the Antique. Here, in the serene and ordered presentation that was eventually developed in the 1520s and 30s by Lorenzetto— Heemskerck's drawing still shows a picturesque disorder— were undertaken the first systematic restorations and completions of Roman sculptural fragments, work that, according to Vasari's anecdotes, had occasionally been undertaken piecemeal for the
Medici The House of Medici ( , ) was an Italian banking family and political dynasty that first began to gather prominence under Cosimo de' Medici, in the Republic of Florence during the first half of the 15th century. The family originated in the Muge ...
by
Donatello Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi ( – 13 December 1466), better known as Donatello ( ), was a Republic of Florence, Florentine sculptor of the Renaissance period. Born in Republic of Florence, Florence, he studied classical sculpture and use ...
and
Verrocchio Andrea del Verrocchio (, , ; – 1488), born Andrea di Michele di Francesco de' Cioni, was a sculptor, Italian painter and goldsmith who was a master of an important workshop in Florence. He apparently became known as ''Verrocchio'' after the ...
, but which became common practice and developed into a Roman industry during the sixteenth century; Vasari, following his description of della Valle's antiquities, remarks, "And to tell the truth, these antiquities restored in this manner have much more grace than those mutilated trunks, members without heads or figures defective and incomplete in any other way". At his death the Palazzo Valle passed to his nephew, Camillo Capranica, of another antiquities-collecting family and gained the name Palazzo Valle-Capranica, while the collection was housed separately, in the palazzo of bishop Bruto Della Valle; there it was inspected by
Gabriele Simeoni Gabriele is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name Surname *Al Gabriele, American comic book artist *Angel Gabriele (1956–2016), American comic book artist *Corrado Gabriele (born 1966), Italian politi ...
in 1557, who left descriptions in French and Italian.Simeoni, ''Les illustres observations antiques'' Lyon, 1558, and ''Illustrazione de gli epitaffe et medaglie antichi'', Lyons, 1558. In 1584 the collection was purchased en bloc by Cardinal Ferdinand de' Medici and dispersed among various Medici dwellings. Most of the collection is at the Villa de Medici in Rome, but part was transferred to Florence, where della Valle sculptures can be seen today in the
Palazzo Pitti The Palazzo Pitti (), in English sometimes called the Pitti Palace, is a vast, mainly Renaissance, palace in Florence, Italy. It is situated on the south side of the River Arno, a short distance from the Ponte Vecchio. The core of the present ...
and the
Boboli Gardens The Boboli Gardens ( it, Giardino di Boboli) is a historical park of the city of Florence that was opened to the public in 1766. Originally designed for the Medici, it represents one of the first and most important examples of the Italian garden, ...
, in the
Uffizi The Uffizi Gallery (; it, Galleria degli Uffizi, italic=no, ) is a prominent art museum located adjacent to the Piazza della Signoria in the Historic Centre of Florence in the region of Tuscany, Italy. One of the most important Italian museums ...
, and at the Medici villa at
Poggio Imperiale Poggio Imperiale is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Foggia in the Apulia region of southeast Italy. Twin towns * Vorë, Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e ...
. A theatre was built in the Cardinal's courtyard, which gave its name to the ''via Teatro Valle''.


References

*
Bibliothèque nationale de France: "Dessins de la Renaissance"
Two drawings of the collection at Palazzo Valle, one by
Martin Heemskerck Maarten van Heemskerck or ''Marten Jacobsz Heemskerk van Veen'' (1 June 1498 - 1 October 1574) was a Dutch portrait and religious painter, who spent most of his career in Haarlem. He was a pupil of Jan van Scorel, and adopted his teacher's Itali ...
(1498-1574), who was in Rome ca 1532– 1536, the other attributed to Hendrick van Cleve, ca 1550. Illustrated. (in French). Among identifiable pieces, the ''Marsyas'' of the Uffizi, the ''Apollo with Lyre'' of Poggio Imperiale, the ''Minerva'' of Palazzo Pitti and others. {{DEFAULTSORT:Della Valle, Andrea 1463 births 1534 deaths Clergy from Rome 16th-century Italian cardinals Cardinal-bishops of Albano Cardinal-bishops of Palestrina 16th-century Italian Roman Catholic bishops