The Boncompagni is a princely family of the

Italian nobility The nobility of Italy (Italian: ''Nobiltà italiana'') comprised individuals and their families of the Italian Peninsula, and the islands linked with it, recognized by the sovereigns of the Italian city-states since the Middle Ages, and by the k ...

who settled in

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 ...

around the

14th century As a means of recording the passage of time, the 14th century was a century lasting from 1 January 1301 ( MCCCI), to 31 December 1400 ( MCD). It is estimated that the century witnessed the death of more than 45 million lives from political and n ...

, but which was probably originally from

Umbria it, Umbro (man) it, Umbra (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , ...

. In 1572 they obtained the papal throne thanks to Ugo Boncompagni, who, with the name of

Pope Gregory XIII Pope Gregory XIII ( la, Gregorius XIII; it, Gregorio XIII; 7 January 1502 – 10 April 1585), born Ugo Boncompagni, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 May 1572 to his death in April 1585. He is best known for ...

, was elected pope. Since then, the rise of the family began. In fact, in 1579, the pope bought the

Duchy of Sora The Duchy of Sora was a semi-independent state in Italy, created in 1443 by King Alfonso I of Naples and dissolved in 1796. It occupied the south-eastern part of what is today Lazio, bordering what is now Abruzzo. Its capital was first Sora, an ...

from the

Della rovere family The House of Della Rovere (; literally "of the oak tree") was a noble family of Italy. It had humble origins in Savona, in Liguria, and acquired power and influence through nepotism and ambitious marriages arranged by two Della Rovere popes: Fra ...

for his son Giacomo, whose descendants reigned there as dukes until 1796. Later they also obtained the

Principality 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. ...

, following the marriage of

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 ...

with

Ippolita Ludovisi Olimpia Ippolita I Ludovisi (December 24, 1663 – December 29, 1733) was the Princess of Piombino from 1701 until her death in 1733. Life She was born in Cagliari, the youngest daughter of Niccolò I Ludovisi, prince of Piombino, and Constanza ...

, princess of Piombino and last of her dynasty. They reigned over Piombino, like Boncompagni-Ludovisi, until the deposition in 1801 of the last prince, Antonio II Boncompagni Ludovisi.

History

Bolognese family, perhaps originally from Umbria, rose from the middle class to which it belonged thanks to the marriage of Cristoforo Boncompagni (1470 - 1546) with the noble Angela Marescalchi. In 1572 the son of Cristoforo and Angela, Ugo Boncompagni, was elected to the papal throne as the 226th pope of the Catholic Church with the name of Gregory XIII. Since then the luster and power of the family could only increase. Numerous members obtained important positions in the Church and 5, in addition to Ugo, were created cardinals: Filippo (1548 - 1586), Francesco (1592 - 1641), Girolamo (1622 - 1684), Giacomo (1652 - 1731), Ignazio Gaetano (1743 - 1790); of these, among other posts, one was

Archbishop of Naples The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Naples ( la, Archidioecesis Neapolitana) is a Roman Catholic archdioceses in southern Italy, the see being in Naples. A Christian community was founded there in the 1st century AD and the diocese of Naples was r ...

and two were Archbishops of Bologna, while another was also Secretary of State of the Holy See.

was lord of Piombino from 1706 to 1707. The family later merged with the

Ludovisi family The House of Ludovisi was an Italian noble family, originating from Bologna. They had close ties with the Papacy and were influential in the Papal States. Alessandro Ludovisi became a cardinal and later Pope Gregory XV. His cardinal-nephew was ...

. The 19th century mathematician Baldassarre Boncompagni-Ludovisi was a member of the family. Prince Francesco Boncompagni Ludovisi (1886-1955) was

Governor of Rome A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

in 1928-1955.

References

Sources

* {{Authority control Duchy of Sora Italian noble families Papal families