BARBERINI

Surname of an aristocratic Italian family whose members played leading roles in the government of the Church and the beautifying of Rome in the 17th century. The family traced its descent from a family in Ancona named Tafani that, after becoming rich by trade, changed its name to that of the castle Barberini located in the region of Siena. In the 14th century there were Barberinis living in Florence. During the pontificate of Paul III, Francesco Barberini was in Rome, where he held the offices of prothonotary apostolic and referendary to both Segnaturas. His nephew Maffeo Barberini, from Florence, profited from his uncle's help and rose in the Church to a position from which he was able to be elected pope on Aug. 6, 1623. He took the name urban viii, and as pope he saw to it that the other members of his family were given important and lucrative positions in the Church and the government of the Papal States. One brother, Carlo, was named governor of the Borgo and a general of the Church. Two of Carlo's sons, Francesco (1597–1679) and Antonio (1607–71), were created cardinals at ages 25 and 20 respectively and appointed to high offices in the Church. Another son of Carlo, Taddeo, was married to Anne, the daughter of Filippo Colonna, by Urban VIII and became prince of Palestrina, castellan of S. Angelo, captain of the guard, and prefect of Rome. He succeeded his father as governor of the Borgo and a general of the Church. Another brother of Urban VIII, Antonio (1569–1646), was a Capuchin not very interested in possessions, but he too was made a cardinal in 1624 and became part of the governmental operations of the Church. Benefices were even assigned to two sisters of Urban VIII who were in the Carmelite convent of Florence.

The wealth amassed by Urban VIII's nephews during his pontificate was enormous. Like their uncle, however, they expended much of it in the service of art and literature. Francesco was the founder of the Barberini library, the richest library after that of the Vatican. Under Barberini patronage, Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini built the Palazzo Barberini on the slope of the Quirinal near the Quattro Fontane. Rome and its environs were beautified by the attention the Barberini paid to the rebuilding of churches, and the construction of fountains and piazzas; the three bees in their coat of arms could be found imprinted everywhere in Rome as a testimonial to their public spirit.

When innocent x became pope, the nephews fled to France, where they were protected by Cardinal Mazarin. They had feared that an investigation begun by the pope into the way in which they had acquired their wealth might harm them, but eventually Innocent X pardoned them. As part of this reconciliation, Taddeo's son Maffeo married Olimpiuccia Giustiniani, Innocent X's niece. In 1690 Francesco Barberini, Urban VIII's great grandnephew, was made a cardinal; he died in 1738. The daughter and heiress of Maffeo's heir, Urbano (d. 1722), Cornelia Barberini, married Guilio Cesare Colonna di Sciarra in 1728.

Bibliography: p. pecchiai, I Barberini (Rome 1959). l. cÀllari, I palazzi di Roma (3d ed. Rome 1944). l. pastor, The History of the Popes from the Close of the Middle Ages (London-St. Louis 1938–61): from 1st German ed. Geschichte des Päpste seit dem Ausgang des Mittelalters, 16 v. in 21 (Freiburg 1885–1933; repr. 1955–) 29:439–447, 498–507. m. t. disdier and f. bonnard, Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie ecclésiastiques, ed. a. baudrillart et al. (Paris 1912–) 6:640–645.

[v. ponko,jr.]