ALDOBRANDINI. - A Florentine family whose renown derived less from ancient nobility of blood or the importance of offices held than from the man who attained the papal throne. The first to bring it some distinction was SILVESTRO (1499-1558), chancellor of the Florentine Riformazioni, a skilled jurist who was exiled by the Medici and took refuge in Rome under Paul III. There, entering the papal magistracies, he earned the vicegerency of Bologna and, after brief absences during which he served the dukes of Ferrara and Urbino, became an advocate of the Roman Rota; under Paul IV he was an instrument in the hands of Cardinal Carlo Carafa of anti-Spanish policy. Falling from favor with Paul IV and dying soon after, he left six sons, of whom one, TOMMASO, became secretary of the Briefs (d. 1572); a second, GIOVANNI, became bishop of Imola and cardinal (d. 1573); a third, PIETRO, became fiscal advocate (d. 1587); and a fourth, IPOLITO, became an advocate of the Rota, auditor of the Rota, datary of Sixtus V, cardinal, and finally pope under the name of Clement VIII.
The latter lavished favors on his closest relatives: PIETRO, son of his brother Pietro, became cardinal and secretary of state (see below); CINZIO, son of his sister Giulia, who had married Aurelio Personeni da Ca Passero, likewise became cardinal and, together with his cousin, secretary of state (see below); GIAN FRANCESCO, married to his niece Olimpia, was destined to continue the family and was therefore generously provided with revenues. The latter had twelve children; of these, SILVESTRO was made a cardinal at sixteen, IPOLITO became a cardinal under Gregory XV, MARGHERITA was given in marriage to the duke of Parma Ranuccio Farnese, and ELENA was married to a Carafa, a man of loose morals. With the death of Cardinal Ipolito in 1637, the promising male line died out, and the great wealth passed to Olimpia, daughter of Gian Francesco, who entered first the Borghese and then the Pamphili family. Finally, the inheritance passed to the Borghese princes. In late recognition, in 1839 Prince Camillo Borghese assumed the name Aldobrandini, a name that also remained, most honorable among posterity, for the urban villa from which came the celebrated Aldobrandini Wedding, and for the Tusculan villa, among the largest and most splendid of the 16th century.
GIOVANNI. - Cardinal, b. in Florence, d. in Rome on 17 Sept. 1573. Elder brother of Clement VIII, in 1554 he was elected advocate of the Roman Rota and governor of Imola. In 1556 he became auditor of the Rota. In 1569 he was created by Pius V bishop of Imola and on 17 May 1570 cardinal with the title of S. Susanna. He was entrusted with very important tasks, including negotiations for the league of Rome, Venice, and Spain against the Turks. He was buried in S. Maria sopra Minerva in the family chapel.
CINZIO. - Cardinal, b. in Sinigaglia in 1560, d. in Rome on 1 Jan. 1610. Born Passeri, he took the surname Aldobrandini from his uncle, Cardinal Ippolito, later pope as Clement VIII. He graduated in law at Padua. In 1588 he accompanied Cardinal Ippolito on a legation to Poland and Germany and was then sent to Sixtus V to announce the pacification achieved between the Austrians and the Poles. On 17 Sept. 1593 he was created cardinal with the title of S. Giorgio in Velabro, later changed to that of S. Pietro in Vincoli. In the same year he was appointed, together with Cardinal Pietro, secretary of state and in this capacity accompanied the pope to Ferrara. After a brief stay in Venice and Milan, he returned to Rome where he was appointed Prefect of the Apostolic Signature and, in 1604, legate of Avignon. Under Leo XI he held the office of Major Penitentiary. He was a patron of artists and writers, among them Torquato Tasso who dedicated to him the Gerusalemme conquistata. He was buried in S. Pietro in Vincoli.
PIETRO. - Cardinal, b. in Rome in 1572, d. there on 10 Feb. 1621. He was appointed by his uncle, Pope Clement VIII, apostolic protonotary, advocate of the Roman Rota, prefect of Castel S. Angelo, and finally cardinal on 17 Sept. 1593. He was entrusted, together with his cousin Cinzio, with the direction of political affairs. In 1598, with the Treaty of Faenza, he obtained the annexation of Ferrara to the Papal States. He later held the legation of Ferrara and subsequently became prefect of the Apostolic Signature, of the Briefs, and Camerlengo of the Roman Church. In 1600 he negotiated the Peace of Lyon between Henry IV and Charles Emmanuel I of Savoy. He obtained from Henry IV the recall of the Jesuits to France. In 1604 he was given the archbishopric of Ravenna, where he retired after the death of Clement VIII. In 1620 he became bishop of Sabina. He built the famous Aldobrandini villa at Frascati. - See Plate LIX.
GIACOMO. - Apostolic nuncio, b. in Florence, d. there on 10 March 1606. On 13 Aug. 1545 he was named canon of the Collegiate Church of S. Lorenzo, but resigned the canonry five years later. Under Sixtus V he held numerous and important posts, including that of vice-nuncio, and in 1591 that of governor of Ancona and Fano. On 15 Nov. 1593 he was appointed by Clement VIII bishop of Troia and three years later apostolic nuncio to Naples. He was buried in Florence in the Church of S. Lorenzo.
ALESSANDRO. - Cardinal, b. in Florence on 1 May 1667, d. in Ferrara on 14 Aug. 1734. After completing his studies at the Roman Seminary, in 1699 he was sent as vice-legate to Ferrara and in 1702 was appointed by Clement XI, at the height of the War of the Spanish Succession, commissioner of the papal forces. In 1706, having returned to Rome, he received the office of cleric of the Chamber. He was then appointed nuncio first to Naples, then to Venice, and finally in 1720 to Spain, at the court of Philip V, where he remained throughout the pontificate of Benedict XIII. In 1730 he was created by Clement XII cardinal with the title of Santi Quattro and in the same year was entrusted with the legation of Ferrara. He was buried in the church of the Discalced Carmelites.