BARBERINI, FAMILY. - A famous house of Tuscan origin. Having enriched itself through commerce, it changed its original name of Tafani to that of B. from the castle of the same name in the Val d'Elsa, whence it moved to Florence as early as the 14th century. Under the pontificate of Paul III ANTONIO B. established his residence in Rome, bringing to live with him his two nephews FRANCESCO and RAFFAELE. The former entered the Curia and became apostolic protonotary and referendary of both Signatures, while the latter devoted himself to diplomatic activity, carrying out important missions abroad. On his death Francesco left all his substance to his nephew MAFFEO, whose education he had particularly overseen. Endowed with a lively intellect and a good preparation, the latter was able to discharge delicate assignments under the pontificates of Clement VIII and Leo XI; he was created cardinal in 1606 and was finally elected Pope in 1623 under the name of Urban VIII (v.).
This election caused the power and wealth of the B. family to grow beyond measure within a few years. Prodigal of honors and benefits toward his own kin, Urban VIII appointed his brother CARLO governor of Borgo and general of the Church, and made his other brother ANTONIO, a Capuchin, a cardinal.
Other fiefs, among them Anticoli and Valmontone, were subsequently added to the patrimony of the B. family, which became the richest and most powerful in Rome. The B. palace, built by Card. Francesco on the slopes of the Quirinal at the Quattro Fontane, in whose construction Maderno, Borromini and Bernini cooperated, turned out truly regal. A host of celebrated painters, foremost among them Pietro da Cortona, decorated it splendidly. This residence was provided with a gallery of paintings and tapestries and with a library of precious works and manuscripts; there one admired a theater that contributed greatly to musical life through the memorable performances given there, among them the celebrated ones in honor of Queen Christina of Sweden (1656).
Taking advantage of the circumstance that the duchy of Castro, still possessed by the Farnese, had become a den of disorder and was moreover burdened with enormous debts, the B. put forward proposals to purchase it, but Duke Odoardo refused arrogantly. From this arose a conflict that soon degenerated into a long war. Taddeo B. occupied Castro on 31 Oct. 1641. Venice, Florence and Modena coalesced in aid of the Farnese and, after varying fortunes, peace was reached. By the treaty of Venice of 31 March 1644 Odoardo, thanks also to the support of France, was able to recover the duchy of Castro and be reconciled with the Holy See. The prestige of the B. suffered a hard blow from this, and moreover, a few months later (29 July 1644) Urban VIII died. The new pontiff Innocent X, whose election the B. had favored, was not hostile to them, but, in the face of accusations of having profited from the administration of the Apostolic Camera, the nephews of Urban VIII were forced to leave Italy and took refuge in France. Card. Mazarin supported their cause to the point of having the Papal State threatened with a fleet. In the face of the manifest danger of a war and the latent one of a schism, Innocent X consented to the restitution of the goods confiscated from the B. and to permitting their return to Rome. The marriage between MAFFEO B., son of Taddeo, and Olimpia Giustiniani, niece of Innocent X, was the seal of the agreement. From then on the B. ceased to interfere in Italian politics. In 1728 CORNELIA remained heiress of the house, and she was married very young to Giulio Cesare Colonna; it is in this branch of the B.-Colonna that the noble family continues.
Of the most illustrious personages, besides Carlo, brother of Urban VIII, of whom mention has been made above, the one to be mentioned before all is the other brother ANTONIO (called the elder, b. in 1569). He was a simple Capuchin friar at the time of Urban's election, and the latter barely managed to detach him from his convent of S. Geminiano in Florence, creating him cardinal of S. Onofrio on 7 Oct. 1624 and bishop of Sinigallia; Antonio left this diocese when his brother summoned him to Rome in 1629. He was major penitentiary and librarian, always living with great austerity, providing for churches and monasteries and particularly for the church and the College of Propaganda Fide. D. in 1646.
Of Carlo's three sons, TADDEO was the one who continued the line of the B. For him the principality of Palestrina was bought in 1630 from Francesco Colonna, and with this purchase the B. assumed a very lofty position in the Roman nobility. He married Anna Colonna and, on his father's death, became governor of Borgo, castellan of Castel S. Angelo, general of the Church. And finally, on 12 May 1631, prefect of Rome, an office he assumed with extraordinary solemnity. He was a grandee of Spain, invested with the Order of the Golden Fleece and inscribed with his whole family in the golden book of the Venetian nobility. He took part in the war of Castro and, after the death of Urban VIII, fled to France, where he died in 1647. His remains were transported in 1704 to Palestrina, into the family chapel.
FRANCESCO, the elder, second son of Carlo, b. in Florence on 23 Sept. 1597. Created cardinal at the age of 26 on 2 Oct. 1623, he was subsequently bishop of Sabina, Porto and Ostia. He held the rich abbeys of Grottaferrata and Farfa, was governor of Tivoli and Fermo, protector of the kingdoms of Aragon, Portugal, Scotland and England, and vice-chancellor of the Church. He carried out several important diplomatic missions and in 1626 went, received with great honors, to Spain to settle the controversies that had arisen between that kingdom and France. His greatest interest, however, was directed to study; his is a careful translation of the 12 books of Marcus Aurelius, which was published in 1667. A friend of artists and scholars and a passionate collector of books and manuscripts, he contributed greatly to the development of the rich B. library, which belonged to the family until 1902, the year in which it was purchased by Leo XIII and incorporated into the Vatican Library. After the death of Urban VIII, he fled with his brothers Antonio and Taddeo to France; he returned to Rome some years later and died there on 10 Dec. 1679.
ANTONIO, the younger, third son of Carlo, b. in Florence in 1607. A Knight of Jerusalem and aide to his father, general of the Church, he embraced the ecclesiastical life, was created cardinal, barely twenty years old, on 26 Aug. 1627, and was named shortly afterward abbot of the Tre Fontane and of Nonantola and archpriest of S. Maria Maggiore.
In the war of Castro he was one of the most ardent supporters of the struggle and held command of the pontifical army. Generous toward men of letters and artists, he himself attempted poetry. From 1638 he was camerlengo of the Church and from 1661 bishop of Palestrina. In the war of Monferrato he was invested with a delicate mission to the Duke of Savoy, obtaining a favorable settlement. He held the legations of Avignon, Bologna, Ferrara and of the duchy of Urbino, of which he took possession in the name of the Pope. Having taken refuge in France after the election of Innocent X, Louis XIV conferred on him the Order of the Holy Spirit, rich abbeys, and named him grand almoner, bishop of Poitiers (1652) and finally archbishop of Reims (1657). He died at Nemi on 3 Aug. 1671 and was buried at Palestrina in the family chapel.
Last of this group of cardinals was FRANCESCO the younger, great-nephew of Urban VIII, b. in Rome on 27 May 1662. Directed toward the ecclesiastical career, after having been, under Innocent XI, cleric and auditor of the Apostolic Camera, he was created cardinal by Alexander VIII on 13 Nov. 1690. Sent as legate to Ravenna, he restored the palace of the legation and opened the seminary there. On his return to Rome he was for some time prefect of the Congregation of Bishops and Regulars; on 1 July 1726 bishop of Ostia and Velletri, and dean of the Sacred College. He died in Rome on 17 Aug. 1738 and was buried at Palestrina among his own. - See Pl. LV.
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Giuseppe Graglia