BARBERINI, Family. – A celebrated Tuscan house. Having grown wealthy 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, from which it moved to Florence as early as the 14th century. Under the pontificate of Paul III, Antonio B. established his residence in Rome, bringing his two nephews Francesco and Raffaele with him. The former entered the Curia and became an apostolic protonotary and referendary of both Signatures, while the latter devoted himself to diplomatic activity, undertaking important missions abroad. Francesco, dying without issue, left all his possessions to his nephew Maffeo, whose education he had particularly overseen. Gifted with a lively intellect and good preparation, Maffeo was able to carry out delicate assignments under the pontificates of Clement VIII and Leo XI; he was created cardinal in 1606 and 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 in a few years. A prodigy of honours and benefits towards his own relatives, Urban VIII appointed his brother Carlo governor of Borgo and general of the Church, and his other brother Antonio, a Capuchin, cardinal.
Other fiefs, including Anticoli and Valmontone, were later added to the patrimony of the B. family, which became the richest and most powerful in Rome. The Palazzo Barberini, built by Cardinal Francesco on the slopes of the Quirinal at the Quattro Fontane, to whose construction Maderno, Borromini and Bernini contributed, was truly regal. A host of celebrated painters, among whom Pietro da Cortona stands out, splendidly decorated II. This residence was equipped with a gallery of paintings and tapestries and a library of choice works and manuscripts; it also boasted a theatre that greatly contributed to musical life through the memorable performances given there, including the famous ones in honour of Queen Christina of Sweden (1656).
Taking advantage of the fact that the duchy of Castro, still held by the Farnese, had become a den of disorders and was moreover burdened with enormous debts, the B. put forward proposals to purchase it, but Duke Odoardo refused in an arrogant manner. A conflict arose that soon degenerated into a long war. Taddeo B. occupied Castro on 31 Oct. 1641. In aid of the Farnese, Venice, Florence and Modena formed an alliance, and after varying fortunes peace was finally 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 severe blow, and moreover, a few months later (29 July 1644) Urban VIII died. The new pope, Innocent X, whom the B. had helped to elect, was not hostile to them, but faced with accusations of having profited from the administration of the Apostolic Chamber, the nephews of Urban VIII were forced to leave Italy and took refuge in France. Cardinal Mazarin supported their cause to the point of threatening the Papal States with a fleet. Faced with the manifest danger of war and the latent threat of schism, Innocent X agreed to the restitution of the property confiscated from the B. and to allow their return to Rome. The marriage between Maffeo B., son of Taddeo, and Olimpia Giustiniani, niece of Innocent X, sealed the agreement. From then on the B. ceased to interfere in Italian politics. In 1728 the house inherited the Cornelia line, which had been joined in marriage to Giulio Cesare Colonna while still very young; it is in this branch of the B.-Colonna that the noble family continues.
Among the most illustrious members, besides Carlo, brother of Urban VIII, of whom mention has already been made, the other brother Antonio (called the elder, b. 1569) deserves special mention. He was a simple Capuchin friar at the time of Urban’s election, which it was barely possible to detach him from his convent of S. Geminiano in Florence by creating him cardinal of S. Onofrio on 7 Oct. 1624 and bishop of Sinigaglia; Antonio left this diocese when his brother called 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. 1646.
Of the three sons of Carlo, Taddeo was the one who continued the line of the B. For him, in 1630, Francesco Colonna sold the principality of Palestrina, and with this purchase the B. assumed an exalted position in 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, awarded the Order of the Golden Fleece and inscribed with his entire family in the Golden Book of 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 transferred in 1704 to Palestrina in 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 successively 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, England and vice-chancellor of the Church. He carried out some important diplomatic missions and in 1626 went to Spain, where he was received with great honours, to settle the disputes that had arisen between that kingdom and France. His main interest, however, was directed towards studies; his careful translation of the 12 books of Marcus Aurelius was published in 1667. A friend of artists and scholars and an enthusiastic collector of books and manuscripts, he greatly contributed to the development of the rich Barberini library, which remained in the family until 1902, when 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 the Order of Malta and aide to his father, general of the Church, he embraced the ecclesiastical life, was created cardinal at barely twenty years of age on 26 Aug. 1627, and shortly afterwards appointed abbot of 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 commanded the papal army. Generous towards men of letters and artists, he even attempted poetry himself. From 1638 he was camerlengo of the Church and from 1661 bishop of Palestrina. In the War of the Mantuan Succession he was entrusted with a delicate mission to the Duke of Savoy, obtaining a favourable outcome. He held the legations of Avignon, Bologna, Ferrara and the duchy of Urbino, in whose name he took possession. After taking refuge in France following the election of Innocent X, Louis XIV conferred on him the Order of the Holy Spirit, rich abbeys, made him a grandee and a musketeer, bishop of Poitiers (1652) and finally archbishop of Reims (1657). He died at Nemi on 3 Aug. 1671 and was buried in Palestrina in the family chapel.
The last of this group of cardinals was Francesco junior, great-nephew of Urban VIII, b. in Rome on 27 May 1662. Entering the ecclesiastical career, after having been, under Innocent XI, cleric and auditor of the Apostolic Chamber, he was created cardinal by Alexander VIII on 13 Nov. 1690. Sent as legate to Ravenna, he restored the legation palace and opened a 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 in Palestrina among his own. – See Pl. LV.