BARBERINI, FAMIGLIA. — Celebrated family of Tuscan origin. Enriched through commerce, it changed its original name of Tafani to that of B., taken from the eponymous castle in 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 his two nephews FRANCESCO and RAFFAELE to live with him. 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. When Francesco died, he left all his possessions to his nephew MAFFEO, whose education he had taken particular care to oversee. Endowed with keen intelligence and sound training, the latter successfully discharged 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. A prodigy of honors and benefices toward his 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 subsequently added to the patrimony of the B. family, which became the richest and most powerful in Rome. The B. palace, built by Cardinal Francesco on the slopes of the Quirinal at the Quattro Fontane, and to whose construction Maderno, Borromini, and Bernini contributed, was truly regal. A host of celebrated painters, foremost among them Pietro da Cortona, splendidly decorated II. This residence was furnished with a gallery of paintings and tapestries and a library of valuable works and manuscripts; it also contained a theater that contributed greatly to musical life through the memorable performances held there, including those famously given 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 hotbed of disorder and was moreover burdened with enormous debts, the B. put forward proposals to purchase it, but Duke Odoardo arrogantly refused. A conflict arose, which soon degenerated into a prolonged war. Taddeo B. occupied Castro on 31 October 1641. Venice, Florence, and Modena formed a coalition in aid of the Farnese and, after alternating fortunes, peace was eventually achieved. 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 pontiff, Innocent X, whose election the B. had supported, was not hostile to them; but, faced with accusations that they had profited from the administration of the Apostolic Camera, the nephews of Urban VIII were forced to leave Italy and took refuge in France. Cardinal Mazzarino supported their cause to the point of having the Papal States threatened by a fleet. Faced with the manifest danger of war and the latent danger of a schism, Innocent X agreed to the restitution of the property confiscated from the B. and to permit their return to Rome. The marriage between MAFFEO B., son of Taddeo, and Olimpia Giustiniani, niece of Innocent X, sealed the agreement. From that time the B. ceased to interfere in Italian politics. In 1728 CORNELIA inherited the family estate; she married Giulio Cesare Colonna at a very young age. 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, already mentioned above, the first to be noted is the latter’s other brother, ANTONIO (called the elder, born in 1569). He was a simple Capuchin friar at the time of Urban’s election, and the Pope only with difficulty managed to detach him from his convent of S. Geminiano in Florence, creating him Cardinal of S. Onofrio on 7 October 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 especially for the church and College of Propaganda Fide. He died in 1646.
Of Carlo’s three sons, TADDEO was the one who continued the B. line. For him, the principality of Palestrina was purchased from Francesco Colonna in 1630, and with this acquisition the B. assumed an extremely elevated position in the Roman nobility. He married Anna Colonna and, upon his father’s death, became governor of Borgo, castellan of Castel S. Angelo, and general of the Church. Finally, on 12 May 1631, he became prefect of Rome, an office he assumed with extraordinary solemnity. He was a Grandee of Spain, was awarded the Order of the Golden Fleece, and was entered, together with his entire 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 transferred in 1704 to Palestrina, to the family chapel.
FRANCESCO, the elder, second son of Carlo, born in Florence on 23 September 1597. Created cardinal at the age of twenty-six on 2 October 1623, he subsequently became bishop of Sabina, Porto, and Ostia. He received the wealthy 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 to Spain, where he was received with great honors, to settle the disputes that had arisen between that kingdom and France. His chief interest, however, was directed toward scholarship; he produced an accurate translation of the twelve books of Marcus Aurelius, 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, 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 a few years later and died there on 10 December 1679.
ANTONIO, the younger, third son of Carlo, born in Florence in 1607. A Knight of Malta and his father’s aide, he embraced the ecclesiastical life, was created cardinal, barely twenty years old, on 26 August 1627, and shortly afterward appointed abbot of Tre Fontane and Nonantola and archpriest of S. Maria Maggiore.
During the War of Castro he was one of the most ardent advocates of the struggle and was given command of the papal army. Generous toward men of letters and artists, he himself also attempted poetry. From 1638 he was Camerlengo of the Church and from 1661 bishop of Palestrina. During the War of the Monferrato he was entrusted with a delicate mission to the Duke of Savoy and obtained a favorable settlement. He held the legations of Avignon, Bologna, Ferrara, and the duchy of Urbino, which he took possession of in the Pope’s name. Having taken refuge in France after the election of Innocent X, Louis XIV bestowed on him the Order of the Holy Spirit and wealthy abbeys, appointed him grand almoner and bishop of Poitiers (1652), and finally archbishop of Reims (1657). He died at Nemi on 3 August 1671 and was buried at Palestrina in the family chapel.
The last of this group of cardinals was FRANCESCO the younger, great-nephew of Urban VIII, born in Rome on 27 May 1662. Directed toward an ecclesiastical career, after having been, under Innocent XI, a cleric and auditor of the Apostolic Camera, he was created cardinal by Alexander VIII on 13 November 1690. Sent as legate to Ravenna, he restored the legation palace and opened the seminary there. Upon his return to Rome, he was for some time prefect of the Congregation of Bishops and Regulars; on 1 July 1726 he became bishop of Ostia and Velletri and dean of the Sacred College. He died in Rome on 17 August 1738 and was buried at Palestrina among his relatives. — Vedi Tav. LV.