BORGHESE, Scipione. — Son of Ortensia B., wife of Francesco Caffarelli, born in Rome c. 1576, died 2 Oct. 1633. As soon as he was elected Pope, Paul V made him a member of his household, granting him his own surname and coat of arms, created him cardinal on 18 July 1605 with the title of S. Grisogono, and kept him at his side in the office of cardinal-nephew, according to the custom of the time. His favour with the Pope only increased over the years: in 1607 he was named legate of Avignon, in 1608 archpriest of the Lateran, prefect of the Sacred Congregation of the Council and commendatory abbot of S. Gregorio al Celio, in 1609 librarian, in 1610 major penitentiary and archbishop of Bologna; he held the archbishopric only until 1612, when he was named camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church and prefect of the Apostolic Briefs. Alongside this, his income grew to enormous sums, enabling him to patronize the arts, artists and men of letters, and to acquire the finest estates in Lazio. He presided over the commission for the Acqua Paola aqueduct and is credited with the construction of the palace on the Quirinal that now bears the name of the Rospigliosi, which he had lavishly adorned with works of art, foremost among them Guido Reni’s celebrated Aurora, and of the palace that serves as the casino of the famous Villa Borghese, where he gathered the best of painting and sculpture. He did not build new religious structures but worked to restore and embellish those already existing, as he did at S. Andrea al Celio, where in addition to the paintings he commissioned from G. B. Soria the fine staircase and the principal façade. He is also responsible for the façades of S. Maria della Vittoria, S. Grisogono and S. Sebastiano fuori le mura.
Borghele. Scipione — Portrait of Cardinal Scipione; B., by G. L. Bernini — Rome, Galleria Borghese.
