fici (ibid., p. 222). Only the following year, in May, when the Pope was besieged in Castel S. Angelo during the horrific sack, did Pompeo come to his aid. In 1528, already reinstated in his ecclesiastical offices, he became Viceroy of Naples for Charles V; after temporarily holding in commendam the dioceses of Acerno, Potenza, Sarno, Cahors, Catania, Aquila, and Aversa, he was also appointed Archbishop of Montelupo on 14 December 1530. He died in the Curia on 28 June 1532.
Another undertaking of the Colonna against the Papal State was led by Ascanio, son of Fabrizio, at the beginning of 1541 against Paul III during the War of the Salt, ending in disaster for the Colonna (P. Balan, op. cit., VI, p. 468). His son Marcantonio also took part in the war led by the Duke of Alba against Paul IV in 1556–57 (ibid., p. 583 ff.); this was the last such conflict between the Colonna and the Papal State. They continued, however, to maintain their prestige and preserve their ties with the Kingdom of Naples through the fiefs and offices they held there.
Daughter of Fabrizio and Agnese di Montefeltro, sister of Ascanio but very different from him, Vittoria Colonna was born in Marino in 1490 or 1492 and died in Rome on 27 February 1547. A woman of exceptional intellect, she was in contact with the leading literary figures of her time—Molza, Castiglione, Bembo—and earned the esteem and reverence of the Pope and sovereigns, particularly Michelangelo. She married on 27 December 1509 at Ischia Ferrante d’Avalos, Marquis of Pescara, of a noble Spanish family settled in Naples, who gained fame in the war between the Imperials and the French in northern Italy during these years. Though their cohabitation was brief, when he died in Milan on 25 November 1525, Vittoria, after initially retiring to Ischia, devoted herself to glorifying her “sun” (d’Avalos) in verse steeped in the Platonizing Petrarchism then in vogue. Soon, however, she began to take a lively part in the spiritual reform movement that inspired many in that age. From its outset, she supported the Franciscan reform of the Capuchins and particularly favored Brother Bernardino Ochino as long as he remained Catholic; though not a disciple of Juan Valdés in Naples, she maintained close friendships with some of his followers, such as Giulia Gonzaga, Marcantonio Flaminio, Alvise Priuli, and Pietro Carnesecchi.
Between 1541 and 1544, while staying in Viterbo, she was in contact with Cardinal Reginald Pole and his circle, all preoccupied with the problem of Grace raised by Luther and inclined to attribute justification solely to Christ’s merits, without regard for human cooperation or the value of good works. During these years she composed her *Rime spirituali*, urging imitation of Christ, living an ascetic life, and preferring to reside in monasteries such as those in Ferrara and Orvieto, until she died in that of Sant’Anna dei Funari in Rome, where she was temporarily buried. Like the best of her friends, she considered herself a devoted daughter of the Church, from which she never thought of separating, but sought only to contribute to that spiritual current that aimed at its reform, prioritizing the life of the spirit above any partisan or sectarian interest.
Works: Vittoria’s *Rime* were first printed in Parma in 1538; eleven further editions appeared during her lifetime. *Il pianto sopra la Passione di Cristo* was published posthumously by Aldo Manuzio in Venice in 1556, followed by five more editions, after which it fell into complete oblivion. Her correspondence was edited by E. Ferrero and G. Müller with additional material by D. Tordi (Turin, 1899).
When Pius V needed a military leader to appoint as captain-general of the papal fleet against the Turks, he entrusted this office on 11 June 1570 to Marco Antonio Colonna, born in Civita Lavinia on 26 February 1535 to Ascanio and Giovanna d’Aragona, nephew of Vittoria. After surviving the storm under Paul IV, Colonna returned to Rome on 21 August 1559 and soon recovered Paliano with the protection of Philip II. He continued to restore the family’s fortunes and defend the Papal shores of the Tyrrhenian Sea. He took part with Venetian and Spanish ships in the expedition against the Turks whose most glorious episode was the naval battle of Lepanto on 7 October 1571, commanding the papal forces. He also led the expedition of 1572, though without equaling the feats of the previous year. He was later appointed by Philip II Viceroy of Sicily and died at Medinaceli on 19 August 1584.
FABRIZIO, son of Marco Antonio, married Anna Borromeo, sister of St. Charles and a devoted disciple of St. Philip Neri.
Following the tradition that had become customary in their case, the Colonna remained faithful adherents to Spanish policy in the following two centuries and promoted its interests within the Curia, regaining prominence through the highest ecclesiastical offices.
A grandson of Marco Antonio and son of Camillo, Duke of Zagarolo, and Vittoria Colonna (unnamed in the source), was Marco Antonio, who in 1565 became a protonotary apostolic and a son of Philip II; he was created Archbishop of Taranto by Pius IV on 11 March 1565 and transferred to the see of Salerno on 13 October 1568, for which diocese he published the *Constitutiones synodales* in 1579. He was later appointed Bishop of Palestrina on 11 May 1587, Vatican Librarian, and a member of several congregations and commissions, renowned for his expertise in sacred sciences. During the conclave of September–October 1590, his election to the papacy seemed momentarily assured, but he was opposed by the zealots, who found his morals not without stain; he played an active role in subsequent conclaves as well. He died in Zagarolo on 14 March 1597.
Greatly favored by Philip II was Ascanio Colonna, son of Marco Antonio, Abbot of Sant’Angelo in Benevento, whom Sixtus V created Cardinal of San Vito in Zagarolo on 17 November 1586 and enriched with the Lateran. A learned and generous man, he served as Viceroy of Aragon (1602–1604) and was appointed Bishop of Palestrina on 5 June 1606. He defended the so-called rights of the Sicilian monarchy against Baronius and was strongly hostile to the Venetians during the celebrated interdict. He died in Rome on 17 May 1608.
Following these two Colonna in the Sacred College some years later was GIROLAMO COLONNA, whom Urban VIII created Cardinal of Zagarolo on 30 August 1627 (published 7 February 1628) and also enriched with the Lateran; he was appointed Archbishop of Bologna on 24 November 1632 but had already resigned before 6 February 1645. Bishop of Tusculum on 21 November 1661, he died outside the Curia on 4 September 1666 (Pastor, XIV, 1, p. 38).
Almost contemporaries of one another were:
CARLO C. of the duchy of Paliano, b. 11 Nov. 1665, who was promoted by Innocent XII in 1666 and later by Clement XI. The latter created him cardinal of S. Maria della Scala on 17 May 1706; but at Rome on 8 July 1739 (G. de Novae, Storia dei pontifici, XII, Siena 1806, p. 91).
PROSPERO C., a Roman of the princes of Sonnino, b. at Marino on 17 Nov. 1662, chamberlain and later auditor under Innocent XIII, was created cardinal of S. Angelo on 30 Sept. 1739 by Clement XII. He died at Rome on 3 March 1743 (G. de Novae, op. cit., XII, p. 291).
GIROLAMO C., b. 8 May 1708, was promoted by Clement XII in 1732 and later by Benedict XIV who created him cardinal of S. Angelo on 9 Sept. 1743. He continued, however, in the same office until 1758, having as coadjutor his nephew Marco Antonio. He was enriched with S. Maria Maggiore before 1750, vice-chancellor in 1753, vice-camerlengo in 1756. He was endowed with a great sense of art. He died on 8 Jan. 1763 (G. de Novae, op. cit., XIV, p. 67).
MARCO ANTONIO, of whom mention has been made, was born at Rome on 16 Aug. 1724 and Clement XIII created him cardinal of S. Angelo on 24 Sept. 1759. He enjoyed great esteem as a learned, charitable and virtuous man; enriched with S. Maria Maggiore, prefect of Propaganda in Apr. 1763, vicar of Rome, he was also put forward as a candidate for the papacy in the Conclave of 1769. Bishop of Palestrina on 20 Sept. 1784, he died on 4 Dec. 1793.
Brother of the preceding was PIETRO PANFILI C. of the duchy of Paliano, b. at Rome on 7 Dec. 1725; he served as nuncio at Paris at the very time when the Jesuits were being expelled from France. Clement XIII created him cardinal of S. Maria in Trastevere on 26 Sept. 1766. He died at Verona on 4 Dec. 1780.
At a time when there was no member of the house of C. in the Sacred College, Clement X wished Egidio Sciarra C., prince of Carbognano, to adopt into his family FEDERICO BALDESCHI who had been secretary of Propaganda and assessor of the Holy Office. Clement X then created him cardinal on 12 June 1673 and published the creation on 17 Dec. 1674. Baldeschi was therefore commonly called Card. C.; he took a large part in the affairs of those years and died at Rome on 4 Oct. 1691.
To the family C. of Carbognano belongs PROSPERO,
b. 17 Jan. 1707, who was master of the chamber of Benedict XIV from the moment of his election and by him created cardinal of S. Giorgio al Velabro on 9 Sept. 1743. He was prefect of the Segnatura and of the Congregation of Propaganda and considered a man of particular experience. During the Conclave of 1758, thanks to special electoral concerns, he was nominated by the French ambassador protector of the kingdom of France; he died on 20 Apr. 1765 (G. de Novae, op. cit., XIV, p. 63; Pastor, XVI, I, passim).
Finally, as the last cardinal of the house of C., mention must be made of Niccolò C. of Stigliano, a Neapolitan, b. 15 July 1730, who was nuncio in Spain; he was created cardinal by Pius VI on 4 Feb. 1785 and died at Savignano on 31 March 1796 (G. de Novae, op. cit., XVI, p. 132).
No cardinals of the house of C. are found after the Restoration. - Vedi tav. II.
Particular mention is deserved, for the most recent age, by FILIPPO C. Assistant at the papal throne, b. at Naples on 3 Sept. 1760 to Prince Don Lorenzo and Marina of the marquises Estensi of S. Martino, d. in Rome on 26 June 1818. When in 1796 the French invaded the Legations, he contributed to the rearming of the troops. In 1797 he was promoted brigadier-general and then on 15 Aug. following lieutenant-general. Faithful to the Holy See, he suffered grave wrongs during the two Napoleonic occupations of Rome (1798, 1808). First among the Roman nobility, in 1816 he renounced the feudal rights over his domains in accordance with the wishes of Card. Consalvi.
In 1834 Gregory XVI made hereditary in the houses of C. and Orsini the honorary office of assistant at the papal throne, which members of the two families had previously held intermittently.