Orsini, Family

ORSINI, FAMILY. - The origins of the Orsini family of Rome are traced back to a certain PIETRO who lived in the 12th century, father of GIACINTO, cardinal of S. Maria in Cosmedin, and of a BORONE; the latter was the father of an Orso, on account of whom in the 13th century his descendants are called "de domo filiorum Ursi." A nephew of this Orso was MATTEO ROSSO, to whom the family owes its first fortune and celebrity. In the struggle against Emperor Frederick II he defended the cause of Gregory IX, who made him senator of Rome in 1241, and he was able to withstand the siege and prevent Frederick from gaining access to Rome. He died on 13 Oct. 1246, after having linked the fortunes of his house with those of the Guelph party in opposition to the Colonna, leaders of the Ghibelline faction; although, for a moment, the sons of his brother NAPOLEONE appear at the head of the Ghibellines during the expedition of Conradin of Swabia (cf. F. Savio, Niccolò III, in Civ. Catt., 1894, I, p. 137). This first Napoleone was the progenitor of the Orsini of Vicovaro, of the counts of Tagliacozzo, of the dukes of Gravina and of the dukes of Bracciano (ibid., II, p. 31). Matteo Rosso was the father of GIOVANNI GAETANO, who later became Pope Nicholas III (v.), of NAPOLEONE and of GENTILE, who was senator of Rome in 1240. Of this Gentile was son that MATTEO ROSSO whom Urban IV in May 1262 created cardinal deacon of S. Maria in Portico and who died on 4 Sept. 1305. He conducted the negotiations with Charles of Anjou, was at the head of the Guelph party against the two cardinals Colonna, Giacomo and Pietro, protector of the Friars Minor and of the Poor Clares, rector of the Patrimony of St. Peter, one of the most eminent personages in Rome in his age. Another MATTEO ROSSO, brother of Nicholas III, was senator of Rome in 1278 and 1279 and then in 1288, progenitor of the Orsini of Monterotondo and of the counts of Manopello.

On 12 March 1278 Nicholas III created cardinal deacon of S. Eustachio his brother GIORDANO (d. 1287), who was not a personage of special prominence, together with the Dominican Latino Malabranca, son of his sister Mabilia. Sons of Gentile Orsini and nephews of Nicholas were ORSO and BERTOLDO ORSINI, who also had a large part in the vicissitudes of those years. Orso was rector of the Patrimony and progenitor of the Orsini of Soriano and Castel S. Angelo; Bertoldo was the first rector of Romagna after Nicholas III had reclaimed it from Rudolf of Habsburg and was the progenitor of the Orsini of Nola and Pitigliano and of the princes of Taranto. Almost to replace in the Sacred College the deceased cardinal Giordano, Nicholas IV on 16 May created cardinal deacon of S. Adriano NAPOLEONE, son of Rinaldo, brother of Nicholas III. His brother Orso was the progenitor of the Orsini of Marino and Monte Giordano (cf. R. Morghen, Il card. Matteo Rosso O. e la politica papale, in Arch. Soc. romano di Storia patria, 46 [1923], pp. 271-372; C. A. Villemen, Kard. Napoleon O., in Histor. Studien, Berlin 1927, fasc. CLXXII). As can be seen, the family extended its branches not only into the lands of the Church, but also into the neighboring lands of the Kingdom of Naples.

When on 17 Dec. 1295 Boniface VIII created cardinal of S. Lucia in Selci FRANCESCO di Napoleone Orsini (d. 1312), three were the members of that house present in the Sacred College: Francesco, Matteo Rosso and Napoleone; a quite notable fact, considering the small number of cardinals who constituted the Sacred College.

In the Conclave of Perugia, begun on 18 July 1304, Cardinal Matteo Rosso represented the Bonifacian, anti-French policy, against Cardinal Napoleone who, having made himself the champion of the candidacy of Bertrand de Got, succeeded in taking Matteo Rosso by surprise and in bringing it to completion on 5 June 1305, after which, on 14 Nov., he crowned Clement V at Lyon. He, who had been legate in the Marca, duchy of Spoleto and Perugia (1300) and rector of Sabina (1301), was sent to Italy to procure peace (1306-1309); but he had to realize the error he had committed and in the Conclave of 1316 he had reluctantly to accede to the election of John XXII, against whom he then intrigued in 1331; and in 1334 he undertook to support Louis the Bavarian in opposition to the Pope and to France, in agreement with the rebellious French. He died on 23 March 1342. Meanwhile there had taken place in Rome in 1312 the imperial coronation of Henry VII, supported by the Colonna; the Orsini were for Robert king of Naples; hence a struggle between the two families which ceased when Henry left Rome and PONCELLO ORSINI was made vicar of King Robert (1313). On 18 Dec. 1316 John XXII created cardinal deacon of S. Teodoro GIOVANNI di Gaetano Orsini and then sent him as legate to Tuscany on 20 July 1327, when Louis the Bavarian, excommunicated, was already in Italy.

Then the struggle of the Orsini with the Colonna, supporters of the Bavarian, revived more keenly, and continued for a long time; BERTOLDO and FRANCESCO, nephews of the cardinal legate, were killed by Sciarra Colonna in 1333 and avenged by Cardinal Giovanni. The latter then died at Avignon on 27 Aug. 1335. Meanwhile the Dominican MATTEO ORSINI of Rome, archbishop of Siponto (d. 18 Aug. 1340), had entered the Sacred College on 18 Dec. 1327, and on 17 Dec. 1350 Clement VI created cardinal deacon of St. Adrian RAINALDO O. (d. June 6, 1374); but these two were not figures of note. In Rome meanwhile the house of O. together with the Colonna fought against Cola di Rienzo, and BERTOLDO O. was created senator together with Luca Savelli in 1347. GIORDANO O., rector of the Patrimony, besieged Orvieto for the Church in 1354 against Giovanni di Vico.

The O. played an important part during the great schism. Gregory XI had created cardinal of St. George in Velabro on May 30, 1371 that GIACOMO O., son of Roberto count of Nola, who took part in the election of Urban VI and then so vilely consented to the election of the antipope Clement VII, though without following his party with conviction (d. Aug. 31, 1379). Nevertheless Urban VI was concerned to have representatives of the powerful baronial family in the Sacred College and in his great creation of Sept. 18, 1378 he also included PONCELLO O. bishop of Aversa (d. Febr. 2, 1395). Then in 1382-85 he created cardinal deacon of St. Mary in Domnica TOMMASO O. of Manopello (d. July 10, 1390) and appointed him legate of the Patrimony; the cardinal succeeded in taking Viterbo from the lords of Vico.

RINALDO O., however, count of Tagliacozzo and brother of card. Giacomo, joined the Breton bands that fought for Clement VII and retook Orvieto on May 22, 1380, supported the party of Louis of Anjou against Charles of Durazzo of Naples, took Spoleto (1385), Corneto (1386) and was by then aiming to form a state there, when he was killed at L'Aquila on Apr. 14, 1390.

A particular importance in the vicissitudes of the Church in those years was had by another condottiero: PAOLO O. who fought for Innocent VII at Bologna in 1405, at Rome in 1406 under Gregory XII, when he made himself de facto lord of the city, which he handed over to king Ladislaus in Apr. 1408, perhaps in agreement with the Pontiff himself. Then in agreement with Giacomo of Tagliacozzo and with other O. in 1409 he joined Louis II of Anjou and Alexander V, in opposition to the Colonna and to king Ladislaus, until he was defeated by Braccio di Montone and killed on Aug. 5, 1416.

FRANCESCO O. at the death of Boniface IX (1404) had assumed the defense of the Campidoglio against the people, soon driven back by the Colonna.

Meanwhile Innocent VII on June 15, 1405 had raised to the cardinalate, together with Oddo Colonna (later Martin V), also GIORDANO O., archbishop of Naples, son of GIOVANNI senator of Rome. The cardinal, who was also grand penitentiary, had a great part in the Councils of Pisa (1409) and of Constance, and then on behalf of Martin V he undertook various legations, led the crusade against the Hussites, until with 1431 he was, in the service of Eugene IV, the principal promoter of the papal policy directed at lowering the power of the Colonna. When he died, on May 29, 1438, he was mourned as the most generous protector of his city. In the following years the great prelate of the house of O. was LATINO, archbishop of Trani and abbot of Farfa, whom Nicholas V created cardinal on Dec. 20, 1448; he was chamberlain and legate at the coronation of Ferdinand of Naples (d. Aug. 11, 1477). BATTISTA O., prior of St. Mary of the Aventine, became in 1460 grand master of the Knights of St. John and raised the fortunes of the Order. COSIMO O., archbishop of Trani and nephew of card. Latino, was created cardinal by Sixtus IV, on May 15, 1480. After his death at Bracciano, on Nov. 21, 1481, Sixtus IV created cardinal of St. Mary in Domnica, on Nov. 15, 1483, BATTISTA O. son of Lorenzo of Monterotondo.

During the wars that troubled the State of the Church in the last years of Sixtus IV, in which the soldiery of Ferdinand king of Naples also took part, VIRGINIO and PAOLO O. fought for the Church together with others of their lineage and together strove to vindicate their rights over the county of Albe and Tagliacozzo against Lorenzo Colonna; they then assisted Sixtus IV in the harsh vengeance that he exacted upon the Colonnese on May 30, 1484. The struggles between the two families resumed under Innocent VIII but the two

O. were this time among the enemies of the Pope, who seemed to them favorable to the Colonna, and they had their houses at Monte Giordano burned and suffered grave damages in the raids around the City. Having finally made peace with the Pope, the O. succeeded in bringing Lorenzo de' Medici into good relations with Innocent. Lorenzo in fact had as his wife CLARICE O. daughter of Iacopo of Monterotondo, cousin of card. O.; RINALDO O. brother of Clarice was archbishop of Florence and Lorenzo in 1487 tightened the kinship of his son Piero with ALFONSINA cousin of Virginio. The latter was captain of the king of Naples, while Paolo was in the pay of Florence; NICCOLÒ O., count of Pitigliano, was captain general of the Church and, thanks still to other members of his family, the family was in a position to exercise great and threatening authority in the affairs of Rome. Indeed such power seemed too much to Alexander VI and a war broke out that was fought around Bracciano and nearby places in 1496-97: GIAN GIORDANO, son of Virginio, was taken prisoner at Naples, where he fought under the orders of the King, and with him Paolo, while Virginio died at Naples itself on Jan. 18, 1497; once this war was concluded, in Aug. that with the Colonna broke out and lasted until 1498. But it soon became clear that Alexander VI wanted the extermination of both families and the O. joined the conspiracy called della Magione, directed against Cesare Borgia in Oct. 1502; on 3 Jan. 1503, Cardinal Battista was imprisoned, who had likewise been a supporter of Alexander's election and died in Castel Sant'Angelo on 22 Feb., it was said then of poison; Archbishop Rinaldo too was imprisoned on 4 Jan.; Paolo and Francesco O. were strangled by Cesare on 18 Jan.; Gian Giordano saved himself thanks to the protection of the King of France. The family suffered a very hard blow without however for this ceasing the enmities with the Colonna which threatened to compromise the peace of Rome, until on 28 Aug. 1511, on the occasion of a serious illness of Julius II, a pacification was reached; every ground for hatred was to be set aside by both sides, fidelity to the Church was to be professed and the "pernicious names" of Guelphs and Ghibellines, the pretext for internal strife, were to be abandoned. The same Gian Giordano who had married Felice, daughter of Julius II, undertook in 1512 to reconcile with the Pope the members of his family who had become enemies of him. Like the rival family, the O. continued in the following years to supply condottieri to the kings and princes in Italy; it will suffice to recall that NICCOLÒ O. of Pitigliano was in the service of Venice and fought at Agnadello in 1509 and that LORENZO of Ceri was captain of Clement VII in the sad year 1527.

Leo X, recalling the family ties with the O., created cardinal of St. George in Velabro on 1 July 1517 FRANCIOTTO O. of Monterotondo, who died in the Curia in Jan. 1534 without special renown. Paul IV had recourse to the experience of CAMILLO di Paolo O., when in the war against the Spaniards in 1556-67 he thought of fortifying Rome (cf. P. Paschini, Districioni e fortificazioni di Roma etc., in Rendiconti della Pontif. accademia di archeologia, 7 [1931], pp. 69-87). FLAVIO (or Fulvio), auditor of the Camera, was created cardinal by Pius IV on 12 March 1565 and died in the Curia on 16 May 1581. Later Paul V created cardinal on 2 Dec. 1615 ALESSANDRO O., who died at the age of 33 at Bracciano on 22 Aug. 1626. VIRGINIO O., knight of Malta, was created cardinal of St. Mary in Portico by Urban VIII on 16 Dec. 1641 and died bishop of Tusculum, at Monte Giordano, on 21 Aug. 1676. Meanwhile Clement X on 22 Feb. 1672 had created Cardinal PIER FRANCESCO of the princes of Gravina and Solofra, who on 29 May 1724 became Pope Benedict XIII (v.).

Benedict XIV on 9 Sept. 1743 created cardinal of Sts. Vitus and Modestus DOMENICO O. of the Aragon branch. He had been extraordinary ambassador of Maria Amalia, queen of Naples, to Clement XII, and on the death of his wife he entered the ecclesiastical state; he was later ambassador of Ferdinand IV of Naples and protector of that Kingdom. Under Clement XIII, in agreement with the minister Tanucci, he fiercely opposed the Jesuits and during the following Conclave acted according to the aims of the Bourbon sovereigns, then under Clement XIV he collaborated with Azpuru and Cardinal de Bernis for the suppression of the Jesuits themselves; he did not however share Tanucci's ideas on the constitution of the Church (Pastor, XVI, I and II passim). He died in Rome on 19 Jan. 1789 and was buried at the Lateran. The O. family now shares with the Colonna the honor that one of its members be prince assistant at the Pontifical Throne.

Pio Paschini