SPINOLA, FAMILY. - One of the four greatest houses of Genoa. In the city, they held power in the name of the Obertenghi marquises, whom they gradually replaced. Guido was consul between 1102 and 1121, and from him derived multiple branches, the principal of which were those of Lucoli and S. Luca, where the Spinola had towers and houses. In the internal factions, they sided with the Ghibellines against the Fieschi and Grimaldi, and around 1265-66 they formed a diarchy with the Doria, sharing their fate in subsequent struggles; they fought against Venice and later against Filippo Maria Visconti, supplying admirals and condottieri to the Republic. Among their ranks were chosen biennial doges, senators, and ambassadors.
From the branch of S. Luca came AMBROGIO SPINOLA, considered the greatest military man of his age; b. in Genoa in 1569, he fought for Spain first in the Netherlands against Maurice of Nassau (1602-1609; then 1621-27), then in Italy in the War of the Mantuan Succession and was governor of Milan; d. at Castelnuovo Scrivia on 25 Sept. 1630.
The Spinola family provided illustrious prelates to the Church; foremost among them was AGOSTINO, bishop of Perugia from 19 Dec. 1509 to 1529 when he resigned in favor of his brother CARLO; created cardinal on 3 May 1527 on the eve of the Sack of Rome, he was named camerlengo on 8 June 1528, in 1529 he had the government of Rome in the Pope’s absence, whom he accompanied to Bologna in 1532; he administered the bishoprics of Savona (from 17 July 1528) and of Alatri (10 May 1535) until his death, which occurred in the Curia on 18 Oct. 1537.
FILIPPO was referendary of the Segnatura, bishop of Bisignano (8 Feb. 1566) then of Nola (9 March 1569), which he resigned when he was created cardinal on 12 Dec. 1583, proposed by Emperor Rudolph II, and adhered to the Spanish party; d. in Rome on 20 Aug. 1593.
ORAZIO, also of the Spanish party, from referendary was named archbishop of Genoa on 20 Dec. 1600, legate of Ferrara in 1606, was created cardinal on 11 Sept. 1606 and d. in Genoa on 24 June 1616 with a reputation for great severity.
AGOSTINO II, b. in Genoa, from apostolic protonotary was created cardinal deacon by Paul V on 11 Jan. 1621, was successively bishop of Tortosa (5 March 1623), of Granada (7 Sept. 1626), archbishop of Compostela (23 Oct. 1630), of Seville (16 Jan. 1645), where he d. in Feb. 1649.
GIAN DOMENICO, auditor of the Camera, was created cardinal by Urban VIII on 19 Jan. 1626; archbishop of Acerenza and Matera on 13 Nov. 1630, then bishop of Luni-Sarzana (26 Apr. 1632) and then of Mazara (19 Dec. 1636), where he d. on 11 Aug. 1646.
GIULIO, referendary of the Segnatura, was named nuncio to Naples on 4 Oct. 1633, archbishop of Laodicea on 14 Jan. 1658, nuncio to the Emperor on 10 July 1665; created cardinal on 15 Feb. 1666, he was published only on 7 March 1667; bishop of Nepi and Sutri (on 2 June 1670) then of Lucca (8 Nov. 1677), d. in the Curia in March 1691.
His nephew GIOVANNI BATTISTA, b. in Madrid on 21 Sept. 1615, was nuncio to Nijmegen, archbishop of Matera in 1648, then of Genoa in 1664, which he resigned when he was created cardinal of S. Cecilia by Innocent XI on 19 Sept. 1681; he was still governor of Rome when at the beginning of 1687 the controversies with France over the franchises of the French quarter sharpened. D. in Rome on 4 Jan. 1704. His nephew was Niccolò, b. in Spain on 20 Feb. 1659, cleric of the Camera under Innocent XII, nuncio to Florence then to Poland, auditor of the Camera, created cardinal by Clement XI on 16 Dec. 1715; d. in Rome on 12 Apr. 1735. Contemporaneous with him was GIORGIO, a Genoese, b. on 16 June 1667, vice-legate of Ferrara, governor of Civitavecchia, Viterbo, and Perugia, inquisitor of Malta in 1703, commander of S. Spirito, archbishop of Caesarea and nuncio to Barcelona from 1711-13 then to Vienna (1713-20), where he was during the war against the Turks in 1715-16; he was created cardinal by Clement XI on 29 Nov. 1719. Innocent XIII wanted him as Secretary of State; the French opposed his appointment under Clement XII. He was legate to Bologna and d. in Rome on 17 Jan. 1739.
GIOVANNI BATTISTA II, b. in Genoa on 6 July 1681, cleric of the Camera in 1722, governor of Rome for six years, cardinal deacon of Clement XII on 28 Sept. 1733; d. bishop of Albano on 21 Aug. 1753.
GIROLAMO, b. in Genoa on 15 Oct. 1713; was nuncio to Madrid, which he left after being created cardinal on 24 Sept. 1759, leaving written reports on the ecclesiastical conditions of that kingdom. In the Conclave of 1775 he was tenaciously opposed by Vienna and Madrid. D. in Rome on 22 July 1784.
UGO PIETRO, b. in Genoa on 23 June 1791; was apostolic delegate to Macerata (1823-26), nuncio to Vienna, from where he returned after being created cardinal in July 1832. Legate to Bologna in 1833 and then in 1842-44, and on the occasion of political disturbances for the repression of which he constituted an extraordinary commission presided over by Colonel Freddi. He was then proclaimed until his death, which occurred in Rome on 24 Jan. 1858 (E. Michel, in Diz. Ris. naz., IV, Milan 1937, p. 332).
AGOSTINO, b. in Genoa in 1677; after completing his early education at the Collegio S. Giorgio of Novi Ligure run by the Somaschi, he embraced their Rule and soon held the most important offices in the Order, in addition to teaching philosophy and theology.
He was theologian to Cardinal Giuseppe Renato Imperiali, legate to Charles III king of Spain; rector of the Collegio Clementino in Rome and vice-procurator general in the Roman Curia. In 1716 he was elected bishop of Ajaccio and in 1722 translated to the see of Savona. D. on 16 Oct. 1735. In 1718 he convened a synod at Ajaccio in which he issued many wise laws. At Savona he firmly upheld ecclesiastical liberties, earning the praise of Benedict XIII; he reformed the seminary, issuing the Constitutiones pro seminario episcopali (Milan 1738) modeled on those of St. Charles Borromeo but rich in personal experience and sound contemporary criteria. For all the clergy he published various pastoral notifications, collected in the Monitum spirituale (ibid. 1740), aimed especially at organizing the teaching of Christian doctrine to children, the administration of the Sacraments, and the sanctification of feast days.
CARLO, Blessed. - Jesuit, missionary, and martyr, b. in Genoa in 1564, from the branch of the Spinola of Tassarolo, d. at Nagasaki on 10 Sept. 1622.
He entered the Order in 1564 and was sent to Japan in 1597, but did not reach his destination until seven years later after many adventures. Having arrived at the Cape of Good Hope, damage to the ship led the captain to retrace his route to Lisbon; but, attacked by English pirates, the travelers were taken to England. From there, Spinola managed to embark disguised for Lisbon, from where, after a year of waiting, he sailed again and reached Japan in 1602. There he worked for twenty consecutive years, with great success in conversions, until in 1618 he was arrested under the anti-Christian edict of the Emperor Taikō and taken with other companions to the prisons of Omura. After four years of hardship and illness, he suffered martyrdom by fire at Nagasaki on the hill called the Martyrs’ Hill, where another group had preceded him in 1597. He was beatified, along with 204 other Japanese martyrs. Feast on 11 Sept.
LIFE / OF FATHER CARLO SPINOLA OF THE COMPANY OF JESUS / Who Died for the Holy Faith in Japan.
Written by Fr. Fabio Ambroso Spinola of the Office of the Company.
IN BOLOGNA, MDCXLVIII.
At Herode by Vittorio Benacci.
With permission of Signor Antonio.
Spinola, Famiglia - Title page of *Vita del P. Carlo S.*, written by Fr. F. Ambrogio S., Bologna 1647 - Rome, copy from the Biblioteca nazionale.
*Vita del p. C. S.*
Rome 1628; with corrections and additions by G. Boero, ibid. 1869; G. Boero, *Della gloriosa morte di C. C. b. Martiri nel Giappone*, ibid. 1867; L. P. G. S., *Hist. de la religione chrétienne au Japon, depuis 1598 jusqu'à 1651*, 2 vols., Paris 1870-71, V. indices.
Celestino Testore
FABIO AMBROGIO. - Ascetic writer and preacher, b. Genoa 3 Oct 1593, d. there 28 Aug 1671.
Admitted to the Society of Jesus (1610), he taught philosophy and Sacred Scripture, preached, served as rector of the German College in Rome, and four times as rector of the professed house in Genoa. Among his orations were the celebrated *Parascene ad Urbanum VIII*, delivered in the Vatican (1626), and *della corona reale*, pronounced in Genoa at the church of S. Caterina before the Doge and authorities (1638).
He wrote the biography of Fr. Carlo S., martyr of the faith in Japan (Rome 1628), later beatified, of the Venerable Mother Vittoria, foundress of the Order of the Annunciation (Genoa 1649), and of Fr. Sopranis, a Jesuit. Yet his fame rests chiefly on his books of meditations, especially those on the life of Jesus arranged for every day of the year, from Advent to the feast of St Martina and from the Trinity to the first Sunday of Advent (Genoa 1652, 1653), and on the feasts of Our Lady and the principal saints throughout the year. These meditations were later abridged (Venice 1673) and widely circulated. A collection of his Lenten sermons was also published in Genoa in 1667, dedicated to Empress Eleonora.