His Eminence

Pietro Aldobrandini
Cardinal, Archbishop of Ravenna
ChurchCatholic Church
ArchdioceseRavenna
Installed17 October 1604
Term ended10 February 1621
PredecessorCristoforo Boncompagni
SuccessorLuigi Capponi
Other post(s)Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church
Orders
OrdinationDecember 1598
Consecration17 October 1604
by Clement VIII
Created cardinal17 September 1593
by Clement VIII
RankCardinal-deacon of S. Nicola in Carcere, then Cardinal-priest of S. Pancrazio, SS. Giovanni e Paolo, S. Maria in Trastevere, finally Cardinal-bishop of Sabina
Personal details
Born31 March 1571
Rome, Papal States
Died10 February 1621(1621-02-10) (aged 49)
Rome, Papal States
BuriedS. Maria sopra Minerva, Rome
NationalityItalian
DenominationCatholic
ParentsPietro Aldobrandini (d. 1587), Flaminia Ferracci (d. 1605)
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pietro Aldobrandini.

Pietro Aldobrandini (31 March 1571 – 10 February 1621) was an Italian cardinal and patron of the arts.

Biography

Pietro Aldobrandini was a cousin of Cardinal Cinzio Aldobrandini, and uncle of Cardinals Silvestro and Ippolito Aldobrandini.[1]

Cardinal

He was made a cardinal in 1593 by his uncle, Pope Clement VIII, with the title Cardinal-deacon of San Nicola in Carcere. The church was rebuilt in 1599, with a new facade by Giacomo della Porta. Aldobrandini took over the Duchy of Ferrara in 1598 when it fell to the Papal States and his collection of paintings was augmented by works removed from Ferrara.[2] He served as Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church, charged with the fiscal administration of the Patrimony of Saint Peter. In 1600, he traveled to Lyon as papal legate to bless the marriage of Henry IV of France and Marie de' Medici.[1]

On 17 Oct 1604, he was consecrated bishop by Pope Clement VIII, with François-Marie Tarugi, Archbishop of Siena, Alessandro Ottaviano de' Medici, Cardinal-Bishop of Palestrina, and Ottavio Bandini, Archbishop of Fermo, serving as co-consecrators.[3][4] He became archbishop of Ravenna in 1604 and Cardinal-Priest of San Pancrazio, but opted the following year for Santi Giovanni e Paolo al Celio. In 1612, he was named Cardinal-Priest of Santa Maria in Trastevere.

Patron of the arts

In 1598, Pope Clement gave Pietro the old Ruffini villa at Frascati as a reward for successful negotiations he had undertaken with the French.[5] It was known as the Villa Aldobrandini. His architect, Giacomo della Porta, began the work. Carlo Maderno added a loggia; Giovanni Fontana worked on the garden.[6] Domenichino painted frescoes in a garden pavilion.

In 1600, Clement acquired the Vitelli Gardens on the Quirinal hill. The following year, he gave this to his nephew. The old buildings were demolished and construction began on the new villa and adjacent garden. Della Porta equipped the building with stairs, and loggias. The upper floors of the Palazzo Aldobrandini held a rich collection of works of art left to the cardinal by the Duchess of Urbino Lucrezia d'Este, in 1598.[7]

He was a patron of Torquato Tasso, and of Girolamo Frescobaldi.[8]

Works

Bandi generali del cardinale Aldobrandino da osservarsi nella città, stato et legatione di Ferrara, 1598

References

  1. ^ a b "Cardinal Pietro Aldobrandini", The British Museum
  2. ^ "Aldobrandini, Pietro", The British Museum
  3. ^ Miranda, Salvador. "ALDOBRANDINI, Pietro (1571-1621)". The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church. Florida International University. OCLC 53276621.
  4. ^ Cheney, David M. "Pietro Cardinal Aldobrandini". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. Retrieved December 20, 2019. [self-published]
  5. ^ Attlee, Helena (2006). Italian Gardens - A Cultural History. London: Frances Lincoln. p. 91. ISBN 978-0-7112-3392-8.
  6. ^ Wass, Stephen. Seventeenth-century Water Gardens and the Birth of Modern Scientific thought in Oxford, Windgather Press, 2022, p. 31 ISBN 9781914427183
  7. ^ "Villa Aldobrandini" (Rome), Turismo Roma
  8. ^ HOASM: Girolamo Frescobaldi

Bibliography

Catholic Church titles Preceded byFederico Borromeo (seniore) Cardinal-Deacon of San Nicola in Carcere 1593–1604 Succeeded byCarlo Emmanuele Pio di Savoia Preceded byEnrico Caetani Camerlengo of the Apostolic Chamber 1599–1621 Succeeded byLudovico Ludovisi Preceded byGirolamo Mattei Cardinal-Priest of San Pancrazio 1604–1605 Succeeded byDomenico Ginnasi Preceded byCristoforo Boncompagni Archbishop of Ravenna 1604–1621 Succeeded byLuigi Capponi Preceded byOttavio Acquaviva d'Aragona (seniore) Cardinal-Priest of Santi Giovanni e Paolo 1605–1612 Succeeded byDecio Carafa Preceded byFrancesco Maria Bourbon Del Monte Santa Maria Cardinal-Priest of Santa Maria in Trastevere 1612–1620 Succeeded byBartolomeo Cesi Preceded byBenedetto Giustiniani Cardinal-Bishop of Sabina 1620–1621 Succeeded byOdoardo Farnese


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