1. Antonio Barberini was an Italian Catholic cardinal, Archbishop of Reims, military leader, patron of the arts and a prominent member of the House of Barberini.
21 Facts About Antonio Barberini
1. 2.
Antonio Barberini is sometimes referred to as Antonio the Younger or Antonio Barberini iuniore to distinguish him from his uncle Antonio Marcello Barberini.
3.
In 1628, Antonio Barberini was appointed Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura, in 1630 he was made the papal legate in Urbino and in 1633 he became legate in Avignon where he developed close contacts with various French church power brokers.
4.
Antonio Barberini returned to Rome and assumed the post of Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church in 1638.
5.
Antonio Barberini had developed a strong relationship with Cardinal Jules Mazarin and was given responsibility for the French contingent within the College of Cardinals and for the nomination of Giulio Cesare Sacchetti at the papal conclave of 1644 which was to pick his uncle's successor.
6.
The final deal in Pamphili's favour included an agreement, designed by the brothers for their own benefit, that the new Pope would allow the Antonio Barberini to keep the titles, land and fortunes they had amassed under Pope Urban VIII's reign.
7.
The family was finally reconciled with Pope in 1653 when Antonio's nephew Maffeo Barberini married the Pope's grand-niece Olimpia Giustiniani.
8.
The reconciliation was, in part, engineered by Cardinal Mazarin and Antonio Barberini showed his appreciation by holding celebratory services at the San Luigi dei Francesi.
9.
When Innocent X died in 1655, Antonio Barberini again played a leading role in the College of Cardinals and the conclave.
10.
Antonio Barberini participated in the papal conclave of 1667 during which the French delegation successfully campaigned for the election of Giulio Rospigliosi.
11.
Antonio Barberini was, apparently, involved in several affairs with men.
12.
Antonio Barberini became particularly intimate with the castrato singer Marc'Antonio Pasqualini in the early 1640s.
13.
Antonio Barberini was patron to a number of significant musicians and composers of 17th century Rome including Marco Marazzoli who he commissioned to compose various works which praised the actions of the Barberini family.
14.
Antonio Barberini was said to have been a patron of Luigi Rossi.
15.
Outside their intimate relationship, Antonio Barberini was an ongoing patron of Marc'Antonio Pasqualini.
16.
In 1627, the Antonio Barberini family commissioned the architect Carlo Maderno to adapt and extend the Palazzo Sforza that they had purchased, into the Palazzo Antonio Barberini.
17.
Antonio Barberini was appointed prefect of the Congregation and set about commissioning a new palace, the Palazzo del Propaganda Fide.
18.
In 1644, when Antonio Barberini was exiled, Bernini was replaced by Borromini who demolished Bernini's chapel and built his own design; the chapel is considered one of Borromini's masterpieces.
19.
Antonio Barberini had purchased the art collection of Francesco Maria Del Monte upon the cardinal's death which had included a large number of important works.
20.
Pope Urban VIII had purchased a number of works directly from Caravaggio and it is likely Antonio Barberini inherited a number of these.
21.
An inventory of Antonio Barberini's assets was compiled upon his death in 1671 which included a large number of such artworks by artists of the period.