Silvia Ruffini (1475 – Rome, 6 December 1561) was a 16th-century

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

noble woman and mistress of Cardinal Alessandro Farnese before he becomes pope (

Pope Paul III Pope Paul III ( la, Paulus III; it, Paolo III; 29 February 1468 – 10 November 1549), born Alessandro Farnese, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 October 1534 to his death in November 1549. He came to ...

from 1534); she was the mother of his four children.

Biography

She was the daughter of Rufino Ruffini and Giulia (her last name is unknown), and they lived in a palace in the Colonna neighborhood. She had four brothers (Giacomo, Girolamo, Ascanio and Mario) and two sisters (Camilla and Ippolita). At some time around 1496 she married a Roman merchant Giovanni Battista Crispo, with whom she had three sons: Sallustio, Virgilio and

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **'' Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **'' Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, ...

Tiberio Crispo Tiberio Crispo (31 January 1498 – 10 October 1566), the son of Giovanni Battista Crispo and Silvia Ruffini, who, after her husband's death, was the mistress of Alessandro Farnese. It was believed that Tiberio was an illegitimate son of Farnese, ...

. Her husband Crispo died in 1501; she may already have been romantically involved with Cardinal Farnese by then. Ruffini was introduced to Alessandro Farnese by his sister Giulia (mistress to

Pope Alexander VI Pope Alexander VI ( it, Alessandro VI, va, Alexandre VI, es, Alejandro VI; born Rodrigo de Borja; ca-valencia, Roderic Llançol i de Borja ; es, Rodrigo Lanzol y de Borja, lang ; 1431 – 18 August 1503) was head of the Catholic Churc ...

), and the Cardinal offered to be her escort through Rome. The first daughter of Ruffini and Alessandro Farnese, Costanza, was probably born already in 1500. Ruffini also had three other children with the Cardinal; some of them may have been born while Ruffini's husband was still alive. The children were Pier Luigi, Paolo and Ranuccio. When Alessandro became

Bishop of Parma The Italian Catholic Diocese of Parma ( la, Dioecesis Parmensis) has properly been called Diocese of Parma-Fontevivo since 1892.

, the church's vicar-general, Bartolomeo Guidiccioni required him to end the relationship with Ruffini. As

pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

Paul III Pope Paul III ( la, Paulus III; it, Paolo III; 29 February 1468 – 10 November 1549), born Alessandro Farnese, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 October 1534 to his death in November 1549. He came to ...

kept her identity a secret, fearing the negative publicity that had plagued his sister Giulia. Baldassarre Molosso,

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wr ...

and guardian of the couple's children,Claudio Rendina
The Sins of the Vatican: Pride, greed, lust, pedophilia scandals and secrets of the Catholic Church
(Gryphus Editora , Jul 16, 2012 ). hints that Paul III kept her in the town of

Bolsena Bolsena is a town and '' comune'' of Italy, in the province of Viterbo in northern Lazio on the eastern shore of Lake Bolsena. It is 10 km (6 mi) north-north west of Montefiascone and 36 km (22 mi) north-west of Viterbo. ...

, a village owned by her son and where Paul III had a villa. The location was also close to Silvia's sister Camilla. * Ruffini died on Tuesday 5 December 1561 in Rome, aged about 86 years old, and was buried in a family crypt.

Issue

She had three children by Giovanni Battista Crispo: *

, who later became a cardinal; * Sallustio Crispo; * Virgilio Crispo. She had four children by Alessandro Farnese (later Pope Paul III): * Costanza Farnese (1500-1545), who married Bosio II Sforza of Santa Fiora, 9th Count of Santa Fiora; *

Pier Luigi Farnese Pier Luigi Farnese (19 November 1503 – 10 September 1547) was the first Duke of Castro from 1537 to 1545 and the first Duke of Parma and Piacenza from 1545 to 1547. Born in Rome, Pier Luigi was the illegitimate son of Cardinal Alessandro Farn ...

(1503-1547), Duke of Parma; * Paolo Farnese (1504-1512); * Ranuccio Farnese (1509-1529).

Portrayals

Ruffini is portrayed by Laura Fedorowycz in the TV series ''

Borgia The House of Borgia ( , ; Spanish and an, Borja ; ca-valencia, Borja ) was an Italian-Aragonese Spanish noble family, which rose to prominence during the Italian Renaissance. They were from Valencia, the surname being a toponymic from the tow ...

''. Historian Patrizia Rosini believes Silvia was the model for two portraits: one in the ''Allegory of Baptism'' in the Rondanini Palace and the second in the Sala del Perseo in the castle of Sant'Angelo,

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ruffini, Silvia 1561 deaths Papal family members 1475 births House of Farnese Nobility from Rome Women and the papacy