Angelo Maria Durini (29 May 1725 – 28 April 1796) was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman-Catholic Church. Durini was born in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard language, Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the List of cities in Italy, second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 ...

. After studying in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

and receiving the grade of a doctor, he worked in the papal nunciature in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

. He was part of the Roman Curia and nuncio in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...

. From 1774 to 1776, Durini lived in

Avignon Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label=Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the prefecture of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of Southeastern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the commune ha ...

. On 20 May 1776, Pope Pius VI made him Cardinal. As Cardinal Durini was an important patron of the arts, his villa Balbianello on lake Como became a frequent venue for the most exclusive intellectual and social gatherings of the time. On one famous occasion, the Cardinal served the first coffee in Italy, which was called "thé nero francese" (French black tea). He died in his villa on

Lake Como Lake Como ( it, Lago di Como , ; lmo, label=Western Lombard, Lagh de Còmm , ''Cómm'' or ''Cùmm'' ), also known as Lario (; after the la, Larius Lacus), is a lake of glacial origin in Lombardy, Italy. It has an area of , making it the thir ...

(the Villa Balbianello) in 1796. The villa passed to his nephew,

Luigi Porro Lambertenghi Count Luigi Renato Porro-Lambertenghi (July 12, 1780 in Como – February 9, 1860 in Milan) was an Italian nationalist, businessman, and politician. He was the son of politician and essayist Luigi Lambertenghi (1739–1813). He inherited Villa ...

."Villa Balbianello, Tremezzina" ''lakecomotravel.com''
retrieved May 20, 2016 ''note: article misidentifies Luigi as Angelo's grandson''

Villa Balbianello

The villa was built in 1787 on the site of a Franciscan monastery for the Cardinal Angelo Maria Durini. The two towers which can be seen in the picture are the campanili of the convent church. A number of feature films have used the villa for location shooting, including ''A Month by the Lake'' (1995), ''Casino Royale'' (2006). The villa was also used for the lake retreat scenes in ''Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones'' (2002); however, CGI was used in place of the building's true exterior.

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1725 births 1796 deaths Clergy from Milan 18th-century Italian cardinals Apostolic Nuncios to Poland Cardinals created by Pope Pius VI Inquisitors of Malta {{Italy-RC-cardinal-stub