Portrait of Asdrubale Mattei di Giove by students of Caravaggio (c. 1615). Asdrubale Mattei (died 1638), Duca di Giove, was an Italian nobleman of the

House of Mattei The House of Mattei was one of the most powerful noble families of Rome during the Middle Ages and early modern period, early modern era, holding high positions in the papal curia and government office. The family amassed significant art collectio ...

, an avid art collector and a

patron Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, art patronage refers to the support that princes, popes, and other wealthy and influential people ...

Caravaggio Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (also Michele Angelo Merigi or Amerighi da Caravaggio; 29 September 1571 – 18 July 1610), known mononymously as Caravaggio, was an Italian painter active in Rome for most of his artistic life. During the fina ...

Family

Mattei was the third of three sons of Alessandro Mattei and Emilia Mazzatosta and the younger brother of Ciriaco Mattei and

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

Girolamo Mattei Girolamo Mattei (8 February 1547 – 8 December 1603) was an Italian Cardinal from the House of Mattei. Biography Mattei was born 8 February 1547, the son of Alessandro Mattei and Emilia Mazzatosta. He was the younger brother of Ciriaco Mattei ...

. He married Costanza Gonzaga (of the

House of Gonzaga The House of Gonzaga (, ) is an Italian princely family that ruled Mantua in Lombardy, northern Italy from 1328 to 1708 (first as a captaincy-general, then Margraviate of Mantua, margraviate, and finally Duchy of Mantua, duchy). They also ruled M ...

) and they had three sons: *

, future Duca di Giove * Luigi Mattei, future Marquis di Belmonte *Paolo Mattei

Patron of the arts and architecture

In 1597, Mattei and his brother Ciriaco paid 65,000

scudi The ''scudo'' (pl. ''scudi'') was the name for a number of coins used in various states in the Italian peninsula from 1551 until the 19th century. The name, like that of the French écu and the Spanish and Portuguese escudo, was derived from t ...

for the fortified

comune A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...

Giove ; ), or Galileo In-Orbit Validation Element, is the name for two satellites built for the European Space Agency (ESA) to test technology in orbit for the Galileo (satellite navigation), Galileo positioning system. The name was chosen as a tribut ...

Berkshire Review:
Giove which allowed Mattei to be appointed ''Duca di Giove'' (Duke of Giove). Mattei passed the title and property to his son, Girolamo. Between 1598 and 1618, Mattei commissioned architect

Carlo Maderno Carlo Maderno or Maderna (1556 – 31 January 1629) was an Italian architect, born in today's Ticino, Switzerland, who is remembered as one of the fathers of Baroque architecture. His façades of Santa Susanna, St. Peter's Basilica, and Sant ...

to build the

Palazzo Mattei The Palazzo Mattei di Giove is the most prominent among a group of House of Mattei, Mattei houses that forms the ''insula Mattei'' in Rome, Italy, a block of buildings of many epochs. Name To distinguish this section from the others it carries th ...

. Mattei was a strong supporter of

baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

artist

. The artist lived at Mattei residences, the

and latter the

Villa Mattei The Villa Celimontana (previously known as Villa Mattei) is a villa on the Caelian Hill in Rome, best known for its gardens. Its grounds cover most of the valley between the Aventine Hill and the Caelian. Location The Villa Celimontana is situ ...

and Mattei (and his brother Ciriaco) commissioned a large number of works from the painter. The works included ''The Taking of Christ'' (for which Mattei and his brother paid a paltry 125

). It was reported that Mattei began a tradition which later took hold among Italian noblemen and carried on through the 17th century. Upon meeting his

social Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives fro ...

"superior", Cardinal Alessandro Farnese (both were in

carriage A carriage is a two- or four-wheeled horse-drawn vehicle for passengers. In Europe they were a common mode of transport for the wealthy during the Roman Empire, and then again from around 1600 until they were replaced by the motor car around 1 ...

s) in a public street, Mattei ordered his carriage stopped as a mark of respect. The cardinal then ordered his carriage to come alongside Mattei's so that the two could converse. The practice became a standard part of interactions between the various sub-classes of Italian nobility. ''History of the popes; their church and state (Volume III)''
by Leopold von Ranke (2009,

Wellesley College Wellesley College is a Private university, private Women's colleges in the United States, historically women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henr ...

Library)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mattei, Asdrubale 1638 deaths Asdrubale Italian nobility Date of birth unknown Year of birth unknown Date of death unknown