The House of Colonna is an Italian noble family, forming part of the

papal nobility The papal nobility are the aristocracy of the Holy See, composed of persons holding titles bestowed by the Pope. From the Middle Ages into the nineteenth century, the papacy held direct temporal power in the Papal States, and many titles of papal ...

. It played a pivotal role in

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

and

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, supplying one

pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

(

Martin V Pope Martin V (; ; January/February 1369 – 20 February 1431), born Oddone Colonna, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 November 1417 to his death in February 1431. His election effectively ended the West ...

), 23 cardinals and many other church and political leaders. Other notable family members are

Vittoria Colonna Vittoria Colonna (April 149225 February 1547), marchioness of Pescara, was an Italian noblewoman and poet. As an educated and married noblewoman whose husband was in captivity, Colonna was able to develop relationships within the intellectual ci ...

, close friend of

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (6March 147518February 1564), known mononymously as Michelangelo, was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was inspir ...

, Marcantonio II Colonna (

Marcantonio Colonna Marcantonio II Colonna (sometimes spelled Marc'Antonio; 1535 – August 1, 1584), Duke of Tagliacozzo and Duke and Prince of Paliano, was an Italian aristocrat who served as Viceroy of Sicily in the service of the Spanish Crown, general of ...

), leader of the papal fleet in the

Battle of Lepanto The Battle of Lepanto was a naval warfare, naval engagement that took place on 7 October 1571 when a fleet of the Holy League (1571), Holy League, a coalition of Catholic states arranged by Pope Pius V, inflicted a major defeat on the fleet of t ...

(1571) and Costanza Colonna, patron and protector of

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 ...

. The family was notable for its bitter feud with the

Orsini family The House of Orsini is an Nobility of Italy, Italian noble family that was one of the most influential princely families in Middle Ages, medieval Italy and Renaissance Rome. Members of the Orsini family include five popes: Pope Stephen II, Step ...

over their influence in Rome, which was eventually settled by the issuing of the

papal bull A papal bull is a type of public decree, letters patent, or charter issued by the pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the leaden Seal (emblem), seal (''bulla (seal), bulla'') traditionally appended to authenticate it. History Papal ...

''Pax Romana'' by

Pope Julius II Pope Julius II (; ; born Giuliano della Rovere; 5 December 144321 February 1513) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1503 to his death, in February 1513. Nicknamed the Warrior Pope, the Battle Pope or the Fearsome ...

in 1511. In 1571, the heads of both families married nieces of

Pope Sixtus V Pope Sixtus V (; 13 December 1521 – 27 August 1590), born Felice Piergentile, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 April 1585 to his death, in August 1590. As a youth, he joined the Franciscan order, where h ...

. Thereafter, historians recorded that "no peace had been concluded between the princes of

Christendom The terms Christendom or Christian world commonly refer to the global Christian community, Christian states, Christian-majority countries or countries in which Christianity is dominant or prevails.SeMerriam-Webster.com : dictionary, "Christen ...

, in which they had not been included by name". Today, the family is led by Don Prospero Colonna (b.1956).

History

Origins

According to tradition, the Colonna family is a branch of the Counts of Tusculum — by Peter (Pietro Colonna, 1078–1108 or 1099–1151) son of Gregory III, called Peter "de Columna" (Petrus de Columna) from his property the Columna Castle in Colonna, in the Alban Hills and Lord of Colonna, Monteporzio, Zagarolo and Gallicano. Further back, they trace their lineage past the Counts of Tusculum via Lombard and Italo-Roman nobles, merchants, and clergy through the

Early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages (historiography), Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th to the 10th century. They marked the start o ...

— ultimately claiming origins from the

Julio-Claudian dynasty The Julio-Claudian dynasty comprised the first five Roman emperors: Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero. This line of emperors ruled the Roman Empire, from its formation (under Augustus, in 27 BC) until the last of the line, Emper ...

and the gens Julia whose origin is lost in the mists of time but which entered the annals for the first time in 489 BC with the

consulship The consuls were the highest elected public officials of the Roman Republic ( to 27 BC). Romans considered the consulship the second-highest level of the ''cursus honorum''an ascending sequence of public offices to which politicians aspire ...

of Gaius Julius Iullus. Peter married Elena, Lady of Palestrina, widow of a Donodeo and relative of

Pope Paschal II Pope Paschal II (; 1050 1055 – 21 January 1118), born Raniero Raineri di Bleda, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 August 1099 to his death in 1118. A monk of the Abbey of Cluny, he was creat ...

. The first

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 ...

from the family was appointed in 1206, when Giovanni Colonna di Carbognano was made Cardinal Deacon of SS. Cosma e Damiano. For many years, Cardinal Giovanni di San Paolo (elevated in 1193) was identified as a member of the Colonna family and therefore its first representative in the

College of Cardinals The College of Cardinals (), also called the Sacred College of Cardinals, is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church. there are cardinals, of whom are eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope. Appointed by the pope, ...

, but modern scholars have established that this was based on false information from the beginning of the 16th century. Giovanni Colonna (born ) nephew of Cardinal Giovanni Colonna di Carbognano, made his solemn vows as a Dominican around 1228 and received his theological and philosophical training at the Roman ''studium'' of

Santa Sabina The Basilica of Saint Sabina (, ) is a historic church on the Aventine Hill in Rome, Italy. It is a titular minor basilica and mother church of the Roman Catholic Order of Preachers, better known as the Dominicans. Santa Sabina is the oldest ex ...

, the forerunner of the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, ''Angelicum''. He served as the Provincial of the Roman province of the

Dominican Order The Order of Preachers (, abbreviated OP), commonly known as the Dominican Order, is a Catholic Church, Catholic mendicant order of pontifical right that was founded in France by a Castilians, Castilian priest named Saint Dominic, Dominic de Gu ...

and led the provincial chapter of 1248 at Anagni. Colonna was appointed as Archbishop of

Messina Messina ( , ; ; ; ) is a harbour city and the capital city, capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of 216,918 inhabitants ...

in 1255. Margherita Colonna (died 1248) was a member of the Franciscan Order. She was beatified by Pope

Pius IX Pope Pius IX (; born Giovanni Maria Battista Pietro Pellegrino Isidoro Mastai-Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878. His reign of nearly 32 years is the longest verified of any pope in hist ...

in 1848. At this time, a rivalry began with the pro-papal Orsini family, leaders of the

Guelph Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as The Royal City, it is roughly east of Kitchener, Ontario, Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Ontario Highway 6, ...

faction. This reinforced the pro-Emperor Ghibelline course that the Colonna family followed throughout the period of conflict between the Papacy and the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

. Ironically according to their own family legend, the Orsini are also descended from the

ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

Colonna versus the Papacy

In 1297, Cardinal Jacopo disinherited his brothers Ottone, Matteo, and Landolfo of their lands. The latter three appealed to

Pope Boniface VIII Pope Boniface VIII (; born Benedetto Caetani; – 11 October 1303) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 December 1294 until his death in 1303. The Caetani, Caetani family was of baronial origin with connections t ...

, who ordered Jacopo to return the land, and furthermore hand over the family's strongholds of Colonna,

Palestrina Palestrina (ancient ''Praeneste''; , ''Prainestos'') is a modern Italian city and ''comune'' (municipality) with a population of about 22,000, in Lazio, about east of Rome. It is connected to the latter by the Via Prenestina. It is built upon ...

, and other towns to the

Papacy The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

. Jacopo refused; in May, Boniface removed him from the

and excommunicated him and his followers. The Colonna family (aside from the three brothers allied with the Pope) declared that Boniface had been elected illegally following the unprecedented

abdication Abdication is the act of formally relinquishing monarchical authority. Abdications have played various roles in the Order of succession, succession procedures of monarchies. While some cultures have viewed abdication as an extreme abandonment of ...

Pope Celestine V Pope Celestine V (; 1209/1210 or 1215 – 19 May 1296), born Pietro Angelerio (according to some sources ''Angelario'', ''Angelieri'', ''Angelliero'', or ''Angeleri''), also known as Pietro da Morrone, Peter of Morrone, and Peter Celestine, was ...

. The dispute led to open warfare, and in September, Boniface appointed Landolfo to the command of his army, to put down the revolt of Landolfo's own Colonna relatives. By the end of 1298, Landolfo had captured Colonna, Palestrina and other towns, and razed them to the ground. The family's lands were distributed among Landolfo and his loyal brothers; the rest of the family fled Italy. The exiled Colonnas allied with the Pope's other great enemy,

Philip IV of France Philip IV (April–June 1268 – 29 November 1314), called Philip the Fair (), was King of France from 1285 to 1314. Jure uxoris, By virtue of his marriage with Joan I of Navarre, he was also King of Navarre and Count of Champagne as Philip&n ...

, who in his youth had been tutored by Cardinal Egidio Colonna. In September 1303, Sciarra and Philipp's advisor,

Guillaume de Nogaret Guillaume de Nogaret (c. 1260 April 1313) was a French statesman, councilor and keeper of the seal to Philip IV of France. Early life Nogaret was born in Saint-Félix-Lauragais, Haute-Garonne. The family held a small ancestral property o ...

, led a small force into

Anagni Anagni () is an ancient town and ''comune'' in the province of Frosinone, Lazio, in the hills east-southeast of Rome. It is a historical and artistic centre of the Latin Valley. Geography Overview Anagni still maintains the appearance of a s ...

to arrest Boniface VIII and bring him to France, where he was to stand trial. The two managed to apprehend the pope, and Sciarra reportedly slapped the pope in the face in the process, which was accordingly dubbed the "Outrage of Anagni". The attempt eventually failed after a few days, when locals freed the pope. However, Boniface VIII died on 11 October, allowing France to dominate his weaker successors during the

Avignon papacy The Avignon Papacy (; ) was the period from 1309 to 1376 during which seven successive popes resided in Avignon (at the time within the Kingdom of Arles, part of the Holy Roman Empire, now part of France) rather than in Rome (now the capital of ...

Late Middle Ages

The family remained at the centre of civic and religious life throughout the late Middle Ages. Cardinal Egidio Colonna died at the papal court in

Avignon Avignon (, , ; or , ; ) is the Prefectures in France, 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 Communes of France, commune had a ...

in 1314. An Augustinian, he had studied theology in Paris under St. Thomas of Aquinas to become one of the most authoritative thinkers of his time. In the 14th century, the family sponsored the decoration of the Church of San Giovanni, most notably the floor mosaics. In 1328, Louis IV of Germany marched into Italy for his coronation as

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...

. As

Pope John XXII Pope John XXII (, , ; 1244 – 4 December 1334), born Jacques Duèze (or d'Euse), was head of the Catholic Church from 7 August 1316 to his death, in December 1334. He was the second and longest-reigning Avignon Papacy, Avignon Pope, elected by ...

was residing in Avignon and had publicly declared that he would not crown Louis, the King decided to be crowned by a member of the Roman aristocracy, who proposed Sciarra Colonna. In honor of this event, the Colonna family was granted the privilege of using the imperial pointed crown on top of their coat of arms. The poet

Petrarch Francis Petrarch (; 20 July 1304 – 19 July 1374; ; modern ), born Francesco di Petracco, was a scholar from Arezzo and poet of the early Italian Renaissance, as well as one of the earliest Renaissance humanism, humanists. Petrarch's redis ...

, was a great friend of the family, in particular of Giovanni Colonna and often lived in Rome as a guest of the family. He composed a number of sonnets for special occasions within the Colonna family, including "Colonna the Glorious, the great Latin name upon which all our hopes rest". In this period, the Colonna started claiming they were descendants of the

Trevi - palazzo colonna e basilica santi apostoli 01

At the

Council of Constance The Council of Constance (; ) was an ecumenical council of the Catholic Church that was held from 1414 to 1418 in the Bishopric of Constance (Konstanz) in present-day Germany. This was the first time that an ecumenical council was convened in ...

, the Colonna finally succeeded in their papal ambitions when Oddone Colonna was elected on 14 November 1417. As Martin V, he reigned until his death on 20 February 1431.

Early modern period

became famous in the sixteenth century as a poet and a figure in literate circles. In 1627 Anna Colonna, daughter of Filippo I Colonna, married Taddeo Barberini of the family Barberini; nephew of

Pope Urban VIII Pope Urban VIII (; ; baptised 5 April 1568 – 29 July 1644), born Maffeo Vincenzo Barberini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 August 1623 to his death, in July 1644. As pope, he expanded the papal terri ...

. In 1728, the Carbognano branch (Colonna di Sciarra) of the Colonna family added the name Barberini to its family name when Giulio Cesare Colonna di Sciarra married Cornelia Barberini, daughter of the last male Barberini to hold the name and granddaughter of Maffeo Barberini (son of Taddeo Barberini).

Current status

The Colonna family were Prince Assistants to the Papal ThroneArticle by Guy de Stair Sainty on Papal Court
. The family residence in Rome, the Palazzo Colonna, is open to the public every Friday and Saturday morning. The main 'Colonna di Paliano' line is represented today by Prince Marcantonio Colonna di Paliano, Prince and Duke of Paliano (b. 1948), whose heir is Don Giovanni Andrea Colonna di Paliano (b. 1975), and by Don Prospero Colonna di Paliano, Prince of Avella (b. 1956), whose heir is Don Filippo Colonna di Paliano (b. 1995). The 'Colonna di Stigliano' line is represented by Don Prospero Colonna di Stigliano, Prince of Stigliano (b. 1938), whose heir is his nephew Don Stefano Colonna di Stigliano (b. 1975).

Notable members

* Blessed Margherita Colonna ( – 1280) * Stefano Colonna (1265 – ), an influential noble in Medieval Rome and Imperial vicar in the early 14th century * Jacopo Colonna (1250–1318), cardinal * Giacomo Colonna (1270–1329), who took part in the Outrage of Anagni against

* Giovanni Colonna (1295–1348), influential

during the

* Oddone Colonna (1369–1431), whose election as

Pope Martin V Pope Martin V (; ; January/February 1369 – 20 February 1431), born Oddone Colonna, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 November 1417 to his death in February 1431. His election effectively ended the We ...

in 1417 ended the

Western Schism The Western Schism, also known as the Papal Schism, the Great Occidental Schism, the Schism of 1378, or the Great Schism (), was a split within the Catholic Church lasting from 20 September 1378 to 11 November 1417, in which bishops residing ...

* Ludovico Colonna (1390–1436), condottiero * Prospero I Colonna (1410–1463), cardinal * Fabrizio Colonna ( – 1520), the father of

, and a general in the Holy League * Prospero Colonna (1452–1523), who fought alongside his cousin Fabrizio Colonna * Francesco Colonna (1453? – 1517?) a "Pugna d'amore in sogno" di Francesco Colonna Romano, 1996, Maurizio Calvesi who was credited (along with the monk Francesco Colonna) with the authorship of the '' Hypnerotomachia Poliphili'' by an acrostic in the text; also believed to have written the story * Marcantonio I Colonna (1478–1522),

condottiero Condottieri (; singular: ''condottiero'' or ''condottiere'') were Italian military leaders active during the Middle Ages and the early modern period. The term originally referred specifically to commanders of mercenary companies, derived from the ...

of the 15th–16th centuries * Pompeo Colonna (1479–1532), cardinal, a nephew of Prospero Colonna, mentioned above. Viceroy of Naples from 1530 to 1532 *

(1490–1547), friend of

. Married in 1507 the Spanish-Italian Fernando d'Avalos, marquis of

Pescara Pescara (; ; ) is the capital city of the province of Pescara, in the Abruzzo Regions of Italy, region of Italy. It is the most populated city in Abruzzo, with 118,657 (January 1, 2023) residents (and approximately 350,000 including the surround ...

(deceased 1525), adopting (on becoming a widow) Alfonso d'Avalos, also marquis del Vasto, a nephew of her former husband * Pirro Colonna (1500–1552), 16th century captain under

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain (as Charles I) from 1516 to 1556, and Lord of the Netherlands as titular Duke of Burgundy (as Charles II) ...

* Marco Antonio Colonna (1523–1597),

* Marcantonio II Colonna the Younger (1535–1584), Duke of Tagliacozzo. Son of Ascanio Colonna and Juana de Aragón. He participated in the naval

against the Turks, 7 October 1571 and was

Viceroy of Sicily A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the Anglo-Norman ''roy'' (Old Frenc ...

in 1577–1584. Prince of

Paliano Paliano is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Frosinone, in the Lazio region of central Italy. History Paliano was the seat of a branch of the powerful Colonna family whose head was Lord, then Duke, then Prince of Paliano. Their fortres ...

. * Ascanio Colonna (1560–1608), cardinal * Federico Colonna y Tomacelli, Prince of Butera (1601–1641), Viceroy of Valencia, in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, 1640–1641, Viceroy of Catalonia, 1641. He was Great Constable of the kingdom of Naples (1639–1641) as had been his father Filippo I Colonna, (1578 – 11 April 1639). * Marcantonio V Colonna (1606/1610–1659), Prince of Paliano * Lorenzo Onofrio Colonna, Viceroy of Aragon, 1678–1681, in

* Prospero II Colonna (1662–1743), cardinal * Carlo Colonna (1665–1739), cardinal, created by Clement XI in 1706 *

(1724–1793), cardinal *

Giovanni Antonio Colonna Giovanni may refer to: * Giovanni (name), an Italian male given name and surname * Giovanni (meteorology), a Web interface for users to analyze NASA's gridded data * ''Don Giovanni'', a 1787 opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, based on the legend of ...

(1878–1940), politician * Guido Colonna di Paliano (1908–1982), diplomat and European Commissioner

References

Sources

Original 1922 Almanach de Gotha (edited by Justice Perthes) entry for the Colonna family
link to the original universally-recognised genealogical reference document, with details of family honours

External links

*
Palazzo Colonna website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Colonna Family Papal families Medieval Rome Roman Catholic families