The House of Della Rovere (; literally "of the oak tree") was a powerful Italian noble family. It had humble origins in

Savona Savona (; ) is a seaport and (municipality) in the west part of the northern Italian region of Liguria, and the capital of the Province of Savona. Facing the Ligurian Sea, Savona is the main center of the Riviera di Ponente (the western se ...

, in

Liguria Liguria (; ; , ) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is roughly coextensive with ...

, and acquired power and influence through

nepotism Nepotism is the act of granting an In-group favoritism, advantage, privilege, or position to Kinship, relatives in an occupation or field. These fields can include business, politics, academia, entertainment, sports, religion or health care. In ...

and ambitious marriages arranged by two Della Rovere popes: Francesco Della Rovere, who ruled as

Sixtus IV Pope Sixtus IV (or Xystus IV, ; born Francesco della Rovere; (21 July 1414 – 12 August 1484) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 August 1471 until his death in 1484. His accomplishments as pope included ...

from 1471 to 1484 and his nephew Giuliano, who became Julius II in 1503. Sixtus IV built the

Sistine Chapel The Sistine Chapel ( ; ; ) is a chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the pope's official residence in Vatican City. Originally known as the ''Cappella Magna'' ('Great Chapel'), it takes its name from Pope Sixtus IV, who had it built between 1473 and ...

, which was named after him. Julius II was patron to

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 ...

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), now generally known in English as Raphael ( , ), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of paintings by Raphael, His work is admired for its cl ...

and many other

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 ...

artists and started the modern rebuilt of St. Peter's Basilica. Also the

Basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...

of San Pietro in Vincoli in Rome was the family church of the Della Rovere. Members of the family were influential in the Church of Rome, and as dukes of Urbino, dukes of Sora and lords of

Senigallia Senigallia (or Sinigaglia in Old Italian; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) and port town on Italy's Adriatic Sea, Adriatic coast. It is situated in the province of Ancona, in the Italian region of Marche, and lies approximately 30 kilometres nor ...

; the title of Urbino was extinguished with the death of Francesco Maria II in 1631, and the family died out with the death of his granddaughter Vittoria, Grand Duchess of Tuscany.

History

Francesco Della Rovere was born into a poor family in

in north-west Italy in 1414, the son of Leonardo della Rovere of

. A

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

who became Minister General of his order, then cardinal, he had a reputation for unworldliness until he was elected pope in 1471. As Sixtus IV he was both wealthy and powerful, and at once set about giving power and wealth to his nephews of the Della Rovere and Riario families. Within months of his election, he had made Giuliano della Rovere (the future pope Julius II) and

Pietro Riario Pietro Riario (1445 – 3 January 1474) was an Italian cardinal (Catholic), cardinal and Papal diplomat. Biography Born in Savona, he was the son of Paolo Riario and Pope Sixtus IVs' sister, Bianca Della Rovere. Sixtus nominated him bishop of T ...

both cardinals and

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

s; four other nephews were also made cardinals. He made Giovanni Della Rovere, who was not a priest, prefect of Rome, and arranged for him to marry into the da Montefeltro family, dukes of Urbino. Sixtus claimed descent from a noble Della Rovere family, the counts of Vinovo in

Piemonte Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the northwest. Pied ...

, and adopted their coat-of-arms.

Guidobaldo da Montefeltro Guidobaldo (or Guido Ubaldo) da Montefeltro (25 January 1472 – 10 April 1508), also known as Guidobaldo I, was an Italian condottiero and the Duke of Urbino from 1482 to 1508. Biography Born in Gubbio, he succeeded his father Federico da Mon ...

adopted Francesco Maria I della Rovere, his sister's child and nephew of

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 ...

. Guidobaldo I, who was heirless, called Francesco Maria at his court, and named him as heir of the

Duchy of Urbino The Duchy of Urbino () was an independent duchy in Early modern period, early modern central Italy, corresponding to the northern half of the modern region of Marche. It was directly annexed by the Papal States in 1631. It was bordered by the A ...

in 1504, this through the intercession of Julius II. In 1508, Francesco Maria inherited the duchy thereby starting the line of Rovere Dukes of Urbino. That dynasty ended in 1626 when

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 ...

incorporated Urbino into the papal dominions. As compensation to the last sovereign duke, the title only could be continued by Francesco Maria II, and after his death by his heir, Federico Ubaldo. Vittoria, last descendant of the della Rovere family (she was the only child of Federico Ubaldo), married Ferdinando II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany. They had two children: Cosimo III, Tuscany's longest reigning monarch, and Francesco Maria de' Medici, a

prince of the Church A cardinal is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. As titular members of the clergy of the Diocese of Rome, they serve as advisors to the pope, who is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. C ...

Della Rovere Dukes of Urbino (1508)

# Francesco Maria I della Rovere (1490–1538) # Guidobaldo II della Rovere (1514–1574) # Francesco Maria II della Rovere (1549–1631) - duchy abolished, title continued # Federico Ubaldo della Rovere (1605–1623) - title became extinct with his death.

Other people with the same surname

Among the many people who did not belong to this family, but bore the same name, are: * the Della Rovere family, counts of Vinovo, among them: ** Domenico della Rovere of Vinovo, cardinal, who built the there ** his brother Cristoforo della Rovere of Vinovo and various artists, including: * the brothers Giovan Battista Della Rovere and Giovan Mauro Della Rovere, both known as "il Fiamminghino" * an unrelated Lombard family of painters and illuminators active in the seventeenth century.

Gallery

File:Tizian Portrait Papst Sixtus IV ca. 1545-46 Uffizien Florenz-01 (cropped).jpg, Francesco della Rovere, later Sixtus IV File:Pope Julius II.jpg, Giuliano della Rovere, later Julius II File:Titian - Portrait of Francesco Maria della Rovere, Duke of Urbino - WGA22982.jpg, Francesco Maria I della Rovere File:Titian (Tiziano Vecellio) - Portrait of Guidobaldo II della Rovere, Duke of Urbino - 1956.7.1 - Yale University Art Gallery.jpg, Guidobaldo II della Rovere File:Francesco II della Rovere.jpg, Francesco Maria II della Rovere File:Sustermans, Justus - Vittoria della Rovere con una rosa.jpg, Vittoria della Rovere File:Urbino, palazzo ducale visto dal mercatale 02.JPG, Palazzo Ducale, Urbino File:Panoramica P.za Duca Rocca.jpg, Rocca Della Rovere in

File:Rocca Roveresca2 - Mondavio, Italia.JPG, Rocca Roveresca in Mondavio File:Palazzo Della Rovere di San Lorenzo in Campo.JPG, Palazzo Della Rovere in San Lorenzo in Campo File:Borgo - palazzo dei Penitenzieri 1150682.JPG, Palazzo Della Rovere in

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, ...

History

Della Rovere Dukes of Urbino (1508)

Other people with the same surname

Gallery

References

Further reading