200px, Coat of arms of the House of Torlonia, part of the Auvergne ">History_of_Auvergne.html" ;"title="Italian nobility of French descent, hailing from the region of History of Auvergne">Auvergne The House of Torlonia, the Princes of Civitella-Cesi, is the name of an Italian nobility, Italian princely family from Rome, which acquired a huge fortune in the 18th and 19th centuries through administering the finances of the Holy See, Vatican. The first influential member of the Torlonia family was Marino Torlonia (Tourlonias; 1725 – 21 March 1785), who rose from humble origins in the Auvergne region of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

to become a very rich businessman and banker in Rome.

History

Marino was born with the French name of Marin Torlonias, the son of Antoine Torlonias, a merchant and laborer. Marin's great-uncle was the parish priest of Augerolles, who procured for him a position as aide to an influential

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...

. Marin eventually settled in Rome, where he became a cloth merchant and money lender near the Piazza of the Trinità dei Monti. This became the foundation of the family bank established by his son, Giovanni Torlonia. Giovanni, in return for his able administration of the Vatican finances, was created duke of Bracciano and count of Pisciarelli by

Pope Pius VI Pope Pius VI (; born Count Angelo Onofrio Melchiorre Natale Giovanni Antonio called Giovanni Angelo or Giannangelo Braschi, 25 December 171729 August 1799) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 February 1775 to hi ...

in 1794. In 1803,

Pius VII Pope Pius VII (; born Barnaba Niccolò Maria Luigi Chiaramonti; 14 August 1742 – 20 August 1823) was head of the Catholic Church from 14 March 1800 to his death in August 1823. He ruled the Papal States from June 1800 to 17 May 1809 and again ...

made him marquess of Romavecchia e Turrita and the first prince of Civitella Cesi. He was made, among other titles, a

Roman Patrician The patricians (from ) were originally a group of ruling class families in ancient Rome. The distinction was highly significant in the Roman Kingdom and the early Roman Republic, Republic, but its relevance waned after the Conflict of the Orders ...

in 1809, with confirmation from the Pope on 19 January 1813, and the duke of Poli e Guadagnolo in 1820. He was the builder of the Villa Torlonia in Rome, among other Palazzo Torlonia villas. He married Anna Maria Chiaveri ''née'' Schultheiss, a widow who came from a family of southern German merchants in Donaueschingen. Leopoldo Torlonia, a grandson of Giovanni, was the

Mayor of Rome The mayor of Rome () is an elected politician who, along with the City Council of Rome, Rome City Council () of 48 members, is accountable for the strategic government of Rome. As Rome is a ''Comune, comune speciale'' since 2009, the office is d ...

from May 1882 to May 1887. His great-grandson, Marino Torlonia succeeded to the title as 4th prínce of Civitella-Cesi, a title he inherited from Augusto, his older brother, in 1926. The title had been passed to Augusto from their paternal great-uncle, Alessandro, younger brother of Augusto's and Marino's grandfather, Giulio. Marino married the rich American heiress Mary Elsie Moore; they were the parents of Don Alessandro Torlonia, 5th Prince di Civitella-Cesi, who married the Infanta Beatriz of Spain, the daughter of King Alfonso XIII - one of their grandchildren is Princess Sibilla of Luxembourg; and of Donna Marina Torlonia di Civitella-Cesi, the wife of American tennis player Francis Xavier Shields and grandmother of the American actress

Brooke Shields Brooke Christa Shields (born May 31, 1965) is an American actress. A child model starting at the age of 11 months, Shields gained widespread notoriety at age 12 for her leading role in Louis Malle's film ''Pretty Baby (1978 film), Pretty Baby ...

. In Rome, the Torlonia properties comprise: Palazzo Torlonia-Giraud in Via della Conciliazione (

rione 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 title of (). Formed a ...

of Borgo), Palazzo Núñez-Torlonia in

Via Condotti Via dei Condotti (named always ''Via Condotti'') is a busy and fashionable street of Rome, Italy. In Roman times it was one of the streets that crossed the ancient Via Flaminia and enabled people who transversed the Tiber to reach the Pincio h ...

, near the Spanish Steps, Palazzo Torlonia in Via della Lungara (

Trastevere Trastevere () is the 13th of Rome, Italy. It is identified by the initials R. XIII and it is located within Municipio I. Its name comes from Latin (). Its coat of arms depicts a golden head of a lion on a red background, the meaning of which i ...

) and Villa Torlonia ( Villa Albani) outside Porta Salaria. They also owned the now demolished Palazzo Torlonia-Bolognetti near Piazza Venezia. The Torlonia family were one of the few Italian aristocratic families to have survived the reconstruction of the Papal Court in 1969 by the

motu proprio In law, (Latin for 'on his own impulse') describes an official act taken without a formal request from another party. Some jurisdictions use the term for the same concept. In Catholic canon law, it refers to a document issued by the pope on h ...

Pontificalis Domus ''Pontificalis Domus'' () was a ''motu proprio'' document issued by Pope Paul VI on 28 March 1968, in the fifth year of his pontificate. It reorganized the Papal household, Papal Household, which had been known until then as the Papal Court. Co ...

''. Until recently the only hereditary honours still in use at the Vatican are that of hereditary Prince Assistants to the Papal Throne. This honour was until recently held by Prince Alessandro Torlonia, Prince of Fucino, and Prince Marcantonio Colonna, Prince and Duke of Paliano. The Torlonia family was appointed in 1958 (its title dates from 1854 also), in succession to Prince Filippo Orsini, whose family had held the position since 1735. A poem quoted by Ignazio Silone in his novel "Fontamara" (1930), at the height of their power translates as: :The head of everything is God, the Lord of heaven :After Him comes Prince Torlonia, lord of the earth :Then comes Prince Torlonia's armed guards :Then comes Prince Torlonia's armed guards dogs :Then comes nothing at all. Then comes nothing at all. :Then comes nothing at all. :Then come the peasants. And that's all.

References

Sources

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External links

Almanach de la Cour - The Hereditary Officers of the Papal Court
{{Commons category, House of Torlonia Banking families