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In 1763, Clement XIII Rezzonico granted to prince Giovanni Andrea IV Doria (1705-64) the surname, the insignia and the properties of the Pamphilj, on account of the relationship acquired by way of the marriage between Giovanni Andrea III Doria (1653- 1737) and Anna Pamphilj (1671). Thus ended the quarrels between the Borghese, Colonna and Doria families for the succession to Girolamo Pamphilj, who died in 1760 without male heirs. The obligation to reside within the Pontifical state, imposed on the holders of huge estates in the territory, compelled the Doria to leave Genova and take up definitive residence in Rome. From about 1767, Andrea IV Doria Pamphilj (1747-1820) established himself with his wife, Leopoldina di Savoia Carignano, in the palace on the Corso, where the heirs still live today. The Doria in Genova were outstanding figures in historical events central to the physiognomy of the Italian peninsula, as were the Pamphilj in Rome. The fortunes of the Pamphilj, who originally came from Gubbio, are linked to Pope Innocent X (1644-55), born as Giovan Battista Pamphilj. The wealth of his sister-in-law, Olimpia Maidalchini (1591-1657), allowed him to undertake a brilliant ecclesiastical career, which carried him to the pontificate in 1644. Innocent X, following the nepotistic tradition of Renaissance pontiffs, appointed as Cardinal Nephew Camillo (1622-1666), eldest child of his brother, Pamphilio, and of the rich sister-in-law (1644). After only three years of being cardinal, Camillo left the purple in order to marry Olimpia Aldobrandini (1647), widow of Paolo Borghese, and sole heiress of the Aldobrandini. She brought as dowry the collection of paintings, which included those masterpieces removed from the “Camerino d’Alabastro” of the dukedom of Ferrara, the villas of Montemagnanapoli and Frascati, the great estates in Romagna and the palace in the Corso. Outside public life, Camillo cultivated his passion for art, of which he was a collector and patron. He was responsible for the Villa Pamphilj, some works in Piazza Navona (church and college), the church of S. Nicola da Tolentino, the chapel of S. Tommaso da Villanova in the church of S. Agostino, S. Andrea al Quirinale, the palace at Valmontone, and so on. This prince played an important role in seventeenth-century Rome, which was discovering the taste for antiquity, leading to excavations (although the heyday was to come later), and to restorations which brought him into contact with artists such as Alessandro Algardi, the official portraitist of the Pamphilj family. Of the five children born to Camillo and Olimpia Aldobrandini, the eldest, Giovan Battista (born 1648) died in 1709, leaving his wife, Violante Facchinetti, to whom is due the entry of some Bolognese pictures into the collection, such as Susannah and the Elders of Annibale Carracci. His brother, Benedetto (1653 -1739), was cardinal and friend of musicians such as Handel and Corelli, and cultivated a passion for genre painting, landscapes and still lifes, in harmony with the taste of the time. Andrea I Doria (1466-1560) was the artificer of an international trading policy, which allowed him to sail under the protection of the Spanish crown. In 1528 he had signed an agreement with Charles V, putting at his disposal his fleet of armed galleys in the Mediterranean, in return for permits to sail and money (asientos). As imperial lieutenant, Andrea managed to render himself autonomous from the Genoese republic, over which he exercised a growing political pressure, thanks also to the added appointment as General of the Imperial Maritime Army (26 August 1528). As mediator for the concession of asientos de dineros to the Genoese merchants, he succeeded in intervening in the economic destiny of Genoa. The symbol of the power which Andrea exercised over the city was his residence at Fassolo, where he received the Spanish ambassadors, in evident competition with the public administration of the city. From Charles V Andrea Doria obtained the prestigious honour of
the Toson d’oro (a knightly order instituted in 1431 by Philip
the Good, duke of Burgundy) and the title of Prince of Melfi (1531),
which had belonged The alliance between Andrea and Spain was much tried by the corsair Ariadeno Barbarossa, who, at the head of the Turkish forces, checked the imperial forces from 1538 until 1560. During these years, the favourite nephew of Andrea, Giannettino, distinguished himself for his enterprise in fighting, succeeding in capturing the corsair Dragut and bringing back to safety the troops of Charles V after the débâcle of Algiers (1540). The Muslims bargained the surrender in return for Dragut, agreeing not to sack Genoa. In this uncertain climate there was the opportunity for the Fieschi conspiracy against the Doria, in which Giannettino lost his life. The failure of the enterprise cost the Fieschi their imperial feudal lands, which were divided up between the Doria and the Republic. Andrea was succeeded at his death by Giovanni Andrea I (1540-1606), son of Giannettino, who inherited the appointment of lieutenant of the Mediterranean. From this moment Doria policy became more international, because the new admiral aspired to become counsellor to the Spanish crown. In 1571 Giannandrea led the “right horn” of the Christian fleet opposing the Turks at the battle of Lepanto, and in 1583 entered Spanish politics in the role of sea general, that is to say adviser on military and diplomatic strategy. In 1594 he was nominated by Philip II as member of the Council of State at Madrid, an appointment reconfirmed by Philip III in 1599, with an increase in annual pay of 40,000 scudi. In 1602 he inherited the marquisate of Finale, and in 1604, two years before his death, he was given by Spain the task of sorting out the disorders resulting from the assassination of Ercole Grimaldi. The younger brothers of Andrea IV Doria Pamphilj, Antonio (1749-1821) and Giuseppe (1751-1816) had successful careers in the church. Both were cardinals, being respectively Master of the Chamber and Secretary of State to Pius VI, standing by the pope during the Jacobin troubles in Rome. Andrea IV’s son, Luigi Giovanni Andrea V (1779-1829) married in 1808 Teresa Orsini di Gravina, a noblewomen with a penchant for good works, who founded the church institution of the Suore Ospedaliere and of the Dame Lauretane, active in the recovery of prostitutes and assisting pilgrims. The eldest son of Teresa Orsini, Filippo Andrea V Doria Pamphilj (1813-1876) was vice-mayor of Rome after Unification in 1870, foreshadowing the position of Filippo Andrea VI (1886 - 1958), who was mayor of the capital in 1944, immediately after the Liberation. Through the marriage of Giovanni Andrea II Doria (1607-1640) and Maria Polissena Landi, princess of Valditaro (1608-1679) and last heiress to a family related to the Svevi, the Genoese princes acquired the patrimony, name and insignia of the Landi, still present in the coat of arms of the family today.
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