BIOGRAPHIES GENOA

Andrea Doria (1466-1560) was born into a minor branch of one of the most illustrious families of Liguria. He began his career as a soldier of fortune in the service of various masters. Once he became an Admiral, he served King Francis I of France, Pope Clement VII and, from 1528, Emperor Charles V. It was his relationship with the Habsburgs that determined the fortune of the Doria family and the Republic of Genoa, thanks to the alliance with Spain, placing them in the heart of 17^th-century international politics. In addition to his skills as politician and navigator, Andrea Doria distinguished himself as a condottiere; and together with his wife Peretta Usodimare he established a Renaissance court that remained a model in Genoese history.

Andrea Doria was born in 1466 to Ceva and Caracosa Doria di Dolceacqua. In 1484, orphaned and deprived of his portion of the feudal heritage, he moved to Rome under the orders of Nicolò Doria, Commander of the Papal Guards under [the Genoese Pope] Innocent VIII. His military career began in the service of the Montefeltro family of Urbino and subsequently with the Della Rovere family. In 1513, Andrea entered the service of the Genoese Republic and three years later, he bought three galleys and began to contract his services to Francis I, King of France (1522-28) and the Medici Pope Clement VII (1526). It was during Andrea Doria’s service at the court of Pope Clement that Sebastiano del Piombo painted his portrait as the Pope’s Admiral, now on display in the museum of Villa del Principe. In August 1528, Andrea Doria signed a new contract that bound him to Emperor Charles V, and his fleet of twelve galleys and three trireme warships was placed in the service of the Habsburgs, earning a salary of 90,000 scudi a year. Andrea Doria asked and obtained from Charles V, the submission of Savona and the independence of Genoa, allied but not subject to imperial power. By freeing the city from the French occupation, he gained the title of Pater Patriae and as a gift of gratitude from the Republic, he received a building in the city centre, next to the family chapel of San Matteo which he had restored by Giovannangelo Montorsoli; this became his funeral chapel. In his honour, a grand commemorative statue was also erected in the city of Genoa.

In 1528, the Admiral reformed the constitution of the Genoese Republic and gave himself the title of Perpetual Prior of the Syndics thus becoming the champion and guarantor of the republican system while in fact, albeit not legally, taking the role of Lord of Genoa.

While he was in the service of Charles V, Andrea fought against pirates, including the notorious Barbarossa and Dragut. In 1531, he received from the Emperor the title of Prince of Melfi in Basilicata and was awarded the Order of the Golden Fleece, the Toson d’Oro.

Together with his wife Peretta Usodimare, Andrea established a noble Renaissance court that remained unique in Genoese history.

Giovanni Andrea I Doria (1540-1606), son of Giannettino (the victim of the Fieschi conspiracy), became the successor of Andrea Doria and when his relative died he inherited his fleet of galleys, offices, fiefs and the Palazzo del Principe. For almost half a century, Giovanni Andrea fought at sea in the service of the Spanish crown. He also distinguished himself as an art connoisseur purchasing art, expanding and embellishing Villa del Principe and the other buildings in his possession; together with his wife Zenobia, he founded and refurbished numerous religious buildings in the name of his profound Catholic devotion.

Giovanni Andrea I Doria was born in 1540 to Giannettino Doria and Ginetta Centurione. In 1547, after his father was killed in the Fieschi conspiracy, Andrea Doria took care of the education of the child who, at the age of eight, was already taken to see the galleys so that he could become accustomed to life at sea and to his future as an admiral. Thanks to shrewd negotiations carried out by Andrea Doria, Giovanni Andrea married Zenobia del Carretto, granddaughter of the Admiral. The union, albeit arranged for dynastic reasons, was in fact characterized by sincere affection.

On Andrea Doria’s death, Giovanni Andrea inherited the Fassolo palace, the noble titles and the fleet of galleys with which he defended the Spanish crown for half a century. In 1571, Giovanni Andrea Doria took part in the Battle of Lepanto (1571), as Commander of the right wing of the fleet which, under the supreme command of Don Juan of Austria, inflicted a heavy defeat on the Turks. In 1583, he was appointed General of the Sea by Philip II and in 1594, he became a member of the Spanish Council of State. His role was also decisive within the Genoese state, where he represented the most important spokesperson for Spain.

The inheritance of Giovanni Andrea I Doria, valued at the time of his death (1606) at 1,620,000 scudi, led to his being defined as “richer than anyone in Italy and hated by everyone except the King”.

In addition to the Villa at Fassolo which he expanded and enriched, he also owned the Villa Doria in Pegli, Palazzo Tursi in the Strada Nuova and two mansions in the medieval “curia” of San Matteo, in addition to numerous fiefdoms including Loano, Campione and some Apennine fiefdoms.

Together with his wife Zenobia, he distinguished himself as a champion of Counter-Reformation Catholicism; together they founded and renovated numerous religious buildings including the Church of San Benedetto and the monastery of the Holy Spirit in Genoa, the Convent of Sant’Agostino and the Carmelite complex in Loano. Thanks to Giovanni Andrea, the Doria family successfully achieved the ambitious family goal of becoming European nobles. The Villa del Principe hosted the Duke of Brunswick (1578), the Duchess of Lorraine (1579), Margaret of Austria (1599) and other prominent figures.

Giannettino Doria (1510-1547), son of Tommaso, first cousin of Andrea Doria, was chosen by the Admiral as his heir. He had a brilliant career at sea and took part in important expeditions against the Ottoman armies. He was shot during the Fieschi conspiracy and his eldest son, Giovanni Andrea I, succeeded him as Andrea Doria’s successor.

He was born in 1510 to Tommaso, first cousin of Andrea Doria and Marietta Grillo. Giannettino’s relationship with the Admiral was strengthened by the fact that the relationship between Andrea and his adopted son Marco Antonio del Carretto deteriorated as he did not live up to Andrea Doria’s expectations and ended up retiring to the Principality of Melfi. The promising Giannettino was then designated by Andrea Doria as his heir and successor. The Admiral of Charles V arranged a profitable marriage for the young man with Ginetta, daughter of Adamo Centurione, a very wealthy banker and merchant whose fortune began by financing the Habsburg Emperor.

Giannettino had a brilliant career at sea and took part in important expeditions against the Ottoman armies alongside his cousin Andrea Doria. In June 1540, on the Admiral’s orders, Giannettino headed for the coasts of Corsica where the notorious pirate Dragut was said to be hiding. His capture came on direct orders of Charles V. Giannettino blockaded the Turks in the Bay of Girolata and captured nine enemy boats as well as the pirate himself, who was led to Genoa in chains.

On the night of 2 January 1547, Gian Luigi Fieschi, heir of one of the most influential families of the Genoese aristocracy, organized a conspiracy against the Doria family. In an attempt to take the Admiral’s fleet, Fieschi fell into the sea and drowned due to the heavy armour he was wearing. Meanwhile Giannettino, attracted by the commotion of the conspirators who had occupied the port and entered the city gates, unaware of what was happening, ran towards the gate of San Tommaso just outside Villa at Fassolo and was shot by an arquebus.

After the conspiracy, which came to nothing, the Fieschi family assets were confiscated and entrusted in part to the Republic of Genoa and in part to the Farnese family and Andrea Doria.

Following the death of Giannettino, Andrea Doria, now an elderly man, chose Giovanni Andrea I, eldest son of Giannettino and Ginetta Centurione, as his heir.

Andrea II (1570-1612), eldest son of Giovanni Andrea I and Zenobia del Carretto, continued in his father’s footsteps, pursuing the fight against the Turks in the Mediterranean. He married Giovanna Colonna, niece of the Roman prince Marcantonio and together at Palazzo di Fassolo, they hosted the Archduchess Margaret of Austria who was passing through Genoa on her way to Spain. Andrea II continued the work his father had begun in Loano and finished the construction of the church and monastery dedicated to Our Lady of Mount Carmel in the Loano fiefdom.

Andrea II, eldest son of Giovanni Andrea I and Zenobia del Carretto Doria, was born in 1570. From an early age he began the seafaring life, committing himself, like his predecessors, to fighting the Turks in the Mediterranean. In 1591 the King of Spain appointed him Captain General of the Genoese fleet and two years later he married Giovanna Colonna, niece of the Roman prince Marcantonio, and took part in the Battle of Lepanto together with Giovanni Andrea I Doria. With his wife and all the members of the Doria family, Andrea II, hosted the Archduchess Margaret of Austria, who had come to Genoa to set sail on one of the galleys of Giovanni Andrea on her journey to Spain.

Upon his father’s death in 1606, Andrea II inherited the Palazzo di Fassolo and San Matteo, the Villa in Pegli, the principality of Melfi and all the family fiefs including the Marquisates of Torriglia and Santo Stefano, the County of Loano and Torriglia.

In September 1607, he was awarded the Order of the Golden Fleece by the King of Spain.

Andrea II spent much time in Loano, a fief he was particularly fond of and in which he carried out various public works. In 1603, he concluded the project that had been initiated by his father: the construction of a church and a monastery dedicated to Our Lady of Mount Carmel. The Loano complex was entrusted to the Discalced Carmelites and was chosen by Andrea II Doria as his burial place.

Andrea II died in July 1612, aged forty-two, leaving his wife and children.

Giovanni Andrea Doria II (1607-1640), second son of Prince Andrea II Doria, was born on November 28, 1607 and was christened Pagano. When he was five his father died and he was raised by his mother Giovanna Colonna and his uncle Carlo Doria del Carretto, Duke of Tursi. Pagano continued the lineage of the family after his older brother died prematurely in 1618, inheriting the estate of the principality of Melfi. When his mother died, his sister Zenobia took care of him and prepared him for his future duties as well as carefully choosing his bride.

Zenobia’s negotiations led to the marriage of Giovanni Andrea II and Maria Polissena Landi di Bardi, daughter of Federico Prince of Val di Taro who was related to the Princes of Monaco. Maria Polissena, sole heiress of the family, brought as her dowry the fiefs of Bardi and Compiano in the Val di Taro. In June 1628, the couple had a son Andrea III, who inherited the title of Prince. In 1640, Giovanni Andrea II died in Sardinia. His remains were brought back to Genoa on a galley and he was buried in the crypt of the Carmelite church in Loano.

Maria Polissena Landi (1608-1679) married Giovanni Andrea II in Milan on 4 February 1627. The marriage was arranged by Zenobia, sister of her future husband. Maria, daughter of Federico Prince of Val di Taro and cousin of the Princes of Monaco, brought as her dowry the fiefs of Bardi and Compiano, over which the Farnese also claimed rights.

The dispute over the possession of these fiefdoms, which Giovanni Andrea II was unable to resolve, ended in 1682, with the sale of Bardi and Compiano to the Farnese family for 120,714 ducats. Maria Polissena Landi was widowed in 1640 and managed the family assets and tutelage of her eldest son, the future Prince Andrea III.

Andrea III was born in Genoa on June 19, 1628. His father died when he was twelve and his mother Maria Polissena Doria Landi managed the fiefs while waiting for Andrea to come of age. In 1652, he married Violante Lomellini, daughter of the Senator of the Republic Nicolò and niece of Giacomo, Doge in 1625, only heir of this influential family. Shortly after the wedding, the couple moved to the Villa at Pegli together with their mother-in-law, Maria Polissena Landi, but there were soon disagreements between mother and son. Violante Lomellini gave birth to Andrea’s first son, Giovanni Andrea III, in 1653.

The last years of Andrea’s life coincided with the deterioration of relations between Genoa and Spain, mainly due to the claims advanced by the Republic regarding Royal honors, freedom of trade and the issue of Finale Ligure. In his will, Andrea named his wife Violante as guardian of his son and regent of the family fiefdoms. Andrea II Doria died in Pegli in 1654 of illness and his body was buried in the crypt of the Carmelite church in Loano. His widow had to fight various legal battles for her rights to the guardianship of her son, including a lengthy lawsuit against her mother-in-law Maria Polissena Landi, who did not accept Andrea III’s will.

Violante Lomellini (1632-1708), daughter of a Senator of the Republic, Nicolò, and granddaughter of Giacomo, Doge in 1625, married Andrea III Doria Landi in 1652. The wedding was celebrated with a private ceremony in 1652, followed by a sumptuous banquet to which the Doge and the members of the Collegi (the Senate and Council) were invited. The newlyweds established their home in the Villa at Pegli, and Violante’s mother-in-law, Maria Polissena Landi, also lived with them. The young bride and groom hosted the Marchesa of Caracena, wife of the Governor of Milan, during her stay in Genoa. Thereafter, a turbulent period for the Doria household began, mainly due to the difficult relations between Andrea III and his mother who was ousted from the management of the family assets.

Doria’s marriage with Violante was short-lived because of Andrea’s untimely death. In his will, he entrusted the administration of the fiefdoms and the tutelage of his son Giovanni Andrea (III) to his wife. His widow, however, was forced to turn to the Spanish and Viennese courts to have her rights recognized. Moreover, she had to deal with a lawsuit against her mother-in-law, Maria Polissena Landi, who was not satisfied with her son’s will.

In 1656, Violante moved with her son to Loano, after the outburst of plague that affected Genoa and Liguria. On this occasion, the Doria family set up a daily procession from the Parish of the Oratory of Loreto. Averted by the danger of contagion, in 1660, all the Doria fiefs were placed under the protection of the Immaculate Conception.

Violante died in 1708 and was buried in the Carmelite church in Loano next to her husband.

Giovanni Andrea III, only son of Andrea III and Violante Lomellini, was born on 2 May 1653 in the Palazzo di Fassolo. He was only a few months old when his father died at the age of 26. His mother Violante, observing the will of her husband, managed the family for sixteen years, working to maintain her son’s special rank in the Genoese aristocracy and privileged status in the Spanish monarchy. This was of great importance to Giovanni Andrea III throughout his life, also because his fiefs and possessions were located within the states of several sovereigns.

The marriage of Giovanni Andrea III to Anna Pamphilj (1652-1728) brought even more lustre to the Doria family. Anna was the daughter of Olimpia Aldobrandini, Princess of Rossano, and Camillo Pamphilj, Prince of Valmontone and nephew of the late Pope Innocent X. Apart from her illustrious relatives, the bride also had a rich dowry. The wedding was celebrated by proxy in Rome on 25 October 1671, and Anna later moved to Genoa, arriving by sea. She was welcomed to the city with lavish celebrations which gave Giovanni Andrea III the opportunity to demonstrate his qualities as connoisseur and patron of the arts. Among the works of art carried out to celebrate the Doria Pamphilj wedding there was a widely-admired golden carriage, carved by Filippo Parodi, used by Anna to cross the city, starting from Piazza Banchi and arriving triumphantly at the Palazzo di Fassolo, which had been redecorated for the marriage with new tapestries, silverware and statues made by Parodi himself, according to the fashion of the time, and a series of paintings by Domenico Piola who also received a commissioned for the occasion.

Giovanni Andrea III Doria Landi and Anna Pamphilj had six children. The eldest son Andrea died in 1737, six months before his father. The inheritance passed directly from Giovanni Andrea III to his grandson Giovanni Andrea IV, son of Andrea and his wife Livia Centurione.

Giovanni Andrea IV Doria Landi was born in Fassolo in 1704, and took over from his father Andrea who had died six months before his predecessor. He married his cousin, Teresa Doria Del Carretto, daughter of the Duke of Tursi but since no children were born, the marriage was annulled in 1741 with papal dispensation. Giovanni Andrea then married Eleonora Carafa, daughter of Ettore, Duke of Andria, who came from an ancient noble Neapolitan family.

The couple lived for several years in Naples and then returned to the Palazzo Fassolo in Genoa where they remained until 1761. In 1760, Gerolamo, the last heir of the Pamphilj family, died, and a dispute over the inheritance began between the Doria, Colonna and Borghese families, won by the heirs of Charles V’s Admiral. Giovanni Andrea IV moved to Rome where he died in 1764, and was buried in the Pamphilj church of Sant’Agnese. His son Giorgio became Prince and heir and took the name of Andrea IV

Giorgio Doria was born in 1708 to Andrea di Giovanni Andrea III and Livia Centurione. After he completed his studies at the Clementine College in Rome, he obtained a doctorate from the Sapienza University. Giorgio became cardinal in September 1743, and was then appointed Legate to Bologna, the city where he resided for about ten years.

In 1754, he returned to Rome, where he was assigned to the Sacred Congregation of Good Government and appointed Protector of the Augustinian Order and of the Empire. Giorgio Doria took part in the conclave that led to the election of Pope Clement XIII, his last major public act. He died in 1759 in Rome and was buried in the church of Santa Cecilia.

Antonio Maria Doria Pamphilj Landi was born in Naples in 1749 to Giovanni Andrea IV and Eleonora Carafa. He began his ecclesiastical career as President of the Grascia, the official Roman body in charge of food supplies to the city. Together with his brother Giuseppe, Antonio was elevated to the rank of cardinal in February 1785. After the French invasion, the Cardinal flaunted his pro-French sympathies thanks to which, in 1810, he was invited to attend the marriage of Napoleon Bonaparte and Marie Louise of Austria. This placed him in opposition to the “black” cardinals, who were stripped of their robes by Napoleon for refusing to attend the wedding.

Giuseppe Doria Landi was born in Genoa in 1751 to Giovanni Andrea IV and Eleonora Carafa. He began his ecclesiastical career at a young age and from 1768, after the resignation of his brother Antonio Maria, he was put in charge of the Abbey of San Fruttuoso, retaining the post until his death in 1816. His brilliant career in pontifical diplomacy led him first to become Nuncio to Spain and then he moved to France, where he was appointed Archbishop in 1773. Eight years later, together with his brother Antonio, he became cardinal and was appointed Papal Legate to Urbino and Pesaro until 1794. In Rome, as Secretary of State, he was involved in drafting the peace agreement between the Papal State and France, openly flaunting his pro-French stance which eventually led to his having to leave the city. In 1809, he was given a new assignment in Paris where he was able to consolidate his position thanks to his good relations with Napoleon; but with the fall of the Emperor he was forced to resign, due in part to the enmities he had made in the Roman Curia.

Andrea IV Doria Pamphilj Landi, son of Giovanni Andrea IV Doria Landi and Eleonora Carafa, was born in Genoa and baptized Giorgio. In 1761, he moved to Rome with his family, after inheriting the Pamphilj assets. There he cultivated his passion for music, painting, poetry and literature. He attended the Academy of Arcadia using the pseudonym Idaro Tessalico.

His taste for the arts was of great use when he rebuilt the Palazzo Pamphilj in Rome, where he added considerably to the picture gallery renovating it and hiring the most fashionable architects of the time such as Giovanni Antinori, Francesco Nicoletti and Melchiorre Passalacqua. After the death of his father (1764), Giorgio inherited the title of prince and adopted the dynastic name Andrea.

After careful negotiations, he married Leopoldina of Savoy Carignano, daughter of Prince Luigi Vittorio. After their wedding, celebrated in Turin in 1767, the newlyweds moved to Rome where they decided to take up residence. The palace on the Via del Corso, lavishly redecorated, was the venue for many social evenings and splendid events.

The consequences of the French Revolution and the French occupation of Rome forced Andrea to join the National Guard. His palace became the headquarters of the general command and the Doria family was forced to disburse large sums of money. Later, in the Napoleonic era, he was placed at the head of the Agricultural Court of the city and appointed member of the Senate and the Departmental Council.

Andrea IV died in 1820, bequeathing in favour of his second son Luigi after his first son [nome?] gave up [rejected?] the inheritance. Luigi took the name Giovanni Andrea V.