Mistress of the Vatican: The True Story of Olympia Maidalchini by Eleanor Herman was a book I stumbled on by chance. I happened to be browsing some titles on Isabelle D' Este, there aren't many, when I came across this book. It looked interesting. No, Olympia wasn't the legendary Pope Joan, but who was she. I started reading... I couldn't put the book down. By the end there was a lot, maybe too much about Pope Innocent X, Gianbattista Pamphili, but he was after all her ticket into the Vatican.
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| Olympia Maidalchini Pamphili |
Initially, Olympia's father wanted her to enter the convent. She had no plans of doing that! She out smarted a local priest her father got to talk her into going into the convent and then didn't have to enter it. She was one smart young cookie. She eventually marries Paolo Nini, the richest man in the town of
Viterbro, Italy where she grew up. Sadly, Paolo dies young and leaves our lady with some money.
Our young heiress, attracts a rich old noble who's family needed an infusion of money, Pamphilo Pamphili. Olympia moves to Rome and marries him. They are married for 22 years and have 3 children together. Olympia has a brother-in-law that was a cannon lawyer, Gianbattista Pamphili. Olympia and he become fast friends as Gianbattista likes to talk to and spend time with motherly ladies. Were they having an affair? The author suggests rumors going around Rome, but proves nothing either way. Gainbattista had a reputation as a scholarly man and a good cannon lawyer, who was not easily corruptible. A good reputation to have in Renaissance Italy.
Time passes and Gianbattista becomes the Papal Nuncio to Naples in the 1621 under Gregory XV. He served there for 2 years and Olympia went with him to Naples. (It took the papal courier 3 days to get from Naples to Rome.) Gianbattista would send reports back to Rome weekly that were up to 15 pages long of the things occurring in Naples with regard to the Holy Roman Church. Naples was controlled by Spain at this time. Olympia's money was paramount in getting Gianbattista appointed as nuncio (keeping up appearances) and later made a cardinal.
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| Gianbattista Pamphili, Innocent X |
Later under Urban VIII, Barbarini, Gianbattista was made Papal Nuncio in Spain. This was a key position that represented an elevation in status for the Pamphili family. At the time there was a farm/veg market in front of the town house and it was not in good repair for a family seeking to have a Cardinal-ship in the family.
In 1623,
Maffeo Barbarini was elected
Pope Urban VIII. In 1626 Gianbattista was appointed Papal Nunzio to Spain under King Philip IV. His loyalty to Spain was never questioned in future, even when he was made Pope. 1n 1629 Gianbattista was made a Cardinal. In 1634 - 1638 Olympia enlarged the size of the town house on
Plaza Novana that the Pamphili family called home, which is now the Brazilian Embassy. Girolamo and Carlo Rinaldi were the architects to transform the palace to what we know today.
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| Palazzo Pamphili |
Gianbattista gets elected Pope Innocent X in 1644 - 1655. Olympia ran the Vatican from behind the scenes for several years. If you wanted to get something by Innocent, you had to get it before Olympia. She was the first lady of Rome. Gianbattista appoints Camillo, Olympia's son to be Cardinal Nephew.
This only lasted for 2 years until he married the Princess of Rossano, Olympia Alsobrandini, a rich widow of Paolo Borghese. (Olympia wanted Camillo to marry Lucrezia Barbarini, but Camillo would not have it. Camillo and his mother had a strained relationship.) Olympia never really warmed up to her daughter-in-law. Olympia's other children: Maria and Costanza. Maria marries Andrea Giustiniani and has her grand-daughter Olympiuccia.
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| Olympia Aldobrandini, Princess of Rossano |
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Olympia took on many causes during her time. One was dowry-less girls. In 1645, Olympia was made
Princess of San Martino. Here she built a town to help dowry-less girls (and ladies of the night who wanted to reform.) It was here in San Martino, not far from Veterbro, that Bernini helped design a church and Olympia's tomb. Today there are descendants of the original inhabitants living in the town.
Olympia also has the
Fountain of the Four Rivers commission for the front of Plaza Novana. Using the tumbled down obelisk brought back to Rome by Caligula from Egypt. The obelisk had been brought down by the Goths in 527 and sat by the San Sebastian Gate of Rome ever since. Olympia commissioned
Bernini to make a tremendous fountain to enrich the plaza. The rivers represented were the Nile in Africa, Danube in Germany, Ganges in India and the Plate in South America.
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| Fountain of the Four Rivers |
When Gianbattista was Innocent X was elected Pope, the Pamphili family took away all the honors from the Barbarini family. There were many reasons for this, but chiefly the Vatican was in huge debt. (Barbarini's supported France and Pamphili's supported Spain.) The Barbarini family was exiled for 2 years to France. Over time, Olympia's granddaughter, Olympiuccia, was forced to marry Maffeo Barbarini, age 22 in 1653. By age 13 she was pregnant. (Yuck!) She was forced to do this to unite the two families.
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| Olympia Giustiniani Barbarini |
Olympia is exiled from Rome to San Martino in 1650 for 2 years. She had been selling papal offices, managing the papal accounts and adding money, position to the Pamphili family. Innocent decides to take over and manage things on his own with his Cardinal friends. Eventually, Olympia comes back to Rome, but in a reduced capacity.
She dies of plague in 1657 in San Martino. She created a dynasty and ran the papacy from the side lines for a while. A formidable woman!
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