Pietro Aldobrandini

Pietro Aldobrandini (31 March 1571 – 10 February 1621) was an Italian cardinal and patron of the arts.

Biography Pietro Aldobrandini was a cousin of Cardinal Cinzio Aldobrandini, and uncle of Cardinals Silvestro and Ippolito Aldobrandini.

Cardinal He was made a cardinal in 1593 by his uncle, Pope Clement VIII, with the title Cardinal-deacon of San Nicola in Carcere. The church was rebuilt in 1599, with a new facade by Giacomo della Porta. Aldobrandini took over the Duchy of Ferrara in 1598 when it fell to the Papal States and his collection of paintings was augmented by works removed from Ferrara. He served as Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church, charged with the fiscal administration of the Patrimony of Saint Peter. In 1600, he traveled to Lyon as papal legate to bless the marriage of Henry IV of France and Marie de' Medici. It was known as the Villa Aldobrandini. His architect, Giacomo della Porta, began the work. Carlo Maderno added a loggia; Giovanni Fontana worked on the garden. Domenichino painted frescoes in a garden pavilion.

In 1600, Clement acquired the Vitelli Gardens on the Quirinal Hill. The following year, he gave this to his nephew. The old buildings were demolished and construction began on the new villa and adjacent garden. Della Porta equipped the building with stairs, and loggias. The upper floors of the Palazzo Aldobrandini held a rich collection of works of art left to the cardinal by the Duchess of Urbino Lucrezia d'Este, in 1598.

He was a patron of Torquato Tasso, and of Girolamo Frescobaldi.

Works