Capizucchi

The Capizucchi were a Roman noble family traditionally regarded as one of the oldest aristocratic houses of Rome. Their identity was rooted in the city's civic and landed elite rather than in a commercial brand in the modern sense. The family maintained its principal urban presence in the Campitelli rione, at the foot of the Capitoline Hill, where the Capizucchi palace stood between Piazza Campitelli and the square now called Piazza Capizucchi. The palace remains an architectural reminder of the family's position in Roman society. The family appears in documented Roman history by the late medieval period. Jacobello Capizucchi served as a Conservatore, or city councillor, in 1375. Earlier, in 1341, a member of the family was selected among the Roman gentlemen who took part in the ceremonial procession for Francesco Petrarch's coronation on the Capitoline Hill. In 1390, a bequest by Coluccio de' Capizucchi placed the chapel of San Paolo in Santa Maria in Campitelli under the family's patronage, together with rights connected to the San Ciriaco estate along the Via Ostiense. The chapel later served as an important burial place for members of the house. During the sixteenth century, the Capizucchi became closely connected with other leading Roman families and reached the height of their political, military, and economic prominence. Members including Papirio, Cencio, and Camillo were associated with the profession of arms, while Biagio Capizucchi helped consolidate the family's wealth and status. A later family member, Biagio's son, participated in the Battle of Lepanto under Marcantonio Colonna and reportedly accumulated substantial wealth through military service. The family used this prosperity to acquire the fiefs of Catino and Poggio Catino and to establish the palace at Piazza Campitelli, probably designed before 1593 by Giacomo Della Porta, although the attribution is not certain. The Capizucchi also produced senior ecclesiastical figures. Cardinals Gianantonio and Raimondo Capizucchi held important positions in the administration of the Holy See during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. At its greatest extent, the family held or controlled the fiefs of Catino, Poggio Catino, Montieri, and Fabro, with marquisate titles, as well as estates in the Roman Campagna including Cecchignola and Palidoro. It was counted among the sixty enrolled families of the Roman patriciate recognized by Pope Benedict XIV's 1746 bull Urbem Romam. The family's fortunes later declined. Gambling by some members contributed to financial difficulties and forced the sale of portions of the family's feudal property. The line would reportedly have ended in the seventeenth century without a succession arrangement involving Francesco Capizucchi, who adopted his cousin Alessandro Marescotti. Alessandro assumed the Capizucchi surname without merging it with another family name and inherited the family's remaining patrimony, valued in contemporary accounts at 150,000 scudi. The family became definitively extinct in 1813 upon Alessandro Capizucchi's death. The name nevertheless survives in Roman topography, architecture, ecclesiastical memorials, and historical records.

The Capizucchi family was a noble Roman lineage traditionally counted among the oldest families of the city. Later genealogical claims connected the house to the counts of Thun, but the alleged presence of two Capizucchi cardinals named Roberto and Giovanni Roberto in the late eleventh and early twelfth centuries is generally treated as a sixteenth-century fabrication rather than reliable evidence of the family's medieval history. The family is securely associated with Rome's civic aristocracy by the fourteenth century. In 1341, one of its members was included among the twelve Roman pages representing the city's gentlemen at the ceremonial coronation of Francesco Petrarch on the Capitoline Hill. Jacobello Capizucchi held the office of Conservatore, a senior municipal position, in 1375. In 1390, Coluccio de' Capizucchi endowed the family's patronage over the chapel of San Paolo in the church of Santa Maria in Campitelli. The arrangement also involved the San Ciriaco estate on the Via Ostiense. The chapel became the family's principal ecclesiastical memorial site and burial chapel. The Capizucchi residence and social base were located in the Campitelli rione, close to the Capitoline Hill. Their palace stood beside Santa Maria in Campitelli and between Piazza Campitelli and the square that later took the family's name, Piazza Capizucchi. The family's rise accelerated in the sixteenth century, when it formed connections with other major Roman noble houses and became known for military service and aristocratic gallantry. Figures such as Papirio, Cencio, and Camillo Capizucchi were associated with arms. Biagio Capizucchi and his descendants marked the family's high point. A member of this branch took part in the Battle of Lepanto under Marcantonio Colonna and reportedly obtained considerable wealth through military employment. This prosperity enabled the acquisition of Catino and Poggio Catino and supported the construction of the family's large urban palace. The building is often associated with the architect Giacomo Della Porta, with a possible design date before 1593, though the attribution remains qualified. The family also held the fiefs of Montieri and Fabro and estates in the Roman Campagna, including Cecchignola and Palidoro. Ecclesiastical office further strengthened the house's status. Cardinals Gianantonio and Raimondo Capizucchi held senior roles in the administration of the Holy See during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. In 1746, under Pope Benedict XIV's bull Urbem Romam, the Capizucchi were recognized as one of the sixty famiglie coscritte forming the Roman patriciate. Despite this institutional recognition, the family entered a period of financial decline. The gambling habits of certain members led to the disposal of some fiefs and weakened the estate. The direct line was considered to have died out in the seventeenth century, but Francesco Capizucchi adopted his cousin Alessandro Marescotti. Alessandro took the Capizucchi name in an undivided form and inherited the family's remaining assets, reported as 150,000 scudi. The lineage ended definitively in 1813 with Alessandro's death. The family name continues through Roman place names, the surviving palace, religious monuments, heraldry, and historical scholarship.

• 1813

  Extinction of the family

  [1]Capizucchi familyen.wikipedia.org

  The Capizucchi line ended definitively with the death of Alessandro Capizucchi.

• 1746

  Recognition among Rome's enrolled patrician families

  [1]Capizucchi familyen.wikipedia.org

  The Capizucchi were included among the sixty Roman patrician families recognized under Pope Benedict XIV's bull Urbem Romam.

• 1593

  Possible design date of the Capizucchi palace

  [1]Capizucchi familyen.wikipedia.org

  The family's palace at Piazza Campitelli may have been designed before this date, with the building traditionally associated with Giacomo Della Porta.

• 1571

  Capizucchi participation in the Battle of Lepanto

  [1]Capizucchi familyen.wikipedia.org

  A member of the family served under Marcantonio Colonna at Lepanto and reportedly accumulated significant wealth through military service.

• Participation in Petrarch's Capitoline coronation ceremony

  [1]Capizucchi familyen.wikipedia.org

  A member of the family was selected among the Roman gentlemen represented in the procession for Francesco Petrarch's coronation on the Capitoline Hill.

• Jacobello Capizucchi serves as Conservatore

  [1]Capizucchi familyen.wikipedia.org

  Jacobello Capizucchi held the Roman civic office of Conservatore, demonstrating the family's participation in municipal government.

• Family patronage of San Paolo chapel

  [1]Capizucchi familyen.wikipedia.org

  A bequest by Coluccio de' Capizucchi granted the family patronage over the chapel of San Paolo in Santa Maria in Campitelli and rights connected to the San Ciriaco estate.

An ancient Roman patrician house whose standing derived from civic office, military service, ecclesiastical careers, landed property, and participation in the Roman nobility.

• Historic residence

  Capizucchi Palace

  The family's principal urban residence in the Campitelli rione of Rome stood between Piazza Campitelli and Piazza Capizucchi. The palace embodied the family's status during its period of greatest wealth and remains associated with the Roman aristocratic landscape. It is traditionally linked, with some uncertainty, to Giacomo Della Porta and a design date before 1593.

• Family chapel and burial site

  San Paolo Chapel

  Located in Santa Maria in Campitelli, the chapel came under Capizucchi patronage through a 1390 bequest. It served as an important religious and commemorative center for the family, whose members were buried there.

• Landed properties

  Capizucchi feudal estates

  At its height, the family held the fiefs of Catino, Poggio Catino, Montieri, and Fabro, along with estates in the Roman Campagna such as Cecchignola and Palidoro. These properties formed part of the economic foundation of the family's marquisate status.

1. 1Capizucchi familyen.wikipedia.org