ACCIAIOLI

A celebrated Florentine family whose name (spelled also Acciaiuli or Acciajuoli) derives from acciaio (steel), in which the family dealt in the Brescia-Bergamo area until Frederick Barbarossa's depredations against the Guelfs of Lombardy forced them to move into Tuscany. From the year 1161, when Guigliarallo Acciaioli settled

in Florence, until his last male descendant died in 1834, the family was renowned for its merchants, bankers, scholars, statesmen, and patrons of the arts. Wealth amassed in their mercantile enterprises, which extended into North Africa and the eastern Mediterranean, became the capital for a lucrative banking business that counted kings and popes among its clients. The most important churchmen in the family were Angelo, Niccolò, and Filippo.

Angelo, cardinal, supporter of the Roman popes during the Great western schism (1378–1417); b. Florence, April 15, 1340; d. Pisa, May 31, 1408. In 1375 he was named to the bishopric of Rapolla in the Kingdom of Naples by Gregory XI (1371–78), and in 1383 he was appointed archbishop of Florence by Urban VI (1378–89). During this period his eloquent defense of the Roman pontiff against the pretensions of the Avignon claimant, Clement VII (1378–94), was rewarded by his elevation to the cardinalate with the titular see of South Lorenzo in Damaso. In the papal election of 1389 Angelo was the choice of half of the cardinals, but he directed this support to Cardinal Pietro Tomacelli, who assumed the tiara as Boniface IX (1389–1404). The pope entrusted Angelo with several difficult missions, especially that of assuring the accession of Prince Ladislaus to the throne of Naples and of Hungary, as well as conducting the young king's coronations at Gaeta and at Zara. Angelo restored peace between the pope and the powerful Orsini family and settled ecclesiastical difficulties in Germany and in the Balkans. In common with other cardinals, hitherto unquestioningly loyal to the Roman pontiff, he concluded that a council was the only solution to the Western Schism and was attending a preliminary session of the Council of Pisa at the time of his death. His body was transferred to the Certosa in Florence in the 16th century.

Niccolò, cardinal, papal diplomat; b. Florence, 1630; d. Rome, 1719. Niccolò attended the Roman Seminary and completed his clerical studies at the Roman College, where he received a doctorate in law. Under Alexander VII (1655–67), Niccolò had charge of paying and equipping the militia of the Papal States. In 1667 he administered the papal treasury and two years later was made cardinal deacon of Saints Cosmas and Damian by Clement IX (1667–69). During the reign of Alexander VIII (1689–91), Niccolò, with the clumsy assistance of Cosimo III, grand duke of Tuscany, attempted to prevent the marriage of his nephew Roberto Acciaioli to Elizabeth Mormorai, a widow. When Elizabeth was forcibly placed in a convent, her fiancé delivered an uncomplimentary account of his uncle's part in the episode to each of the cardinals who had assembled to elect a successor to Alexander VIII. The embarrassing narrative did much to defeat Niccolò's otherwise excellent chances of election. In the conclave of 1700 Niccolò, who was identified with the "Zelanti," was again among the favored candidates but was ruled out of contention by the powerful "Imperialist" faction. For 12 years Niccolò served as papal legate to Ferrara, and in 1715, four years before his death, he was made bishop of Ostia and dean of the Sacred College.

Filippo, cardinal, papal nuncio to Portugal at the time of the expulsion of the Jesuits; b. Rome, March 12, 1700; d. Ancona, July 4, 1776. Filippo's first ecclesiastical appointment was as vice legate to Ravenna (1724), where he remained for four years. This was followed by other minor assignments until 1743, when he was made titular archbishop of Petra in Transjordan and sent to Lucerne as papal nuncio to Switzerland. In 1753 he was appointed nuncio to Portugal, where Sebastião pombal was beginning his campaign of vilification against the Jesuits. Filippo endeavored to refute or mitigate each charge against the society and kept Pope Benedict XIV (1740–58) informed of developments. Filippo was advised by Benedict to remain near the Spanish border so that he could escape if necessary and send or receive messages with less danger of their interception. Despite Filippo's efforts, all Portuguese Jesuits were either jailed or expelled in January of 1759, eight months before Filippo was elevated to the cardinalate by Clement XIII (1758–69), with the titular see of South Maria degli Angeli. The following year he was ordered to leave Portugal. After his return to Rome, Filippo was made bishop of Ancona.

Bibliography: c. ugurgieri della berardenga, Gli Acciaioli di Firenze, 2 v. (Florence 1962). e. sapori et al., Enciclopedia Italiana di scienzi, littere ed arti, 36 v. (Rome 1929–39) 1:259–261. Enciclopedia universal ilustrada Europeo-Americana, 70 v. (Barcelona 1908–30) 1:967–971. f. bock, Lexikon für Theologie und Kirche, ed. j. hofer and k. rahner, 10 v. (2d, new ed. Freiburg 1957–65) 1:103–104. l. pastor, The History of the Popes from the Close of the Middle Ages, 40 v. (London–St. Louis 1938–61) v. 36, 37. g. mollat and p. richard, Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie ecclésiastiques, ed. a. baudrillart et al. (Paris 1912—) 1:263–265. a. d'addario and g. pampaloni, Dizionario biographico degli Italiani, ed. a. m. ghisalberti (Rome 1960—) 1:76, 82–83. p. litta et al., Famiglie celebri italiane, 14 v. (Milan 1819–1923).

[r. f. copeland]