Benedetto Pamphili

Benedetto Pamphili (often with the final long i orthography, Pamphilj) (25 April 1653 – 22 March 1730) was an Italian cardinal, patron of the arts and librettist for many composers.

Pamphili was Grand Prior of the Order of St John of Jerusalem in Rome from 1678 until Pope Innocent XI made him cardinal-deacon of Santa Maria in Portico in the consistory of 1 September 1681.

He was in the first rank of Rome's cultural and artistic life in the 17th and 18th centuries, as demonstrated by his belonging to the prestigious accademia dell'Arcadia, under the pseudonym Fenicio Larisseo.

[3] He formed the major collection of Flemish paintings in the Galleria Doria Pamphilj, whose interior (by Carlo Fontana) and chapel he had built.

[5] His patronage was also expressed during George Frideric Handel's stay in Rome, when he struck up a lasting friendship with the composer and began an interesting correspondence with him.