Corsini family
The House of Corsini is the name of an old and influential Italian princely family, originally from Florence, whose members were elected to many important political and ecclesiastical positions, including that of a Pope.
Matteo (1322–1402) built a considerable fortune at the Court of England, trading wools, silk and fish.
A banking crisis, which had been caused by the insolvency of Edward III following his wars in France, forced Matteo to relinquish his position in England.
In 1371, Matteo and the Corsinis were granted the title of Count Palatine by the Charles IV, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.
Another cousin, Filippo (1334–1421), was a law expert, an active diplomat, and was five times Gonfaloniere of Justice, in Florence.
Filippo (1538–1601) and Bartolomeo (1545–1613) consistently increased the wealth of the family thanks to their large and well-organised web of commercial desks around Europe.
The two Florentine Palazzos – one on the Lungarno and the other in Via del Prato – mark the intensifying relationship between the family and the art world in the course of the 17th century.
He also commissioned the façade of Santa Maria Maggiore, the Palazzo della Consulta, and the ports in Anzio, Ravenna (porto Corsini) and Ancona.
Bartolomeo (1683–1752) was commander in chief of the Roman Chivalry, and President of the Cabinet of King Charles III in Naples, Vice-King of Sicily.
He was appointed as the sole negotiator of the Habsburg-Lorena (at the time Grand Duke of Tuscany) at the historical Congress of Vienna.
With an act of generosity and far-sightedness, he gave the Palazzo della Lungara in Rome to the Italian State and donated his entire Roman collection of paintings, prints and books.
His wife, Donna Elena, managed to save the Galleria Corsini and many other treasures from bombings and from the passing of the front line during World War II.
[6] The family still exists today, with three main branches in London, Florence, Rome, Milan, Belgium, the United States, the Philippines and Brazil.
