The Bolognese family, perhaps originally from Umbria, rose socially with the marriage of Cristoforo Boncompagni (1470 - 1546) to the noble Angela Marescalchi. In 1572, Ugo Boncompagni, son of Cristoforo and Angela, was elected Pope Gregory XIII, the 226th pope of the Catholic Church, followed by increased power and prestige of the family. Many family members obtained important positions in the Church; five were created cardinals: Filippo (1548 - 1586), Francesco (1592 - 1641), Girolamo (1622 - 1684), Giacomo (1652 - 1731), Ignazio Gaetano (1743 - 1790); of these, among other posts, one was
Archbishop of Naples and two were
Archbishops of Bologna, while another was also
Secretary of State of the Holy See.
Gregorio II Boncompagni was
lord of Piombino from 1706 to 1707. The family later merged with the
Ludovisi family. The princes Boncompagni-Ludovisi inherited a large (30 hectare) estate in Rome with vast collections of art; in 1883 they subdivided it and sold most of it, retaining and living in what became known as the
Casino di Villa Boncompagni Ludovisi or Villa Aurora, which remained in the family until 2023, when it was put up for auction. The 19th-century mathematician
Baldassarre Boncompagni-Ludovisi was a member of the family. Prince
Francesco Boncompagni Ludovisi (1886-1955) was
Governor of Rome from 1928 to 1935. Prince Nicolò Boncompagni Ludovisi died in 2018, leaving three sons. ==References==