The Pamphili surname originated in
Gubbio and went to Rome under the pontificate of
Pope Innocent VIII (1484–1492). The peak of Pamphili power came with the election of Giovanni Battista Pamphili as
Pope Innocent X, who reigned from 1644–1655. Like the reign of his predecessor
Pope Urban VIII (of the equally papal
Barberini family), Innocent X's rule was littered with examples of
nepotism. Members of the Pamphili family did exceptionally well from the Innocent X papacy. The following family members were created cardinals: •
Camillo Francesco Maria Pamphili (1644), the Pope's nephew and son of
Olimpia Maidalchini, the Pope's sister-in-law and close adviser. He later renounced his cardinalate to marry
Olimpia Aldobrandini, widow of
Paolo Borghese • Francesco Maidalchini (1647), nephew of Olimpia Maidalchini •
Camillo Astalli (1650 as "Camillo Astalli-Pamphili"), a cousin of Olimpia Maidalchini whom the Pope had adopted as a
Cardinal-Nephew; he was later deprived of this title for disloyalty to Innocent X •
Benedetto Pamphili, son of Camillo Pamphili and Olimpia Aldobrandini, created cardinal by
Innocent XI in 1681 Like other Italian noble families, the Pamphili bought property (
palazzi or "palaces" and other estates) and created self-styled
principalities. Family members regularly had princely titles bestowed upon them by family patriarchs or matriarchs. Olimpia Maidalchini received the
honorific title of
Princess of San Martino, effectively turning the small enclave of San Martino into a principality in its own right. After he left the cardinalate to marry, Camillo Pamphili was given the titles of
Prince of San Martino and
Prince of Valmontone (he bought the
Valmontone comune in 1634 from the Barberini family).
Family tree Pamphili family tree from 1574 to 1760: ==Wars of Castro==