| Ludovisi | |
|---|---|
 Coat of arms of Ludovisi family | |
| Country |  Papal States.svg) Principality of Piombino Crown of Aragon Kingdom of Sardinia |
| Founded | 15th century |
| Founder | Bertrando di Monterenzi |
| Titles | |
| Deposition | 1700 (male line) 1733 (female line) |
| Cadet branches | Boncompagni-Ludovisi |
TheHouse of Ludovisi was anItalian noble family, originating fromBologna. They had close ties with thePapacy and were influential in thePapal States. Alessandro Ludovisi became acardinal and laterPope Gregory XV. Hiscardinal-nephew wasLudovico Ludovisi.
Beginning in 1634 withNiccolò I Ludovisi, one branch of the family ruled thePrincipality of Piombino. They owned theVilla Ludovisi in Rome. In 1894, they sold their art collection to the state. Alberico Boncompagni Ludovisi, prince ofVenosa, was awinemaker at his estateFiorano from the late 1940s to 1995.[1]
The Ludovisi were an ancient noble family originally from Bologna. It originated from a certain Bertrando di Monterenzio, also called Bertrando di Monterenzoli (the name derived from that of a Bolognese castle), who was adopted by his maternal uncle Giovanni Ludovisi, without descendants and with whom the family would have died out. Bertrando then inherited the surname and the coat of arms of the Ludovisi, and, through his descendants, began a new dynasty. During his political career, he was a member of the Council of the Elders of Bologna from 1458 to 1465. His son, Girolamo Ludovisi, was a senator and gonfalonier of Bologna, only to be deposed by theBentivoglio family in 1511 and murdered. Girolamo's son, Niccolò Ludovisi, was count of Samoggia and Tiola and again a senator. But it was from Ludovico Ludovisi, brother of Niccolò, and from his son, Pompeo Ludovisi, that the one who gave the real beginning to the fortunes of the dynasty was born: Alessandro Ludovisi, futurePope Gregory XV.[2]
