Pope and Patron of the Arts

Power, ambition, and determination came together during the reign of Pope Urban VIII (r. 1623–44) to energize the office of the Roman papacy and reshape Rome itself. Among Urban's many initiatives, he increased the landholdings of the papal states even at the cost of impoverishing the Holy See with enormous debts due to lavish spending and wars. He gave new life to Catholic missions throughout the world in various ways but above all through his refounding of one of the Church's main evangelical bodies, the College for the Propagation of the Faith. He understood how to wield power as pope and politician, crushing his enemies when he deemed it necessary while also pursuing the pastoral and ecclesial responsibilities of his office with energy and dedication, including presiding over one ordinary Jubilee Year in 1624 and calling another eight extraordinary Jubilees through the course of his pontificate. In addition, through his patronage and oversight, Urban put his papacy and the city of Rome itself at the centre of a great revival of arts and letters. Among the bevy of brilliant sculptors, architects, and painters whom he patronized we find such great names as Carlo Maderno (1556–1629), Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598–1680), Francesco Borromini (1599–1667), Caravaggio (1571–1610), and Pietro da Cortona (1596–1669). Intellectuals of all disciplines equally sought out and gained his support over the years, including Galileo Galilei (1564–1642), who stood in Urban's favour throughout most of his career, until the publication of his Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems (1632), for which he was condemned and put under house arrest. This episode with Galileo notwithstanding, Urban's influence on culture was prodigious. Arguably his most lasting accomplishment as pope, therefore, was the energy and impetus that he gave to art and architectural developments within the city of Rome. Hence, the baroque heritage of Rome owes this pope a great debt.

Ascent within the Roman Curia

Born Maffeo Barberini in the city of Florence in 1568, the future Urban VIII lost his father at an early age and was thereafter entrusted to the care of his uncle Francesco di Carlo Barberini in Rome. Urban's father had been a wealthy Florentine merchant while his uncle was a high-ranking official in the Roman Curia.