Antonio I Boncompagni

Antonio I Boncompagni

Antonio I Boncompagni (10 April 1658 – 28 January 1731) was an Italian nobleman and the 6th Duke of Sora, Aquino, Arce and Arpino and 7th Marquess of Vignola. By his marriage, he also was Prince-Consort of Piombino, Marquis of Populonia, Prince of Venosa and Count of Conza, Lord di Scarlino, Populonia, Vignale, Abbadia del Fango, Suvereto, Buriano, Cerboli e Palmaiolan, and Lord prince of the Tuscan Archipelago including the islands of Elba, Montecristo, Pianosa, Gorgona, Capraia, and Isola del Giglio.

Biography

He was the fourth son of Ugo I Boncompagni, 4th Duke of Sora, Aquino, Arce and Arpino and 5th Marquess of Vignola, and wife Duchess Maria Ruffo di Bagnara.

He grew up in the shadow of his three elder brothers, and was not expected to succeed his father.

But when his eldest brother Gregorio only had daughters, and the two other brothers became clerics, it was decided in 1701 that Antonio would marry his brother's eldest daughter Maria Eleonora, to succeed his brother.

Antonio and Maria Eleonora married on 29 March 1702 had five children:

• Maria Olimpia Boincompagni-Ludovisi (29 March 1703 - 1705)
• Niccolò Boncompagni-Ludovisi (9 March 1704 - 1709)
• Francesca Cecilia Boncompagni-Ludovisi (29 March 1705 - 4 July 1775), married in 1722 Francesco Maria Carafa, 4th Prince of Belvedere/Belvidere
• Gaetano I Boncompagni Ludovisi (21 August 1706 - 24 March/May 1777), their successor, married on 7 November 1726 Laura Chigi (20 October 1707 - 8 October 1792), daughter of Augusto Chigi, Prince of Farnese, and had issue
• Pietro/Pier Gregorio Boncompagni-Ludovisi (28 October 1709/19 October 1710 - 7 September 1747), married on 4 January 1731 Donna Maria Francesca Ottoboni (1715 - 29 April 1758), 2nd Duchess of Fiano, and had issue:
  • Donna Anna Theresa Boncompagni-Ludovisi-Ottoboni (3 June 1732 - 24 April 1761), married in 1755 Nicola Sergio Muscettola, Prince of Luperano
  • Don Alessandro Boncompagni-Ludovisi-Ottoboni (11 July 1734 - 17 October 1780), 3rd Duke of Fiano, married in 1757 Lucrezia Zuliano (? - 12 June 1782), without issue
  • Don Antonio Boncompagni-Ludovisi-Ottoboni (17 March 1736 - 7 January 1803), 4th Duke of Fiano, married in 1783 Clelia Borromeo (? - 20 August 1816), daughter of Count Renato Borromeo, without issue
  • Donna Chiara Boncompagni-Ludovisi-Ottoboni (1737 - 14 October 1820), married in 1756 Giambattista Cicala, Prince of Tiriolo
  • Don Pietro Boncompagni-Ludovisi-Ottoboni (29 February 1740 - 15 October 1789), a monk
  • Don Marco Boncompagni-Ludovisi-Ottoboni, 5th Duke of Fiano (29 January 1741 - 1 February 1818), married in 1795 Giustiniana Sambiase (22 October 1777 - 16 June 1833), daughter of Vincenzo Sambiase, Prince of Campana, and had issue:
    • Donna Luigia Boncompagni-Ludovisi-Ottoboni (27 October 1799 - 13 January 1836), married in 1817 Knight Francesco Pappafava de' Carraresi
    • Donna Giovanna Boncompagni-Ludovisi-Ottoboni (24 October 1802 - ?), married in 1822 Marquess Girolamo Serlupi-Crescenzi
    • Don Alessandro Boncompagni-Ludovisi-Ottoboni (20 January 1805 - 29 August 1837), 6th Duke of Fiano, married on 14 February 1831 his cousin Donna Costanza, Princess Boncompagni-Ludovisi (11 December 1811 - 7 August 1851), and had issue:
      • Don Marco Boncompagni-Ludovisi-Ottoboni (21 April 1832 - 29 March 1909), 7th Duke of Fiano, married on 21 September 1857 his cousin and first cousin Donna Giulia, Princess Boncompagni-Ludovisi (11 February 1839 - 20 November 1897), and had issue:
        • Donna Costanza Maria Anna Giuseppina Antonietta Luisa Boncompagni-Ludovisi-Ottoboni (28 June 1858 - 11 November 1904), married firstly on 25 October 1879 Mario Ruspoli (? - 29 February 1888) and married secondly on 29 December 1888 Alessandro, Count Citta della Vigodazero
        • Donna Luisa Maria Margherita Anna Giuseppina Giustina Boncompagni-Ludovisi-Ottoboni (7 October 1861 - 29 March 1918), married on 4 May 1882 Carlo, Count Rasponi-Bonanzi

Indeed, his brother died in January 1707, and Antonio became the next Duke of Sora.

But he had attracted widespread attention before in 1701. After the failure of the Conspiracy of Macchia, the conspirators fled the Kingdom of Naples towards the Papal States. One of these, Giambattista di Capua, prince Della Riccia, had ventured into the fiefdoms of the Boncompagni, with whom he was related, finding a night refuge in a small church near Isola di Sora. As soon as Antonio heard of this news, he gave immediate orders to arrest the prince, despite the blood ties that united them and the violation of the sacred right of asylum in a church. The prince was sent back to Naples where he was imprisoned in Castel dell'Ovo.

At the time, the episode caused a considerable stir, attracting the ire of the pro-Austrians and the applause of the pro-Spanish Italians. The Pope even threatened Antonio with a solemn excommunication. The story of Antonio and Prince Della Riccia also reached the ears of King Philip V of Spain who, intending to exploit this episode for his own propaganda, decided to publicly reward Boncompagni by creating him Grand Seneschal of the Kingdom of Naples and in 1702 awarded him with the Order of the Golden Fleece. In 1707 he also made him commander of a company of cavalry.

His fortune turned when the Austrians conquered Naples during and after the War of Spanish Succession.

His pro-Spanish reputation excluded him from taking an active part in the social, court or political life of the Kingdom.

Antonio I decided to live the rest of his life in his fiefdom of Sora, working hard for the implementation of the local fiber processing and weaving industry, especially in Isola del Liri and Arpino, establishing commercial routes with the Papal States.

He died in Isola del Liri on 28 January 1731, three years before the return of the Spaniards as rulers of Naples.

References

• Treccani