Fulvio Orsini

Who was Fulvio Orsini?

Fulvio Orsini was an Italian humanist, historian, and archaeologist. He was a scion of the Orsini family, one of the oldest, most illustrious, and for centuries most powerful of the Roman princely families, whose origins, when stripped of legend, can be traced back to a certain Ursus de Paro, recorded at Rome in 998.

Orsini was the natural son probably of Maerbale Orsini of the line of Mugnano. Cast off by his father at the age of nine, he found a refuge among the choir boys of St. John Lateran, and a protector in Canon Gentile Delfini. He applied himself energetically to the study of the ancient languages, published a new edition of Arnobius and of the Septuagint, and wrote works dealing with the history of Rome.

Orsini brought together a large collection of antiquities, and built up a costly library of manuscripts and books, which later became part of the Vatican library . Orsini became also a friend and patron of El Greco, while the painter was in Rome. Orsini's collection would later include seven paintings by the artist.

The monograph on Orsini by Pierre de Nolhac is still authoritative.