Virginio Orsini, Duke of Bracciano

Virginio Orsini (September 1572 – 9 September 1615) was the second Duke of Bracciano, member of the Orsini family and knight of the order of the Golden Fleece.

Virginio Orsini
Virginio Orsini by unknown Florentine painter
Duke of Bracciano
Reign1585–1615
PredecessorPaolo Giordano I Orsini
SuccessorPaolo Giordano II Orsini
Born(1572-09-00)September 1572
Died9 September 1615(1615-09-09) (aged 42–43)
Rome
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1589; died 1606)​
Issue
Among others		Paolo Giordano II Orsini
Alessandro Orsini
Maria Felicia Orsini
HouseOrsini
FatherPaolo Giordano I Orsini
MotherIsabella de' Medici

He was the son of Paolo Giordano I Orsini and Isabella de' Medici, and inherited his father's titles and fiefs after his death in 1585. In 1589 he married Flavia Peretti, a niece of Pope Sixtus V, by whom he had 12 children.[1] His son Paolo Giordano became a prince of the Holy Roman Empire through his marriage with Isabella Appiani, princess of Piombino.

Virginio Orsini was a supporter of the Earl of Essex and visited the English court for the Christmas revels in December 1600.[2] He was entertained by Shakespeare's Twelfth Night and the play opens with the character of Duke Orsino saying the famous line "If music be the food of love, play on."[3] Queen Elizabeth danced a galliard for him to show the "vigour of her old age".[4][5]

He died in Rome in 1615.

Issue

By his wife, Flavia Damasceni Peretti, he had twelve children, eight sons and four daughters:[6]

  • Paolo Giordano II (1591 – 24 May 1646). Duke after his father. He married Isabella Appiani, Ruler Princess of Piombino, and became a Prince of Holy Roman Empire.
  • Alessandro (1592 – 22 August 1626). Cardinal.
  • Isabella (1597–1623). She married Cesare II Gonzaga, Duke of Guastalla.
  • Maria Felicia (12 November 1600 – 5 June 1666). She married Henri II, Duke of Montmorency.
  • Camilla (29 July 1603 – ?). She married Marcantonio II Borghese, Prince of Sulmona. After widowed, she became a nun.
  • Ferdinando (? – 4 March 1660). Duke after his brother.
  • Cosimo. Military.
  • Virginio. Discalced Carmelite.
  • Francesco. Jesuit.
  • Carlo. Died young.
  • Raimondo. Died young.
  • Stillborn daughter (14 September 1606). Her mother died in childbirth.

References
  1. Eleanor Herman: Murder in the Garden of God: A True Story of Renaissance Ambition, Betrayal, and Revenge. Createspace. ISBN 9781492183013. p. 407
  2. Elizabeth McClure Thomson, The Chamberlain Letters (London, 1966), pp. 29–30.
  3. The First Night of Twelfth Night by Leslie Hotson, p. 15. 1954: HMC 3rd Report: Duke of Northumberland (London, 1872), p. 51b.
  4. John S. Brewer, The Court of King James the First by Godfrey Goodman, vol. 1 (London, 1839), pp. 17–8.
  5. Sarah Williams, Letters of John Chamberlain (London, 1861), p. 99
  6. "PERETTI DAMASCENI, Flavia in "Dizionario Biografico"". www.treccani.it (in Italian). Retrieved 3 January 2023.
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