Popes

Pope Paul III (Tiziano - Museo Nazionale di Capodimonte, Naples)

The search for one's ancestors can sometimes produce very interesting, and quite unexpected, results. Not least when the lines combine descent from the head/s of one religion and the founder of another.

Two millennia of the papacy have seen it go through many phases and, under the popes of the last few centuries, it has earned the love of many and the respect of most. Popes like John XXIII, Paul VI and John Paul II have shone like beacons in the last 50 years and their dedication, sacrifice and piety have not only inspired their flock but have gained the admiration of many who do not share their faith.

This has not always been the case, however. Following the adoption by Constantine the Great of Christianity as the state religion of the Roman Empire, the spiritual power of the Bishops of Rome began to wax and reign supreme in the West. The Fourth Lateran Council in 1215 was particularly significant in pronouncing the Church one and universal and the Reform of the Curia in the Avignon period centralised the power of the church and brought the whole of Europe under direct papal control through, among others, the extension of papal reservation and the levying of national taxes. The Holy See had acquired absolute power over all things in heaven and on earth.

Power, as we know, corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. The worst excesses occurred during the 14th and 15th centuries when many of the popes behaved more like dissolute monarchs than spiritual leader. They held court, took mistresses and nepotism was the order of the day. Innocent VIII (Giovanni Cybo) was the first pope to consort publicly with women and to recognise his children. The excesses of that age came to a climax with his successor, Alexander VI (Rodrigo Borgia) who was more at home in a suit of armour than a cassock and whose children, there were 9 of them, were given high posts and honours within the Papal States.

At least two other popes also left progeny. These were Julius II (Giuliano della Rovere) and Paul III (Alessandro Farnese), both better known for their patronage of the arts.

Julius II was a warrior pope who personally conducted two main military campaigns, one successfully against the Venetian Republic as a result of which the Papal States was extended to include Romagna, Perugia, Bologna and as far as Rimini. For the second campaign against France he formed the Holy League which included England, Spain and the Holy Roman Empire, among others but his death resulted in the League's dissolution and France's ultimate victory.

In spite of the emphasis on the temporal side of the papacy, Julius also found time to undertake some reform of the church, notably by convening the Fifth Lateran Council which sought the eradication of corruption and schism, as well as monastic reform and the suppression of simony at papal elections.

His lasting memorial however must surely be the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, the Stanze di Raffaello in the Vatican and the basilica of St Peter itself. It was through the commissioning of, respectively, Michelangelo, Raffaello and Bramante by Julius that these masterpieces of the western world came into being.

It must be said of Paul III, who reigned during the development of the Protestant movement, that he had renounced his earlier excesses by the time he was elected to the papacy. He is, in fact, still regarded as one of the saintlier popes and his greatest contribution to the church was the convening of the Council of Trent which firmly established Catholic doctrine until 1962 when Pope John XXIII convened Vatican II. His greatest secular legacy is the imposing Palazzo Farnese in Rome, planned by Antonio da Sangalla the Younger, but modified and completed by Michelangelo.

Through intermarriage, the great Italian Houses such as d'Este, Sforza, Colonna, Alliata and Doria Pamphili carry the genes of all these popes.

The great rival to Christianity from the 7th century on was Islam. Inspired by Jewish and Christian ideas and practices, the Prophet Muhammad (570-632) began teaching the Moslem faith in 612 and, following his flight to Medina (Hegira), he started, through conquest and treaty, to spread the Islamic faith throughout Arabia . After his death, the expansion continued to Asia Minor, Persia, North Africa and finally the Iberian peninsula where Islam flourished until its slow recapture by Spain and Portugal starting in the 11th century under Alfonso VI of Castille with the assistance of Spain's national hero, "El Cid".

The Emirate of Sevilla was an offshoot of the Omayyad caliphate, descended from Muhammad through his daughter, Fatima. In 1096, during a period when the Castillians were having the upper hand, Alfonso VI married Zaida of Denia, daughter of Muhammad III al-Mu’tamid Abu’l-Qasim (Emir of Seville (1068-1091). Zaida was converted to Christianity under the name of Maria Isabella Ximena and through her, the genes of Muhammad were transmitted to the Counts of Lara in Spain .

Descendants of Rodrigo Borgia [Pope Alexander VI]

1 Rodrigo de Borja +Sibilla de Orns - 1409

.2 Jofre de Borja - 1437 +Isabel de Borja - 1468

Pope Alexander VI

..3 Rodrigo Borgia [Pope Alexander VI] - 1503 [+] Vanozza de Catanei 1442 - 1518

Lucrezia Borgia (Botticelli)

...4 Lucrezia Borgia +Alfonso I d'Este, Duca di Modena Ferrara Reggio 1476 - 1534

....5 Francesco d'Este, Marchese di Massa Lombarda 1516 - 1577/78+Maria di Cardona, Marchesa di Padula - 1563

.....6 Marfisa d'Este 1553 - 1608 +Alderamo Cybo, Principe di Massa 1552 - 1606

......7 Carlo I Cybo, Principe di Massa e Carrara 1581 - 1604/05 +Brigida Spinola - 1659/60

.......8 Veronica Cybo dei Principi di Massa e Carrara +Giacomo Salviati

........9 Francesco Maria Salviati +Catarina Sforza

........10 Antonio Maria Salviati +Maria Lucrezia Rospigliosi

..........11 Caterina Zefirina Salviati +Fabrizio Colonna

............12 Maria Felice Colonna +Giuseppe Alliata Principe di Villafranca - 1765

.............13 Vincenzo Alliata, Duca di Saponara 1760 - +Paola Stagno

..............14 Donna Maria Girolama Alliata dei Duchi di Saponara 1782 -

+Don Pietro Marino, Barone del Regio Demiano 1780 - 1829

................15 Donna Maria Paola Marino Alliata + [1]Antonio Stagno Navarra Conte di Bahria & Cassandola - 1881

+ [2] Francesco Runcio Colonna 1789 -

See The Feudal House of Ruffofor the descendants of Maria Paola Marino Alliata (Line 17)

Descendants of Giuliano della Rovere [Pope Julius II]

Pope Julius II (Raffaello - National Gallery, London)

1. Giuliano della Rovere [Pope Julius II] 5.12.1443 - 21.2.1513.

.2. Felicia della Rovere + Giangiordano Orsini, Signore di Bracciano,

..3. Girolamo Orsini, Signore di Bracciano + Francesca Sforza,

...4. Paolo Giordano Orsini, Duca di Bracciano ? - 1595 + Isabella de' Medici, Principessa di Toscana

....5. Eleonora Orsini ? - 1634 + Alessandro Sforza, Duca di Segni + Olimpia Cesi dei Principi di S. Polo e S. Angelo

.....6. Paolo Sforza, Marchese di Proceno 12 .6.1602 and died on 12 .9.1669 + Olimpia Cesi dei Principi di S. Polo e S. Angelo

......7. Catarina Sforza + Francesco Maria Salviati

.......8. Antonio Maria Salviati + Maria Lucrezia Rospigliosi

See Line 10 above for the descendants of Antonio Maria Salviati

Descendants of Alessandro Farnese [Pope Paul III]

Portrait

1. Alessandro Farnese [Pope Paul III] 29.2.1468 - 10.11.1549 [+] Silvia Ruffini

2. Costanza Farnese1 died in 1545 + Bosio Sforza, Conte di Santa Fiora

3. Francesca Sforza + Girolamo Orsini, Signore di Bracciano

See Line 3 above for descendants of Girolamo Orsini

Descendants of Gian Battista Cybo [Pope Innocent VIII]

Pope Innocent VIII

1 Gian Battista Cybo [Pope Innocent VIII] - 1492

.2 Franceschetto Cybo, Signore di Anguillara- 1519 +Maddalena de' Medici 1473 - 1528

..3 Lorenzo Cybo, Principe di Massa1500 - 1549 +Ricciarda Malaspina, Principessa di Massa - 1615

...4 Alberico I Cybo, Principe di Massa 1527 - 1622/23 +Elisabetta della Rovere - 1561

....5 Alderamo Cybo, Principe di Massa 1552 - 1606 +Marfisa d'Este 1553 - 1608

.....6 Carlo I Cybo, Principe di Massa e Carrara 1581 - 1604/05 +Brigida Spinola - 1659/60

......7 Veronica Cybo dei Principi di Massa e Carrara +Giacomo Salviati

.......8 Francesco Maria Salviati +Catarina Sforza

........9 Antonio Maria Salviati +Maria Lucrezia Rospigliosi

.........10 Caterina Zefirina Salviati +Fabrizio Colonna

............11 Maria Felice Colonna +Giuseppe Alliata Principe di Villafranca - 1765

..............12 Vincenzo Alliata, Duca di Saponara 1760 - +Paola Stagno

...............13 Donna Maria Girolama Alliata dei Duchi di Saponara 1782 -

+Don Pietro Marino, Barone del Regio Demiano 1780 - 1829 *2nd Husband: Francesco Runcio Colonna 1789

................14 Donna Maria Paola Marino Alliata +Antonio Stagno Navarra Conte di Bahria & Cassandola - 1881

See The Feudal House of Ruffo for the descendants of Maria Paola Marino Alliata (Line 17)

................14 Don Paolo Marino Alliata, Barone del Regio Demanio +Caterina Laudamo

.................15 Pietro Marino Alliata, Barone del Regio Demanio

.................15 Chiara Marino Alliata

.................15 Girolama Marino Alliata

.................15 Marianna Marino Alliata

.................15 Flavia Marino Alliata

................14 Vincenzo Marino Alliata +Fortunata Dattila

..................15 Letterio Marino Alliata +Giulia Bozzo

..................15 Adolfo Marino Alliata

Descendants of Muhammad The Prophet

Line I

1 Abd-Manaf 430 - +Adika

.2 Hasim +Salma

..3 Abd al-Muttalib Shayba al-Hamd 496 - 578 +Fatima bint Amr of Makhzum

...4 Abdallah 554 - 579 +Amina bint Wahb

....5 Muhammad The Prophet 570 - 632 +Khadija Qurahashi

.....6 Fatima +Ali ibn Abi Talib, 4th Caliph 597 - 661

.….7 Al-Hasan al-Sibt 624 - 670 + Ja’da bint al-Ash’ath

.......8 Husayn ibn Al-Hasan

....…9 Zohra +Abu Farisi

........10 Na’im Al-Lakhmi

..........11 Itaf ibn Na’im 804 -

...........12 ‘Amr ibn Itaf 834 -

.............13 ‘Abbad ibn ‘Amr 894 -

..............14 Qara’is ibn ‘Abbad 924 -

............... 15 Isma’il ibn Qara’is, Imam of Seville 954 -

.................16 Muhammad I Kadi Abu’l-Kasim Sultan of Seville 984 - 1042

..................17 Muhammad II al-Mu’tadid Abu Sultan of Seville 1014 - 1086

....................18 Muhammad III al-Mu’tamid Sultan of Seville 1040 - 1095 +[188] NN

......................19 Zaida (aka Maria Isabella) Princeza de Sevilla 1071 -+Alfonso VI Rey de Castilla 1039 - 1109

See Line II:18 for descendants of Zaida

Line II

...4 Abd Manaf Abu Talib - 582 +Fatima bint Asad ibn Hashim

....5 Ali ibn Abu Talib, 4th Caliph 597 - 661 +Fatima

.....6 Al-Hasan al-Sibt 624 - 670 +Ja’da bint al-Ash’ath

......7 Husayn ibn Al-Hasan

.......8 Zohra +Abu Farisi

........9 Na’im Al-Lakhmi

.........10 Itaf ibn Na’im 804 -

...........11 ‘Amr ibn Itaf 834 -

............12 ‘Abbad ibn ‘Amr 894 -

..............13 Qara’is ibn ‘Abbad 924 -

...............14 Isma’il ibn Qara’is, Imam of Seville 954 -

................15 Muhammad I Kadi Abu’l-Kasim Sultan of Seville 984 - 1042

.................16 Muhammad II al-Mu’tadid Abu Sultan of Seville 1014 - 1086

...................17 Muhammad III al-Mu’tamid Sultan of Seville 1040 - 1095 +NN

....................18 Zaida (aka Maria Isabella Princeza de Sevilla 1071 -+Alfonso VI Rey de Castilla 1039 - 1109

.....................19 Alfonsa Infanta de Castilla y León 1100 - 1125 +Rodrigo "El Franco" Rodriguez, Conde de Lara

......................20 Sancha Rodriguez de Lara +Gonzalo Ruiz Giron

.......................21 Gonzalo Gonzalez Giron +Theresa Arias Quixada

........................22 Berenguela Gonzalez Giron +Lope Ruy de Haro

.........................23 Ruy Lopez de Haro +Sancha Jofre Tenorio

..........................24 Ruiz de Beaza y Haro +Mencia d'Avalos

............................25 Ruy Lopez d'Avalos

.............................26 Diegio Lopez d'Avalos

..............................27 Ruy Lopez d'Avalos +Elvira de Guevara

...............................28 Diegio d'Avolas de Guevara +Paola Inguanez

................................29 Giovanni de Guevara 1455 - 1511 +Margherita Cervantes

.................................30 Paola de Guevara +Pietro de Nava, 2o Barone di Marsa, Castellano 1461 -

See Aragon Connections for descendants of Paola de Guevara (Line II:8)