ITALIANOHistory
The Corsini family’s history
Believing in the future, working hard and even risking when the market requires resourcefulness: an ‘all-Florentine’ lesson that the Corsini family learned successfully when they arrived in Florence from Poggibonsi at the end of the 1100s. Initially, they were merchants and then bankers, often finding their way into political and religious careers.
Andrea Corsini (born in Florence in 1302 and died in Fiesole on Epiphany in 1374; Bishop of Fiesole in 1373, he was canonized three centuries after his death (Sant’Andrea, 1624) while Pietro Corsini followed Pope Urban V into exile in Avignon as a Cardinal, and supported the Pope’s return to Rome.
At the dawn of the 15th century, the banking crisis, which had been caused by the insolvency of Edward III, forced Matteo Corsini to rebuild his position in England thus returning to Tuscany where he invested in land.
Economic solidity was achieved with Filippo and Bartolomeo Corsini who started a bank in London in the 16th century, as well as having organized a postal service capable of delivering letters to Florence in less than three days. They were responsible for the accumulation of a vast protected wealth in real estate and land ownership entailment (perhaps, having come from Great Britain, they had been inspired by trusts to protect their great wealth).
Bartolomeno (1622-1685), son of Filippo who had made his fortune in England, and his son Filippo (1647-1705) were responsible for the construction of Palazzo Corsini on the Lungarno built in what is now referred to as Florentine Baroque style. The two Florentine Palazzos – one on the Lungarno and the other in Via del Prato – mark the intensification in the family’s relationship with the art world in the 17th century. The chapel in the Chiesa del Carmine, dedicated to Sant’Andrea Corsini, was built during the first half of the century, while the Galleria Gentilizia, where many works of art came together, took shape in the Palazzo which dominates the Arno river.
The family’s triumph is dated 1730 when, after four months of Conclave, Lorenzo Corsini (1652-1740) ascended to the papal throne, which he held for ten years, as Clement XII. He was a patron of the arts and a cultivated man; his having been chosen pope was also determined by his acquired qualities and knowledge in the field of finance. Above all, he is remembered as the founder of the Capitoline Museums and patron of the Trevi Fountain, of the new façades of San Giovanni in Laterano and Santa Maria Maggiore, the construction of the Palazzo della Consulta in Rome as well as the ports of Anzio, Ravenna and Ancona.
Bartolomeo, one of the Pope’s favourite nephews, held the position as Commander of the Roman Cavalry, became the Viceroy of Sicily and Grande of Spain.
In the 19th century, the political mandates entrusted to representatives of the Corsini family multiplied, before, during and after the Restoration up to Tommaso Corsini, who was a deputy of the Regno d’Italia from 1865 to 1882, a life senator, as well as the founder of Fondiaria Assicurazioni, and President of the Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze. Among other things, he was involved in the electric and railway sectors as well as being an archaeologist on his own lands: he brought the famous Fibula Corsini, a treasure of Etruscan jewellery, to light. It is now kept in the Archeological Museum of Florence. With an act of generosity and far-sightedness, he gave the Palazzo della Lungara in Rome to the Italian State and donated his entire roman collection of paintings, prints and books. The Accademia dei Lincei, which he founded, still has its premises here to this day.
Principe Tommaso (VIII Prince of Sismano 1903-1980) nephew of Tommaso took part in Italy’s political life as a Constituent Assembly deputy for the constitution of the Italian Republic. As an expert in agriculture and breeding, he contributed to the modernization of these two sectors in Tuscany and Umbria. His wife, Donna Elena, managed to save the Galleria Corsini and many other treasures from bombardments and the crossing of the front line during World War II. Their son, Filippo IX (1937), the current Principe di Sismano, is married to Georgiana Avogadro di Valdengo e Collobiano. He is the father of Duccio (1964), Duca di Casigliano, married to Clotilde Trentinaglia de Daverio, with their three children, Filippo, Elena Clarice and Selvaggia; Elena Sabina (1966) married to Brando Quilici with their son Corso; Nencia (1969), married to Benedetto Bolza, with their children Giorgiana, Nerina, Vita, Olimpia, Geza; Elisabetta Fiona (1969), with her children Leone, Neri and Zara Boatto and Fiamma, Fabiola and Lucio di San Giuliano.
