Alessandro Peretti Di Montalto

Alessandro Peretti was born at Montalto , the son of Fabio Damasceni and Maria Felice Mignucci Peretti, who was a niece of the pope on her mother's side. Like his great-uncle before him, Alessandro Peretti was also known as Cardinal di Montalto. His primary works as a great patron were the Villa Lante at Bagnaia, where he contributed to the gardens a casino matching the earlier one, and the church (though not the facade) of Sant'Andrea Della Valle in Rome, (begun in 1591), where Carlo Maderno constructed at the Cardinal's personal expense the second-largest dome in Rome, 1608 to 1621.

His portrait bust by Gian Lorenzo Bernini is at the Hamburg Kunsthalle . Surviving books from Cardinal Alessandro's library reflect pride in his relationship to the Pope through elaborate armorials and his perfect taste.

Cardinal Montalto was in turn the uncle of Francesco Cardinal Peretti di Montalto (1595‑1653), raised to the purple in 1641.

EXTERNAL LINKS

Biographical Dictionary of the Cardinals of the Roman catholic Church:

Rome Art Lover webpage: San Andrea della Valle

Genealogy of the Peretti (in Italian): his brother Michele was made a prince and his two sisters made brilliant marriages

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Alessandro Peretti Di Montalto