Orsini Family Papers, ca. 1150-1950
Owning Institution: UCLA, Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library
About this Collection
The Orsini are one of most important families in Italian history. At the height of their influence, in the late Middle Ages and into the Renaissance, the Orsini were crucial players in Italian politics; they were closely allied to the Medici, with whom they were tied by several high-level marriages. The family produced three popes, about thirty cardinals and 62 senators of Rome, as well as several electors of Saxony and Brandenburg, and grand masters of the Knights of Malta. They were related to a number of royal houses of Europe. The papers consist mainly of material relating to the administration of property (including records of sales, leases, mortgages, loans, proxies, accounting, inventories and plans) and the administration of the family (including dowries and marriage contracts, donations, divisions of property, wills and fideicommissums). There is also a substantial amount of legal material, mostly produced by the many law-suits in which the family was involved, and correspondence, largely dating from the 18th century. View this collection on the contributor's website.View collection guide.
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