Filippo II Colonna

Who was Filippo II Colonna?

Filippo II Colonna, 9th Duke and Prince of Paliano, was an Italian nobleman of the prominent Colonna family.

Filippo was the son of Don Lorenzo Onofrio Colonna, hereditary Grand Constable of the Kingdom of Naples, and Maria Mancini, a niece of Cardinal Mazarin. The Spanish had ruled Naples since the early sixteenth century, and the Colonna were prominent servants of the Spanish crown in Italy. In 1687, while his father served as head of the interregnum council of Naples, Filippo was appointed commander of a company of lancers. In 1689 he succeeded his father as Grand Constable and Duke-Prince of Paliano.

As a patron of the arts, Filippo had the art gallery in the family's Roman palazzo refurbished. He opened the gallery in 1703. The composer Giovanni Bononcini wrote six serenatas, an oratorio and five operas while in his service. Filippo was a member of the Academy of Arcadia, which had been established in Rome in 1690.

Among his other titles, Filippo was Prince of Castiglione, and Duke of Marino, Miraglia and Tagliacozzo. He was made a knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece by Spanish king Carlos II in 1679. In 1710 he became the first Colonna to be appointed hereditary Prince Assistant to the Papal Throne.