Girolama Mazzarini


Girolama or Geronima Mazarini was the sister of Cardinal Mazarin, the chief minister of France at the start of the reign of King Louis XIV of France. She was the mother of the five famous Mancini sisters, who with two of their female Martinozzi cousins, became famous at the French court as the Mazarinettes.

Early life

Born in Rome, Geronima was the daughter of Pietro Mazzarini and Ortensia Bufalini. Her father struggled to provide for his six children until joining the staff of the great Constable of Naples and prince of Paliano, Filippo I Colonna. Thanks to his skill, he won over Colonna, and benefited from the prince's protection of each of his children.

Family and issue

Geronima married an Italian aristocrat, Baron Lorenzo Mancini,, son of Paolo Lucio Mancini and Vittoria Capoccii, on 6 August 1634. Her husband was known as a necromancer and astrologer.
They had ten children:
After her husband's death in 1650, Geronima brought her children from Rome to Paris in the hope of using the influence of her brother, Cardinal Mazarin, to gain them advantageous marriages, a goal that ultimately was very successful.
She died in Paris in 1656.