The history of the popes, from the close of the middle ages : drawn ...

PRINCELY STATE OF BORROMEO. II3
He wished the Borromeo family to make an appearance which
should correspond in every wa}^ with their present princely
rank. His creation as Cardinal he announced to his family
in the simplest manner, and he desired that the happy event
should only be celebrated in Arona, and especially by masses
of the Holy Ghost. At the same time, however, he desired
that his sister should have for the future two ladies as companions,
and these were to be of noble birth and of good
reputation.^ He expressed himself as filled with joy in his
letters when his sisters, through the efforts of their uncle and
the zealous co-operation of their brother, made aristocratic
and wealthy marriages with the Gonzaga, Colonna, Altemps,
and the princes of Venosa.^ On the other hand, when a less
wealthy relative was about to marry beneath her rank, and
thus lower the dignity of the family, he showed himself very
much troubled.^
Cardinal Borromeo took a particular interest in the fortunes
of his only brother, Federigo, who had espoused the daughter
of the Duke of Urbino, Virginia della Rovere, in 1560. The
whole Borromeo family was justly proud of this alliance, which
gave rise to the most flattering hopes. Federigo, on whose
1 Letter of January 31, 1560, in Sylvain, L, 54.
^ San Carlo, IL (1910), 278 seqq. ; Sylvain, L, 57 seqq., 73 ;
Sala, Documenti, IIL, 13, 17, 22 seq., 325 seq., 328. Camilla,
Charles' sister, in 1560, married Cesare Gonzaga, Count of Guas-
talla, Duke of Molfetta, Prince of Ariano, who died in 1573 (Caro,
III., 284, 287 seq., 290, 292, 297). She died in 1583. A second
sister, Geronima, married Fabrizio Gesualdo, Prince of Venosa,
and a third, Anna, married Fabrizio Colonna, in 1562 (died 1580),
the eldest son of Marcantonio (c/. Susta, Kurie, II. , 258, 261,
291, 525; *report of Fr. Tonina of June 11, 1562, Gonzaga
Archives, Mantua). She died in 1582. There was a daughter,
the issue of a second marriage of Gilberto Borromeo to Taddea
del Verme, who was married with great pomp to Hannibal von
Hohenems on January 6, 1565 {cf. Sala, Fascicolo conclus., 47 ;
San Carlo, loc. rAt. ; Wymann, 63). An *Avviso di Roma of
June 28, 1 561, announces the arrival of the four sisters of Charles
Borromeo in Rome (Urb. 1039, p. 283, Vatican Library).
^ Sylvain, L, 66.
vol. XV. 8