Odescalchi family

Erba-Odescalchi, or Odescalchi, is the name of an Italian noble family of princely rank. With the election of Benedetto Odescalchi as Pope Innocent XI in 1676, members of his family advanced in social status from bankers to members of the elite.

The Odescalchi family were entrepreneurs with the minor nobility of Como. They trace their family line to Giorgio Odescalchi of Como, around 1290.

Pietro Giorgio Odescalchi was Bishop of Alessandria (1598-1610) and then Bishop of Vigevano (1610–1620).

Benedetto Odescalchi reigned as Pope Innocent XI from 1676 until 1689. As the last male heir to the family, their fortune passed to the descendants of his sister, Lucrezia Odescalchi, who had married Alessandro Erba in 1621. The Erba family is allegedly descended from Enrico Erba, an Imperial vicar in Milan, around 1165. The title of Prince of the Holy Roman Empire was conferred on their grandson Baldassare Erba-Odescalchi in 1714, along with the title, Duke of Syrmia in the Kingdom of Hungary and the qualification of Serene Highness.

The Pope's grand-nephew Cardinal Benedetto Erba Odescalchi held a doctorate in Civil and Canon Law (Pavia, 1700), and was Papal Nuncio in Poland from 1712 to 1714. He was named Archbishop of Milan in 1712 (resigning in 1736 after a stroke), and was created a cardinal in January 1714. He died in Milan on 13 December 1740.

Antonio Maria Erba-Odescalchi, Pope Innocent's great-grandnephew and Cardinal Benedetto Erba-Odescalchi's nephew, was a Doctor in Civil and Canon Law (Milan 1733), which allowed him to pursue a career in the Papal Court in Rome as a church lawyer. He became a Protonotary Apostolic in 1737 and a Referendary (Judge) of the Two Tribunals of Justice and Grace in 1739. He was named a cardinal in 1759 and given the office of Vicar-General of the Pope for the City of Rome. He died in 1762.

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