A European church career
Born in Milan in 1725, Durini studied in Rome and received a doctorate. He worked at the papal nunciature in Paris, joined the Roman Curia and served as nuncio in Poland before living in Avignon from 1774 to 1776.
Politics
Angelo Maria Durini
An Italian cardinal and arts patron whose Lake Como villa hosted prominent intellectual and social gatherings.
Angelo Maria Durini was an Italian cardinal whose ecclesiastical career took him to Rome, Paris, Poland and Avignon. Pope Pius VI made him a cardinal in 1776. He was an important patron of the arts and hosted intellectual and social gatherings at his villa on Lake Como. He died at Villa Balbianello in 1796, and the property passed to his nephew, Luigi Porro Lambertenghi.
Worth knowing
Patron of the arts
Durini was an important patron of the arts. His villa on Lake Como frequently hosted exclusive intellectual and social gatherings.
French black tea
On one noted occasion, Durini served what was described as the first coffee in Italy, calling it "thé nero francese" ("French black tea").
Villa del Balbiano
Durini acquired and enlarged the Villa del Balbiano estate in the late 18th century.
Addresses you can still visit
Every place in this city with a documented tie to this person.
Lived here
Villa del Balbiano
The cardinal acquired and enlarged the estate during the late 18th century.
Follow the story on foot
These addresses are scattered across the city. Our routes and quests put them in an order that works.