Camillo Astalli belonged to a noble but relatively poor family. He was born in Sambuci, at Tivoli, 21 October 1616 to Fulvio and Catherine Pinelli Astalli. He studied at the Roman College and in 1640 graduated from the Sapienza with a doctorate in civil and ecclesiastical law, commencing a career as a consistorial lawyer. Following his brother's marriage to Catherine Maidalchini Tiberius, the niece of Olimpia Maidalchini, sister-in-law of Pope Innocent X, he began his rise in the church hierarchy. He became the assistant to the Secretary of State, Cardinal Giovanni Giacomo Panciroli, who proposed him for the post of cardinal-nephew, which had been left vacant in 1647 by the resignation of the Cardinal Camillo Pamphilj.
Ecclesiastic career
When first elected to the papal throne, Pope Innocent X had appointed his nephew, Camillo Pamphili as his Cardinal-Nephew. But Pamphili resigned his position to marry and was replaced by Francesco Maidalchini, nephew of Donna Olimpia Maidalchini. When Maidalchini proved to be a disgraceful failure, Innocent sought the advice of his Cardinal Secretary of State, Cardinal Panciroli who suggested Astalli. So it was that Astalli was elevated to Cardinal on 19 September 1650 by the Pope, who simultaneously adopted him into the Pamphili family and appointed him Cardinal-Nephew. Innocent also presented him with a substantial income, the Palazzo Pamphili in Piazza Navona and the villa outside the Porta San Pancrazio. He served as governor of Fermo and papal legate for the district of Avignon from 1650 to 1653.
Downfall
In his absence, though, Cardinal Panciroli died and Astalli believed his good fortune would fade with the death of his mentor. In particular, Donna Olimpia Maidalchini had been gaining favour with her brother-in-law the Pope. Seeking support from abroad, Astalli took King Philip IV of Spain for his patron. The unexpected generosity of the pope, however, put him against the Pamphilj family and especially Donna Olimpia, so much so that, aided by a series of bad policy choices, as well as a certain inability to handle the Roman Curia, he soon fell out of favor at the papal Court. In February 1654, with little warning, Pope Innocent stripped Astalli of his titles for allegedly revealing the secrets of state to Spain. The offence was uncovered by Maidalchini's "spy", Decio Azzolino. The Pope deprived him of the title of Cardinal-Nephew. Astalli was sent from Rome to govern the Diocese of Ferrara. However he did not accept this position and it so infuriated Innocent X that revoked all privileges, even eliminating his adoption into the Pamphili family. He forbade Astalli to use the family name and arms of Pamphili, and in 1655 exiled him to Sambuci. On the death of the pope, as a sign of contempt, Astalli showed up at the funeral without vestments in mourning. Contemporary John Bargrave would later recall that at the funeral of Cardinal Panciroli, others told him that it had been the Pope's plan all along for Astalli to take responsibility for a number of failures and scandals and then be removed shortly before the Pope's death to ensure his estate was inherited by his original Cardinal-Nephew, Camillo Pamphili.
