The Colonna family was a powerful noble family in medieval and renaissance Rome, supplying one pope and many other leaders, and fighting with their rivals the Orsini family for influence. Otto di Colonna ended the Western Schism as Pope Martin V.

According to their family tradition, the Colonna are a branch of the counts of Tusculum. The first cardinal from the family was appointed in 1192 when Giovanni Colonna was made Cardinal-Priest of Saint Prisca.

In 1728, the family added the name Barberini to its family name when Giulio Cesare Colonna di Sciarra married Cornelia Barberini, daughter of the last male Barberini to hold the name, Taddeo Barberini.

See also

• Vittoria Colonna, friend of Michelangelo
• Sciarra Colonna, who participated in the Outrage of Anagni