Pope Benedict XV, whose birth name is Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista Della Chiesa, was born in Pegli on 21 November 1854 from a family of Lombard origin, coming from Valsassina, place where the members of the family owned castles and fiefs.
Both parents were part of the Genoese aristocracy: in fact, the father Giuseppe Della Chiesa was a marquis descended from the ancient and illustrious family of the dukes of Spoleto (a dynasty which also included Berengar II of Ivrea, king who ruled Italy from 950 to 961, and Callistus II) and her mother, Giovanna Migliorati, was a marquise descended from the Neapolitan family of the Migliorati(a dynasty whose ancestors included Pope Innocent VII)
The Della Chiesa moved to Liguria, they settled first in Savona and then in Genoa, staying in a building still visible today in Salita Santa Caterina in the area of the current Parish of Vineyards, in the Maddalena district in the historic centre.
Giacomo Della Chiesa grows up in a rich cultural and religious environment.
Despite his vocations to the Catholic faith, his father forced him to study law, which Della Chiesa completed by graduating.
