Lorenzo Magalotti (1 January 1584 – 19 September 1637) was an Italian clergyman who was

Cardinal Secretary of State The Secretary of State of His Holiness (Latin: Secretarius Status Sanctitatis Suae, it, Segretario di Stato di Sua Santità), commonly known as the Cardinal Secretary of State, presides over the Holy See's Secretariat of State, which is the ...

under

Pope Urban VIII Pope Urban VIII ( la, Urbanus VIII; it, Urbano VIII; baptised 5 April 1568 – 29 July 1644), born Maffeo Vincenzo Barberini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 August 1623 to his death in July 1644. As po ...

from 1623 to 1628, and later

Bishop of Ferrara The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Ferrara-Comacchio ( la, Archidioecesis Ferrariensis-Comaclensis) has existed since 1986, when the diocese of Comacchio was combined with the historical archdiocese of Ferrara. It is a suffragan of the archdioces ...

till his death.

Early life

Lorenzo Magalotti was born on 1 January 1584 (1583 according to the

Florentine calendar The Florentine calendar, also referred to as the ''stylus Florentinus'' ("Florentine style"), was the calendar used in the Republic of Florence in Italy during the Middle Ages. Unusually, both the beginning of the day and the beginning of the yea ...

) in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

Vincenzo Magalotti, and Clarice Capponi. He studied law at the University of Perugia and completed his studies earning a

doctorate in utroque iure A doctor of both laws, from the Latin ''doctor utriusque juris'', or ''juris utriusque doctor'', or ''doctor juris utriusque'' ("doctor of both laws") (abbreviations include: JUD, IUD, DUJ, JUDr., DUI, DJU, Dr.iur.utr., Dr.jur.utr., DIU, UJD a ...

in 1607 at the

University of Pisa The University of Pisa ( it, Università di Pisa, UniPi), officially founded in 1343, is one of the oldest universities in Europe. History The Origins The University of Pisa was officially founded in 1343, although various scholars place ...

. After the death of his father, in 1608 he moved to Rome and he took up a career in the administration of the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...

: in 1609 he became

referendary Referendary is the English form of a number of administrative positions, of various rank, in chanceries and other official organizations in Europe. Pre-modern history The office of ' (plural: ', from the Latin ', "I inform") existed at the Byzan ...

of the Tribunals of the

Apostolic Signature The Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura () is the highest judicial authority in the Catholic Church (apart from the pope himself, who as supreme ecclesiastical judge is the final point of appeal for any ecclesiastical judgment). In additi ...

, from 1611 for three years he was appointed Vice-

legate Legate may refer to: * Legatus, a higher ranking general officer of the Roman army drawn from among the senatorial class :*Legatus Augusti pro praetore, a provincial governor in the Roman Imperial period *A member of a legation *A representative, ...

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different na ...

. From 1616 to 1618 he was governor of Montaldo (the southern part of

Marche Marche ( , ) is one of the twenty regions of Italy. In English, the region is sometimes referred to as The Marches ( ). The region is located in the central area of the country, bordered by Emilia-Romagna and the republic of San Marino to the ...

) and from 1618 to 1619 he acted as Vice-legato of Patrimonio (the province of

Viterbo Viterbo (; Viterbese: ; lat-med, Viterbium) is a city and ''comune'' in the Lazio region of central Italy, the capital of the province of Viterbo. It conquered and absorbed the neighboring town of Ferento (see Ferentium) in its early history ...

) and in 1620 he was appointed governor of Ascoli. Returned to Rome, he was appointed commissary general of the Papal State, governor of

Cascia Cascia () is a town and ''comune'' (municipality) of the Italian province of Perugia in a rather remote area of the mountainous southeastern corner of Umbria. It is about 21 km from Norcia on the road to Rieti in the Lazio (63 km). It is ...

and finally in 1623 secretary of the Sacra Consulta, the organ of governance of the Papal States out of

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. It is in these years that Magalotti had a correspondence in

Galileo Galilei Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642) was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a polymath. Commonly referred to as Galileo, his name was pronounced (, ). He ...

. Such rapid career was favored by Cardinal

Maffeo Barberini Pope Urban VIII ( la, Urbanus VIII; it, Urbano VIII; baptised 5 April 1568 – 29 July 1644), born Maffeo Vincenzo Barberini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 August 1623 to his death in July 1644. As p ...

, whose brother,

Carlo Barberini Carlo Barberini (1 June 1630 – 2 October 1704) was an Italian Catholic cardinal and member of the Barberini family. He was the grand-nephew of Maffeo Barberini (Pope Urban VIII) and son of Taddeo Barberini ( Prince of Palestrina). Early life a ...

married in 1594 Lorenzo's sister, Costanza Magalotti.

Secretary of State

A turning point in the life of Lorenzo Magalotti was the elevation of Maffeo Barberini to the papacy as

in August 1623. As in use in such age, the Pope trusted for the important political affairs only on his own relatives. The Pope appointed his nephew Francesco Barberini (son of Costanza Magalotti, and thus nephew also of Lorenzo) as

cardinal nephew A cardinal-nephew ( la, cardinalis nepos; it, cardinale nipote; es, valido de su tío; pt, cardeal-sobrinho; french: prince de fortune)Signorotto and Visceglia, 2002, p. 114. Modern French scholarly literature uses the term "cardinal-neveu'". ...

, and Lorenzo Magalotti himself, brother-in-law of the Pope’s brother, as head of the private papal secretaries, which was the function of the Papal Secretary of State in such a time. Lorenzo Magalotti was created

cardinal deacon A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Co ...

on 7 October 1624 with the title of

Santa Maria in Aquiro Santa Maria in Aquiro is a church in Rome, Italy. It is dedicated to Mary, mother of Jesus, and is located on Piazza Capranica. The church is ancient – it was restored by Pope Gregory III in the 8th century, and thus must have existed before ...

and on 16 December 1624 he passed to the order of

cardinal priest A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Col ...

s maintaining the same title. On 28 February 1628 he gained the title of Cardinal of Santi Giovanni e Paolo. Due to the young age and the lack of experience of the cardinal nephew, the Secretary of State became under Lorenzo Magalotti the main political office used by the Pope to manage the foreign and internal political affairs. The sphere of competence of the Secretary of State however overlapped with the more institutional competence of the cardinal nephew. As soon as the two nephews of the Pope, Francesco Barberini and the younger

Antonio Barberini Antonio Barberini (5 August 1607 – 3 August 1671) was an Italian Catholic cardinal, Archbishop of Reims, military leader, patron of the arts and a prominent member of the House of Barberini. As one of the cardinal-nephews of Pope Urban VIII ...

, became more experienced, Urban VIII decided to remove Lorenzo Magalotti from the Secretary in order to leave space to his nephews in the political affairs. This decision was effective to the strategy of Pope Urban VIII to favour his own family, almost establishing a Barberini dynasty. A strategy not shared by Lorenzo Magalotti who, for example, opposed the elevation to cardinalate of Antonio Barberini in 1627.

Bishop of Ferrara

Lorenzo Magalotti was appointed on 5 May 1628

, formally a promotion but actually his discharge from the Secretary of State. He was saddened by such decision, and he established to leave immediately Rome for Ferrara, just after being consecrated

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

on 7 May by Volpiano Volpi ( Bishop of Novara and former Apostolic Datarius) and after the formal dismiss from the Pope. He was forbidden to return to Rome. Magalotti entered in Ferrara on 4 June 1628. In Ferrara he faced the

plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pes ...

and famine which devastated the town, and he tried to provide help to the population. As bishop he applied the reformed principles set by the

Council of Trent The Council of Trent ( la, Concilium Tridentinum), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation, it has been described a ...

, visited the

diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associ ...

and held a

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin word mean ...

in June 1637. The second part of his govern was marked by conflicts with the

Cardinal Legate 300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the pope's legate. A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title '' legatus'') is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholi ...

(the governor of the province), such as Giovan Battista Pallotta, where Lorenzo Magalotti defended the rights of the bishop. He died in Ferrara on 19 September 1637, without having never returned to Rome. He was buried under the floor of the

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominations ...

of such a town.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Magalotti, Lorenzo 1584 births 1637 deaths Clergy from Florence 17th-century Italian cardinals Cardinals created by Pope Urban VIII Bishops of Ferrara Cardinal Secretaries of State