Ascanio Sforza
Ascanio Maria Sforza Visconti (3 March 1455 – 28 May 1505) was an Italian Cardinal (Catholic Church), cardinal of the Catholic Church. Generally known as a skilled diplomat who played a major role in the election of Rodrigo Borgia as Pope Alexander VI, Sforza served as Apostolic Chancery, Vice-Chancellor of the Holy Roman Church from 1492 until 1505. Biography Early years A member of the House of Sforza, Ascanio Sforza was born in Cremona, Lombardy. His parents were Francesco Sforza, Duke of Milan, and Bianca Maria Visconti. He was also the brother of two Milanese dukes, Galeazzo Maria Sforza (1466–1476) and Ludovico Sforza (1494–1499), and the uncle of a third, Gian Galeazzo Sforza (1476–1494). Ascanio was a student of Francesco Filelfo, a courtier of Duke Francesco Sforza, who introduced him to government and literature. Other cardinals of the family were Guido Ascanio Sforza di Santa Fiora (1534), Alessandro Sforza (cardinal), Alessandro Sforza (1565), Francesco S ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. As titular members of the clergy of the Diocese of Rome, they serve as advisors to the pope, who is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. Cardinals are chosen and formally created by the pope, and typically hold the title for life. Collectively, they constitute the College of Cardinals. The most solemn responsibility of the cardinals is to elect a new pope in a Papal conclave, conclave, almost always from among themselves, with a few historical exceptions, when the Holy See is Sede vacante#Vacancy of the Holy See, vacant. During the period between a pope's death or resignation and the election of his successor, the day-to-day governance of the Holy See is in the hands of the College of Cardinals. The right to participate in a conclave is limited to cardinals who have not reached the age of 80 years by the day the vacancy occurs. With the pope ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Galeazzo Maria Sforza
Galeazzo Maria Sforza (24 January 1444 – 26 December 1476) was the fifth Duke of Milan from 1466 until 1476. He was born to Francesco Sforza, a popular condottiero and ally of Cosimo de' Medici who would gain the Duchy of Milan in 1450, and Bianca Maria Visconti. He married into the Gonzaga family; on the death of his first wife Dorotea Gonzaga, he married Bona of Savoy. Life Galeazzo Maria Sforza was born in Fermo, near the family's castle of Girifalco. He was the first son of Francesco Sforza and Bianca Maria Visconti. At the death of his father on 8 March 1466, Sforza was in France heading a military expedition to help King Louis XI against Charles I of Burgundy. Called back home by his mother, Sforza returned to Italy under a false name. The false identity was necessary as he had to pass by the territories of the family's enemy, the Duke of Savoy, who made an unsuccessful attempt on Sforza's life. He entered Milan on 20 March 1466, and was acclaimed by the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Pietro Riario
Pietro Riario (1445 – 3 January 1474) was an Italian cardinal (Catholic), cardinal and Papal diplomat. Biography Born in Savona, he was the son of Paolo Riario and Pope Sixtus IVs' sister, Bianca Della Rovere. Sixtus nominated him bishop of Treviso and cardinal in 1471, and, in 1473, archbishop of Florence. He was entrusted with Sixtus' foreign policy. To reinforce the alliance between Rome and Milan, he had his brother Girolamo Riario, Girolamo married to the daughter of Galeazzo Maria Sforza, Duke of Milan. He was a Humanism, humanist known for his patronage of literature and the arts, his huge feasts, luxurious behaviour and irreligious conduct. He had a large palace begun in Rome, near the church of Santi Apostoli, Rome, Santi Apostoli (it was completed by his cousin Giuliano della Rovere, pope as Julius II). In 1473 he had the square before his palazzo transformed with painted canvas and wooden construction into temporary but luxurious lodging for Eleanor of Naples the da ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Girolamo Riario
Girolamo Riario (1443 – 14 April 1488) was Lord of Imola (from 1473) and Count of Forlì (from 1480). He served as Captain General of the Church under his uncle Pope Sixtus IV. He was one of the organisers of the failed 1478 Pazzi conspiracy against the Medici family, the rulers of Florence, and was assassinated 10 years later by members of the Forlivese Orsi family. Biography Born in Savona, Riario was the son of Paolo Riario and Bianca della Rovere. He was a nephew of Pope Sixtus IV, who in 1473 granted him the seignory of Imola, as a dowry for his marriage with Caterina Sforza (daughter of Galeazzo Maria Sforza, Duke of Milan). In 1471, he was also appointed Captain General of the Church. In 1478, he was one of the plotters behind the Pazzi conspiracy, a plan to assassinate the two most prominent members of the Medici family in Florence. In addition to conspiring, he was an intended beneficiary, once Lorenzo and Giuliano de' Medici had been killed. Riario would have ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Sixtus IV
Pope Sixtus IV (or Xystus IV, ; born Francesco della Rovere; (21 July 1414 – 12 August 1484) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 August 1471 until his death in 1484. His accomplishments as pope included the construction of the Sistine Chapel and the creation of the Vatican Library. A patron of the arts, he brought together the group of artists who ushered the early Renaissance into Rome with the first masterpieces of the city's new artistic age. Sixtus created the Spanish Inquisition through the Papal bull ''Exigit Sinceræ Devotionis'' (1478), and annulled the Pontifical decrees of the Council of Constance. He was noted for his nepotism and was personally involved in the infamous Pazzi conspiracy, a plot to remove the House of Medici, Medici family from power in Florence. Early life Francesco was a member of the Della Rovere family, a son of Leonardo Beltramo di Savona della Rovere and Luchina Monteleoni. He was born in Celle Ligure, a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Guillaume D'Estouteville
Guillaume d'Estouteville (c. 1412–1483) was a French aristocrat of royal blood who became a leading bishop (Catholic Church), bishop and cardinal (Catholic Church), cardinal. He held a number of Church offices simultaneously. He conducted the reexamination of the case of Jeanne d'Arc and exonerated her of the charges against her. He reformed the Statutes of the University of Paris. In Rome he became one of the most influential members of the Curia, as the official Protector of France in church business. Pope Sixtus IV appointed him Chamberlain of the Holy Roman Church (''Camerlengo''). His great wealth allowed him to be a generous patron of the arts, especially in the building and adornment of churches. Life D'Estouteville was born c. 1412 in either Valmont, Seine-Maritime, Valmont or Estouteville-Écalles in the Duchy of Normandy, a member of the most powerful family in the region. His father, Jean d'Estouteville, Sieur de Vallemont and Grand Chamberlain of France, had f ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Chiaravalle Abbey
The Abbey of Santa Maria di Rovegnano () is a Cistercian monastic complex in the ''comune'' of Milan, Lombardy, northern Italy. The '':wikt:borgo#Italian, borgo'' that has developed round the abbey was once an independent commune called Chiaravalle Milanese, now included in Milan and referred to as the Chiaravalle (Milan), Chiaravalle district. The abbey was founded on 22 January 1135 as a daughter house of Clairvaux Abbey, Clairvaux; it is one of the first examples of Gothic architecture in Italy, although maintaining some late Romanesque architecture, Romanesque influences. History In October 1134 Cistercian monks from Morimond, near Dijon established themselves at Coronate, near Pieve di Abbiategrasso southwest of Milan, and founded the new Morimondo Abbey, whence the location was given, in 1171, the name of Morimondo. At the start of 1135 another group of Cistercians, coming from Clairvaux Abbey and headed by its first abbot and founder, Bernard of Clairvaux, reached Milan a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Commendatory Abbot
A commendatory abbot () is an ecclesiastic, or sometimes a layman, who holds an abbey ''in commendam'', drawing its revenues but not exercising any authority over its inner monastic discipline. If a commendatory abbot is an ecclesiastic, however, he may have limited jurisdiction. Originally only vacant abbeys, or those that were temporarily without an actual superior, were given ''in commendam'', in the latter case only until an actual superior was elected or appointed. An abbey is held ''in commendam'', i.e. provisorily, in distinction to one held ''in titulum'', which is a permanent benefice.Ott, Michael. "In Commendam." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 7. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 26 Jul. 2015 History Originally only vacant abbeys, or such as were temporarily witho ...[...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Federico Sforza
Federico Sforza (20 January 1603 – 24 May 1676) was an Italian Catholic cardinal. Biography Sforza was born in 1603, the son of Alessandro Sforza, 7th Count of Santa Fiora, Duke of Segni and Prince of Valmontone - and Eleonora Orsini. In 1623 he became protonotary apostolic participante. In 1625 he was appointed governor of Terni and then of Cesena until 1626. Later he served as vice- legate in Avignon between 1637 and 1645. Pope Innocent X, elected in 1644 and concerned that so noble a house as Sforza should go without a cardinal, decided Federico Sforza should "wear the purple".''Pope Alexander the Seventh and the College of Cardinals'' by John Bargrave, edited by James Craigie Robertson (reprint; 2009) And so, Sforza was asked to return to Rome by Pope Innocent who elevated him to cardinal in 1645 and appointed him bishop of Rimini where he served for 11 years before resigning in 1656. He participated in the conclave of 1655 which elected Pope Alexander VII and ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Francesco Sforza (cardinal)
Francesco Sforza (Parma, 6 November 1562 – Rome, 5 February 1624) was an Italian cardinal and bishop. He was very influential in a number of conclaves. Biography Background and early career in the military A member of the House of Sforza, Francesco Sforza was born in Parma on 6 November 1562, the son of Sforza Sforza of Santa Fiora, 1st Marquess of Castell'Arquato, 11th Count of Santa Fiora (1520 - Castell'Arquato, 21 October 1555), by his second wife Caterina de' Nobili (? - 12 December 1605), a grandniece of Pope Julius III. He was the 2nd Marquess of Castell'Arquato, 1st Marquess of Varzi and 12th Count of Santa Fiora. He was the nephew of Cardinals Guido Ascanio Sforza di Santa Fiora, Roberto de' Nobili, and Alessandro Sforza, and paternal grandson of Costanza Farnese (daughter of Alessandro Farnese, later Pope Paul III. He received a military education under Ottavio Farnese, Duke of Parma and later at the court of Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany. He also s ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Alessandro Sforza (cardinal)
Alessandro Sforza (1534–1581) was an Italian Roman Catholic bishop and cardinal. Biography A member of the House of Sforza, Alessandro Sforza was born in Rome in 1534, the son of Bosio II Sforza, count of Santa Fiora e Cotignola, and his wife Costanza Farnese, who was the natural and legitimized daughter of Pope Paul III. His brother Guido Ascanio Sforza di Santa Fiora also became a cardinal. He was the uncle of Cardinal Francesco Sforza. In June 1542 he became a ''scriptor'' of apostolic letters. He completed his training at the ''Gymnasium'' of Perugia, studying letters and probably also civil and canon law, and gained the academic title of '' Magister''. Early in his ecclesiastical career, he became a papal chaplain.Through his older brother's influence, Allessandro was able to purchase a post in the Apostolic Camera. He became a canon of St. Peter's Basilica on 18 April 1554. Around 1549 Sforza came into possession of the garden/vineyard of Cardinal Rodolfo Pio da Carp ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Guido Ascanio Sforza Di Santa Fiora
Guido Ascanio Sforza di Santa Fiora (26 November 1518 – 6 October 1564) was an Italian Cardinal (Catholicism), cardinal, known also as ''The cardinal of Santa Fiora''. Life Born in Rome, he was the eldest son of Costanza Farnese and therefore grandson of Pope Paul III. His father was Bosio II, Count of Santa Fiora. His younger brother was Cardinal Alessandro Sforza (cardinal), Alessandro Sforza (1565). He was the uncle of Cardinal Francesco Sforza (cardinal), Francesco Sforza and great-uncle of Cardinal Federico Sforza (1645). During his time as a cardinal he served as papal legate, legate as well as administrator of different towns and episcopal sees. His ecclesiastical career started very early with his selection as Bishop of ''Montefiascone e Corneto'', nowadays Diocese of Viterbo, Acquapendente, Bagnoregio, Montefiascone, Tuscania e San Martino al Monte Cimino on 12 November 1528 when he was not quite ten years of age. Cardinal His maternal grandfather, Alessandro Farnes ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |