
Cristoforo della Rovere (13 June 1434 – 1 February 1478) (called the Cardinal of Tarentaise) was an
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
bishop
A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...
and
cardinal
Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to
* Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds
**''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae
***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...
.
Biography
A member of the
House of della Rovere
The House of Della Rovere (; literally "of the oak tree") was a powerful Italian noble family. It had humble origins in Savona, in Liguria, and acquired power and influence through nepotism and ambitious marriages arranged by two Della Rovere p ...
, Cristoforo della Rovere was born in
Turin
Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...
on 13 June 1434, the son of Giovanni della Rovere and Anna del Pozo.
His younger brother,
Domenico della Rovere
Domenico della Rovere (1442 – 23 April 1501) was an Italian cardinal and patron of the arts.
Life
He was born in Vinovo, near Turin, and was not a relative of Pope Sixtus IV (Francesco Della Rovere), who, however, favoured him in the hope ...
, also became a cardinal.
He was educated at the
University of Bologna
The University of Bologna (, abbreviated Unibo) is a Public university, public research university in Bologna, Italy. Teaching began around 1088, with the university becoming organised as guilds of students () by the late 12th century. It is the ...
, receiving a
doctorate
A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...
in
law
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...
.
He then became a
jurisconsult
A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyzes and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal education in law (a law degree) and often a legal practitione ...
and a
protonotary apostolic.
On 3 August 1472 he was elected
Archbishop of Tarentaise
The Archdiocese of Tarentaise () was a Roman Catholic diocese and archdiocese in France, with its see in Moûtiers, in the Tarentaise Valley in Savoie. It was established as a diocese in the 5th century, elevated to archdiocese in 794, and disba ...
.
Pope 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 ...
confirmed his appointment on 15 September 1472 and he subsequently occupied the see until his death.
The Pope later made him Governor of the ''
Castel Sant'Angelo
Castel Sant'Angelo ( ), also known as Mausoleum of Hadrian (), is a towering rotunda (cylindrical building) in Parco Adriano, Rome, Italy. It was initially commissioned by the Roman Emperor Hadrian as a mausoleum for himself and his family. ...
'' in
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
.
In the
consistory
Consistory is the anglicized form of the consistorium, a council of the closest advisors of the Roman emperors. It can also refer to:
*A papal consistory, a formal meeting of the Sacred College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church
*Consistor ...
of 10 December 1477 Pope Sixtus IV made him a
cardinal priest
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 visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. Ca ...
.
On 12 December 1477 he received the
titular church
In the Catholic Church, a titular church () is a Churches in Rome, church in Rome that is assigned to a member of the Holy orders in the Catholic Church, clergy who is created a Cardinal (Catholic Church), cardinal. These are Catholic churches in ...
of
San Vitale and the Pope dispatched one of the
conservators In certain areas of England, conservators are statutory bodies which manage areas of countryside for the use of the public.
Establishment, role and powers
Conservators are bodies corporate generally established, and granted their powers, by a ...
of Rome to the ''Castel Sant'Angelo'' to give him the
red hat
Red Hat, Inc. (formerly Red Hat Software, Inc.) is an American software company that provides open source software products to enterprises and is a subsidiary of IBM. Founded in 1993, Red Hat has its corporate headquarters in Raleigh, North ...
.
He was already ill when he became a cardinal and died shortly thereafter in Rome on 1 February 1478.
He is buried in
Santa Maria del Popolo
The Parish Basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo () is a titular church and a minor basilica in Rome run by the Augustinian order. It stands on the north side of Piazza del Popolo, one of the most famous squares in the city. The church is hemmed in b ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:della Rovere, Cristoforo
1434 births
1478 deaths
Cristoforo
15th-century Italian cardinals
15th-century Italian Roman Catholic archbishops
Clergy from Turin