Domenico Maria Corsi (1633 – 6 November 1697) was a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

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 ...

who served as

Bishop of Rimini The Diocese of Rimini () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Emilia Romagna, Italy. From earliest times, it was a suffragan to the Holy See, despite repeated attempts by the Diocese of Ravenna to claim ...

from 1687 to his death, and as Legate (i.e. Governor) of

Romagna Romagna () is an Italian historical region that approximately corresponds to the south-eastern portion of present-day Emilia-Romagna, in northern Italy. Etymology The name ''Romagna'' originates from the Latin name ''Romania'', which originally ...

from 1687 to 1693.

Life

Domenico Maria Corsi was born in

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

in 1633 to an important Florentine family: his father, Giovanni of Jacopo marquis of

Caiazzo Caiazzo is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Caserta (Campania) in Italy. It is located on the right bank of the Volturnus, some northeast of Capua. History The ancient Caiatia was already in the hands of the Romans in 306 BC, and sinc ...

, was senator and ambassador of Florence to the

Duchy of Milan The Duchy of Milan (; ) was a state in Northern Italy, created in 1395 by Gian Galeazzo Visconti, then the lord of Milan, and a member of the important Visconti of Milan, Visconti family, which had been ruling the city since 1277. At that time, ...

, and his mother was the marquis Lucrezia Salviati. Domenico Maria studied with support from his uncle Lorenzo Corsi. He graduated in

utroque iure A doctor of both laws, from the Latin , , or ("doctor of both laws") (abbreviations include: JUD, IUD, DUJ, JUDr., DUI, DJU, Dr.iur.utr., Dr.jur.utr., DIU, UJD and UID), is a scholar who has acquired a doctorate in both civil and church law ...

Pisa Pisa ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for the Leaning Tow ...

. On 12 April 1657 he joined the

Accademia della Crusca The (; ), generally abbreviated as La Crusca, is a Florence-based society of scholars of Italian linguistics and philology. It is one of the most important research institutions of the Italian language, as well as the oldest Academy#Linguisti ...

, entering the Academy of Florence (former Accademia degli Apatisti) in 1659. After the death of his uncle, he took up a career in the administration of the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; ; ), officially the State of the Church, were a conglomeration of territories on the Italian peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope from 756 to 1870. They were among the major states of Italy from the 8th c ...

: in 1662 he was made Referendary of the Tribunals of the Apostolic Signature of Justice and of Grace, on 7 March 1664 he was appointed Protonotary apostolic. He was appointed Vice-legato of

Ferrara Ferrara (; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, capital of the province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main ...

in 1666, Vice-governor of

Fermo Fermo (; ancient: Firmum Picenum) is a town and ''comune'' of the Marche, Italy, in the Province of Fermo. Fermo is on a hill, the Sabulo, elevation , on a branch from Porto San Giorgio on the Adriatic coast railway. History The oldest huma ...

in 1668, Vice-legato of

Urbino Urbino ( , ; Romagnol: ''Urbìn'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italy, Italian region of Marche, southwest of Pesaro, a World Heritage Site notable for a remarkable historical legacy of independent Renaissance culture, especially und ...

in 1673. In 1675 he purchased the title of clerk of the

Apostolic Camera The Apostolic Camera (), formerly known as the was an office in the Roman Curia. It was the central board of finance in the papal administrative system and at one time was of great importance in the government of the States of the Church and ...

, and on 16 September 1681 he became ''Auditor Camerae''. In Rome he took the offices of General Commissioner of Army, Responsable of the mint and prefect of the Annona with the responsibility for the grain supply to the city of Rome, engaging in these offices with great energy and strong character. He was also the governor of

1676 papal conclave The 1676 papal conclave was convened after the death of Pope Clement X and lasted from 2 August until 21 September 1676. It led to the election of Cardinal Benedetto Odescalchi as Pope Innocent XI. Conclave After the death of Pope Clement X on ...

that elected

Pope Innocent XI Pope Innocent XI (; ; 16 May 1611 – 12 August 1689), born Benedetto Odescalchi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 21 September 1676 until his death on 12 August 1689. Political and religious tensions with ...

. On 2 September 1686, Pope Innocent XI appointed him

Cardinal deacon 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. C ...

with the title of

Sant'Eustachio Sant'Eustachio () is a Roman Catholic titular church and minor basilica in Rome, named for the martyr Saint Eustace. It is located on Via di Sant'Eustachio in the Sant'Eustachio (rione of Rome), rione Sant'Eustachio, a block west of the Pantheo ...

. On 3 March 1687 he was appointed ''Legate'' (i.e. Governor) of

. He entered in

Ravenna Ravenna ( ; , also ; ) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire during the 5th century until its Fall of Rome, collapse in 476, after which ...

, the capital of Romagna, on 14 June 1687. This office was confirmed on 27 October 1689 for other three years. On 7 July 1687 he was appointed bishop of the nearby town of

Rimini Rimini ( , ; or ; ) is a city in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. Sprawling along the Adriatic Sea, Rimini is situated at a strategically-important north-south passage along the coast at the southern tip of the Po Valley. It is ...

. His

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

followed on 17 August in the Cathedral of Santa Colomba in Rimini at the hands of the bishops of

Cervia Cervia () is a seaside resort town in the province of Ravenna, located in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna. Cervia is a major seaside resort in Emilia-Romagna, North Italy. Its population was 28,983 at the 2023 census. It is mainly ...

Bertinoro Bertinoro () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of Forlì-Cesena, in the Italy, Italian region of Emilia-Romagna. It is located on hill Mount Cesubeo, in Romagna, a few kilometers from the ''Via Aemilia, Via Emilia''. History There ...

and

Montefeltro Montefeltro is a historical and geographical region in northern Italy. It gave its name to the House of Montefeltro, Montefeltro family, who ruled in the area during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. The mountainous region includes San Marino ...

. Corsi was a patron for some contemporary artists, such as Mario Balassi and Alessandro Rondoni the Younger. As ''Legate'' of Romagna he restored in 1692 the

Tomb of Dante The Tomb of Dante () is an Italian neoclassical architecture, neoclassical national monument built over the tomb of the poet Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) in 1781. It is sited next to the Basilica of San Francesco, Ravenna, Basilica of San Francesc ...

. As bishop of Rimini he visited the diocese in 1687, he erected along with the town council an hospital and the

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as cle ...

, in 1692 he built a chapel dedicated to S. Maria del Rifugio aside the old cathedral, and in 1696 he held a diocesan

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 Ancient Greek () ; the term is analogous with the Latin word . Originally, ...

. On 3 December 1696 he was promoted to

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 ...

with the title of

San Pietro in Montorio San Pietro in Montorio (English: "Saint Peter on the Golden Mountain") is a church in Rome, Italy, which includes in its courtyard the ''Tempietto'', a small commemorative ''martyrium'' ('martyry') built by Donato Bramante. History The Church o ...

. He was

Camerlengo of the Sacred College of Cardinals The Camerlengo of the Sacred College of Cardinals was the treasurer of the College of Cardinals in the Catholic Church. The title is based on an Italian word for chamberlain, a word no longer used in secular contexts. The position existed from a ...

from 14 January 1697 until his death. He died in Rimini on 6 November 1697, and he was buried in the cathedral of that town.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Corsi, Domenico Maria 1633 births 1697 deaths 17th-century Italian cardinals 17th-century Italian Roman Catholic bishops Clergy from Florence Bishops of Rimini Domenico Maria Corsi