Giuseppe Archinto (or ''Archinti''; 1651–1712) was an Italian diplomat,

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 ...

and Archbishop of Milan from 1699 to 1712.

Early life

Giuseppe Archinto was born in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

on 9 April 1651 (or on 7 May according to other sources). He studied under the

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

s in the College of Brera in Milan. In 1665 he entered in the Pontifical Roman Seminary in Rome. Later he studied for two years in University of Ingolstadt in Germany. He lived also one year in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

and took the opportunity to visit also Hungary, Denmark, France, England and Spain. Returned in Italy, he earned a doctorate in utroque iure at the

University of Pavia The University of Pavia (, UNIPV or ''Università di Pavia''; ) is a university located in Pavia, Lombardy, Italy. There was evidence of teaching as early as 1361, making it one of the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest un ...

on 14 September 1675 and became a lawyer. In this period he moved to Rome where he entered 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 1679 he became protonotary apostolic, and in 1683 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 Byza ...

of the Tribunals of the Apostolic Signature. From 1679 to 1683 he served as Vice- legate of

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

. During this service in one occasion he escaped from Bologna alarmed by the heavy expenses he had to bear: however

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 ...

not only forgave him, but appointed him

titular archbishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of Thessalonica on 18 March 1686. His episcopal consecration was conferred in Rome on 31 March 1686 by Cardinal Flavio Chigi. Following his appointment as titular bishop, in April 1686 he was appointed

Apostolic Nuncio An apostolic nuncio (; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international organization. A nuncio is ...

to the

Grand Duchy of Tuscany The Grand Duchy of Tuscany (; ) was an Italian monarchy located in Central Italy that existed, with interruptions, from 1569 to 1860, replacing the Republic of Florence. The grand duchy's capital was Florence. In the 19th century the population ...

where he served up December 1689. Then he was moved to the nunciature to the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...

where he remained up to January 1696. From Venice he was sent as Nuncio to the

Kingdom of Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

where he remained until August 1700. In Spain he suggested to Charles II of Spain to appoint as successor Philip, Duke of Anjou of the French

House of Bourbon The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a dynasty that originated in the Kingdom of France as a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Kingdom of Navarre, Navarre in the 16th century. A br ...

Archbishop of Milan

On 18 May 1699 Giuseppe Archinto was appointed Archbishop of Milan, however he entered in

only on 24 July 1700 due to his ongoing diplomatic services. On 14 November 1699 he was appointed Cardinal Priest of Santa Prisca. He participated to the 1700 papal conclave. His episcopate overlapped with the

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict fought between 1701 and 1714. The immediate cause was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700, which led to a struggle for control of the Spanish E ...

, and even if Archinto was himself a supporter of the Spanish rule over 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, ...

, he had in 1706 to welcome

Prince Eugene of Savoy Prince Eugene Francis of Savoy-Carignano (18 October 1663 – 21 April 1736), better known as Prince Eugene, was a distinguished Generalfeldmarschall, field marshal in the Army of the Holy Roman Empire and of the Austrian Habsburg dynasty durin ...

who conquered the North-East Italy for the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

coalition, thus starting the transition from the Spanish to the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

government of Milan. Archinto in 1708 and again in 1711 imposed an extraordinary taxation on the diocese in order to financially support the Holy Roman Empire coalition. As archbishop he focused on the instruction of the clergy, he required (1703) a further examination in front of himself to all candidates to the

holy orders In certain Christian denominations, holy orders are the ordination, ordained ministries of bishop, priest (presbyter), and deacon, and the sacrament or rite by which candidates are ordained to those orders. Churches recognizing these orders inclu ...

, he ordered a census of the

will Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...

s in favor of the clergy and imposed to the parish priests the teaching of the

catechism A catechism (; from , "to teach orally") is a summary or exposition of Catholic theology, doctrine and serves as a learning introduction to the Sacraments traditionally used in catechesis, or Christian religious teaching of children and adult co ...

every Sunday. He died in Milan on 9 April 1712. His remains were buried in the Archinto Chapel in the North transept of the Cathedral of Milan, near the sepulcher of his predecessor Filippo Archinto.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Archinto, Giuseppe 1651 births 1712 deaths Diplomats from Milan 18th-century Italian Roman Catholic archbishops Bishops appointed by Pope Innocent XI Bishops appointed by Pope Innocent XII Archbishops of Milan Apostolic nuncios to Tuscany Apostolic nuncios to the Republic of Venice Apostolic nuncios to Spain Burials at Milan Cathedral 18th-century Italian cardinals