Giacomo Serra (1570–1623) 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. He was very active as a papal representative to the Emperor during the

Long Turkish War The Long Turkish War (, ), Long War (; , ), or Thirteen Years' War was an indecisive land war between the Holy Roman Empire (primarily the Habsburg monarchy) and the Ottoman Empire, primarily over the principalities of Wallachia, Transylvania, ...

Life

He was a son of the noblewoman Claudia Lomellini and her husband Antonio Maria Serra, deputy to

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

's Nobile Vecchio Portico and a senator of

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 ...

. When his father died in 1579, Giacomo began studying law.Brunelli, Giampiero. "Serra, Giacomo", ''Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani'', Vol. 92 (2018)
/ref> He moved to Rome, where in January 1601 he was made a clerk to 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 ...

. In May of that year he was appointed general commissioner of the army that

Pope Clement VIII Pope Clement VIII (; ; 24 February 1536 – 3 March 1605), born Ippolito Aldobrandini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 30 January 1592 to his death in March 1605. Born in Fano, Papal States to a prominen ...

sent to Hungary against the Turks. Serra had to organize the embarkation of the 9,000 pontifical troops in

Ancona Ancona (, also ; ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region of central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona, homonymous province and of the region. The city is located northeast of Ro ...

and their subsequent journey from the disembarkation point to

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

. In October, the papal mercenaries took part in the unsuccessful Siege of Nagykanizsa. Serra sent regular reports to Rome on the operations. He and the surviving companies arrived 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 ...

in early February. In the summer of 1602, Serra was sent to Vienna with a contribution toward the payment of imperial infantry and cavalry for an anticipated campaign against Pest, which was seen as a base of operations to take nearby

Buda Buda (, ) is the part of Budapest, the capital city of Hungary, that lies on the western bank of the Danube. Historically, “Buda” referred only to the royal walled city on Castle Hill (), which was constructed by Béla IV between 1247 and ...

. In early 1604, he was in Prague until the arrival of the new nuncio. He was acting governor of Borgo while that post was vacant in 1605.

Pope Paul V Pope Paul V (; ) (17 September 1552 – 28 January 1621), born Camillo Borghese, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 16 May 1605 to his death, in January 1621. In 1611, he honored Galileo Galilei as a mem ...

made him pontifical general commissioner for aid against the Turks in the

for which he recruited a regiment of German soldiers. In August 1606 he was appointed commissioner and prefect of Annona in

Umbria Umbria ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region of central Italy. It includes Lake Trasimeno and Cascata delle Marmore, Marmore Falls, and is crossed by the Tiber. It is the only landlocked region on the Italian Peninsula, Apennine Peninsula. The re ...

and the Ancona area; in March 1607, he carried out a series of inspections in the Marche and Romagna. In December 1608, he became treasurer general to the Apostolic Camera. On 17 August 1611

made him a cardinal, granting him the 'diaconi' of

San Giorgio in Velabro San Giorgio in Velabro is a Catholic church dedicated to St. George on Via del Velabro in the historic center of Rome in the Velabrum and the Ripa district. The church—the result of the 9th century expansion of a previous diaconal building ...

on 12 September that year. In 1610-1611 Serra commissioned extensive restorations and invited

Discalced Augustinians The Order of Discalced Augustinians (; abbreviation: OAD) is a mendicant order that branched off from the Order of Saint Augustine as a reform movement. History During the Counter-Reformation, there was a special interest among the Augustinian ...

from his hometown of Genoa to take over management of the church. He then became

papal 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, to some other part of the Catho ...

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 16 September 1615, holding that post until his death. He issued regulations for the maintenance of public order, promoted economic activities, launched substantial public works both in the city and in the territory. He was Cardinal-protector of the Canons Regular of the Lateran. In the meantime he became a cardinal priest on 28 September 1615 with the titulus of

Santa Maria della Pace Santa Maria della Pace is 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 Catholi ...

. He took part in the papal conclaves of

1621 Events January–March * January 12 – Şehzade Mehmed, the 15-year old half-brother of Ottoman Sultan Osman II, is put to death by hanging on Osman's orders. Before dying, Mehmed prays aloud that Osman's reign as Sultan be r ...

and

1623 Events January–March * January 21 **Viscount Falkland, England's Lord Deputy of Ireland, issues a proclamation ordering all Roman Catholic priests to leave Ireland, affecting negotiations over the "Spanish match" (which resume in ...

. Serra died on 19 August 1623 and was buried at Santa Maria della Pace.

Art patron

In 1606-1608 he commissioned an altarpiece for

Santa Maria in Vallicella Santa Maria in Vallicella, also called Chiesa Nuova, is a church in Rome, Italy, which today faces onto the main thoroughfare of the Corso Vittorio Emanuele and the corner of Via della Chiesa Nuova. It is the principal church of the Oratorians ...

from

Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens ( ; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat. He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque tradition. Rubens' highly charged compositions reference erudite aspects of clas ...

. He became a frequent patron of the painter

Guercino Giovanni Francesco Barbieri (February 8, 1591 – December 22, 1666),Miller, 1964 better known as (il) Guercino (), was an Italian Baroque painter and draftsman from Cento in the Emilia region, who was active in Rome and Bologna. The vigorous n ...

and commissioned the '' St. Sebastian curated by Irene'' (National Art Gallery of Bologna), the ''Samson captured by the Philistines'' (Metropolitan museum of art in New York) and the ''Return of the prodigal son'' (Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Serra, Giacomo 1570 births 1623 deaths 17th-century Italian cardinals Clergy from Genoa