Lorenzo Magalotti (1 January 1584 – 19 September 1637) was an Italian clergyman who was

Cardinal Secretary of State The Secretary of State of His Holiness (; ), also known as the Cardinal Secretary of State or the Vatican Secretary of State, presides over the Secretariat of State of the Holy See, the oldest and most important dicastery of the Roman Curia. Th ...

under

Pope Urban VIII Pope Urban VIII (; ; baptised 5 April 1568 – 29 July 1644), born Maffeo Vincenzo Barberini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 August 1623 to his death, in July 1644. As pope, he expanded the papal terri ...

from 1623 to 1628, and later Bishop of Ferrara till his death.

Early life

Lorenzo Magalotti was born on 1 January 1584 (1583 according to the

Florentine calendar The Florentine calendar, also referred to as the ''stylus Florentinus'' ("Florentine style"), was the calendar used in the Republic of Florence in Medieval Italy, Italy during the Middle Ages. Unusually, both the beginning of the day and the begi ...

) 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 ...

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

Vincenzo Magalotti, and Clarice Capponi. He studied law at the

University of Perugia The University of Perugia ( Italian ''Università degli Studi di Perugia'') is a public university in Perugia, Italy. It was founded in 1308, as attested by the Bull issued by Pope Clement V certifying the birth of the Studium Generale. The offi ...

and completed his studies earning a

doctorate 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 law (legal syste ...

in 1607 at the

University of Pisa The University of Pisa (, UniPi) is a public university, public research university in Pisa, Italy. Founded in 1343, it is one of the oldest universities in Europe. Together with Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa and Sant'Anna School of Advanced S ...

. After the death of his father, in 1608 he moved to Rome and 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 1609 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 1611 for three years he was appointed Vice-

legate Legate may refer to: People * Bartholomew Legate (1575–1611), English martyr * Julie Anne Legate (born 1972), Canadian linguistics professor * William LeGate (born 1994), American entrepreneur Political and religious offices *Legatus, a hig ...

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 ...

. From 1616 to 1618 he was governor of Montaldo (the southern part of

Marche Marche ( ; ), in English sometimes referred to as the Marches ( ) from the Italian name of the region (Le Marche), is one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. The region is located in the Central Italy, central area of the country, ...

) and from 1618 to 1619 he acted as Vice-legato of Patrimonio (the province of

Viterbo Viterbo (; Central Italian, Viterbese: ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in the Lazio region of Italy, the Capital city, capital of the province of Viterbo. It conquered and absorbed the neighboring town of Ferento (see Ferentium) in ...

) and in 1620 he was appointed governor of Ascoli. Returned to Rome, he was appointed commissary general of the

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

, governor of

Cascia Cascia () is a town and ''comune'' (municipality) of the Italian province of Perugia in a rather remote area of the mountainous southeastern corner of Umbria. It is about 21 km from Norcia on the road to Rieti in the Lazio (63 km). It is ...

and finally in 1623 secretary of the Sacra Consulta, the organ of governance of the Papal States out of

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, ...

. It is in these years that Magalotti had a correspondence in

Galileo Galilei Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642), commonly referred to as Galileo Galilei ( , , ) or mononymously as Galileo, was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a poly ...

. Such rapid career was favored by Cardinal

Maffeo Barberini Pope Urban VIII (; ; baptised 5 April 1568 – 29 July 1644), born Maffeo Vincenzo Barberini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 August 1623 to his death, in July 1644. As pope, he expanded the papal terri ...

, whose brother, Carlo Barberini married in 1594 Lorenzo's sister, Costanza Magalotti.

Secretary of State

A turning point in the life of Lorenzo Magalotti was the elevation of Maffeo Barberini to the papacy as

in August 1623. As in use in such age, the Pope trusted for the important political affairs only on his own relatives. The Pope appointed his nephew Francesco Barberini (son of Costanza Magalotti, and thus nephew also of Lorenzo) as

cardinal nephew A cardinal-nephew (; ; ; ; )Signorotto and Visceglia, 2002, p. 114. Modern French scholarly literature uses the term "cardinal-neveu'". was a cardinal elevated by a pope who was that cardinal's relative. The practice of creating cardinal-nephews ...

, and Lorenzo Magalotti himself, brother-in-law of the Pope’s brother, as head of the private papal secretaries, which was the function of the Papal Secretary of State in such a time. Lorenzo Magalotti was created

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 ...

on 7 October 1624 with the title of

Santa Maria in Aquiro Santa Maria in Aquiro is a church in Rome, Italy. It is dedicated in honor of Mary, mother of Jesus, and is located on Piazza Capranica. The church is ancient—it was restored by Pope Gregory III in the 8th century, and thus must have existed ...

and on 16 December 1624 he passed to the order of

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 ...

s maintaining the same title. On 28 February 1628 he gained the title of Cardinal of Santi Giovanni e Paolo. Due to the young age and the lack of experience of the cardinal nephew, the Secretary of State became under Lorenzo Magalotti the main political office used by the Pope to manage the foreign and internal political affairs. The sphere of competence of the Secretary of State however overlapped with the more institutional competence of the cardinal nephew. As soon as the two nephews of the Pope, Francesco Barberini and the younger

Antonio Barberini Antonio Barberini (5 August 1607 – 3 August 1671) was an Italian people, Italian Roman Catholic Church, Catholic Cardinal (Catholicism), cardinal, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Reims, Archbishop of Reims, military leader, patron of the arts a ...

, became more experienced, Urban VIII decided to remove Lorenzo Magalotti from the Secretary in order to leave space to his nephews in the political affairs. This decision was effective to the strategy of Pope Urban VIII to favour his own family, almost establishing a

Barberini The House of Barberini is a family of the Italian nobility that rose to prominence in the 17th century Rome. Their influence peaked with the election of Cardinal Maffeo Barberini to the papal throne in 1623, as Pope Urban VIII. Their urban pal ...

dynasty. A strategy not shared by Lorenzo Magalotti who, for example, opposed the elevation to cardinalate of Antonio Barberini in 1627.

Bishop of Ferrara

Lorenzo Magalotti was appointed on 5 May 1628 Bishop of Ferrara, formally a promotion but actually his discharge from the Secretary of State. He was saddened by such decision, and he established to leave immediately Rome for Ferrara, just after being consecrated

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 ...

on 7 May by Volpiano Volpi (

Bishop of Novara The Diocese of Novara () is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in the Piedmont region of northwest Italy. It is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Vercelli.Apostolic Datarius) and after the formal dismiss from the Pope. He was forbidden to return to Rome. Magalotti entered in Ferrara on 4 June 1628. In Ferrara he faced the plague and famine which devastated the town, and he tried to provide help to the population. As bishop he applied the reformed principles set by the

Council of Trent The Council of Trent (), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation at the time, it has been described as the "most ...

, visited the

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...

and held a

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, ...

in June 1637. The second part of his govern was marked by conflicts with the Cardinal Legate (the governor of the province), such as Giovan Battista Pallotta, where Lorenzo Magalotti defended the rights of the bishop. He died in Ferrara on 19 September 1637, without having never returned to Rome. He was buried under the floor of the

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

of such a town.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Magalotti, Lorenzo 1584 births 1637 deaths Clergy from Florence 17th-century Italian cardinals Cardinals created by Pope Urban VIII Bishops of Ferrara Cardinal secretaries of state