Marcello Durazzo (

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 ...

, 6 March 1633 –

Faenza Faenza (, ; ; or ; ) is an Italian city and comune of 59,063 inhabitants in the province of Ravenna, Emilia-Romagna, situated southeast of Bologna. Faenza is home to a historical manufacture of majolica-ware glazed earthenware pottery, known ...

, 12 April 1710) was an Italian Catholic Cardinal and Archbishop.

Biography

Marcello Durazzo was born in Genoa in 1633 from a very noble family of the

Genoese Republic The Republic of Genoa ( ; ; ) was a medieval and early modern maritime republic from the years 1099 to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast. During the Late Middle Ages, it was a major commercial power in both the Mediterranean and ...

that had included many prominent figures among its ranks, first of all his father, Cesare Durazzo, who was

Doge of Genoa The Doge of Genoa ( ) was the head of state of the Republic of Genoa, a city-state and soon afterwards a Maritime republics, maritime republic, from 1339 until the state's extinction in 1797. Originally elected for life, after 1528 the Doge (ti ...

(1665–1667) and had married Giovanna Cervetto. He was also the nephew of Cardinal Stefano Durazzo. With the intention of undertaking an ecclesiastical career, he enrolled 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 ...

where he obtained a doctorate in Ultroque iure. He was subsequently appointed Protonotary apostolic from 31 January 1660, then becoming governor 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 ...

from 1662 to 1663. Governor of

Fano Fano () is a city and ''comune'' of the province of Pesaro and Urbino in the Marche region of Italy. It is a beach resort southeast of Pesaro, located where the ''Via Flaminia'' reaches the Adriatic Sea. It is the third city in the region by pop ...

in 1663, he became vice-legate in

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 ...

between 1664 and 1666. Governor of

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 ...

from 30 September 1666 to 1668, then became governor of the

Campagna e Marittima Province The Campagna and Marittima Province (Latin ''Campaniæ Maritimæque Provincia'', Italian ''Provincia di Campagna e Marittima'') was one of the seven provinces of the Papal States from the 12th century to the end of the 18th. The province was esta ...

from 18 April to November 1668. He was finally appointed governor 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 ...

on 14 December 1668, then moving to the governorship of

Perugia Perugia ( , ; ; ) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and part of the valleys around the area. It has 162,467 ...

from 18 July 1670 to 4 May 1671. He was appointed Referendary of the Tribunal of the

Apostolic Signatura The Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura () is the highest judicial authority in the Catholic Church (apart from the pope himself, who as supreme ecclesiastical judge is the final point of appeal on any ecclesiastical matter). In addition, ...

in 1671, only then receiving his

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 ...

. Elected titular

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 ...

Chalcedon Chalcedon (; ; sometimes transliterated as ) was an ancient maritime town of Bithynia, in Asia Minor, Turkey. It was located almost directly opposite Byzantium, south of Scutari (modern Üsküdar) and it is now a district of the city of Ist ...

on 4 May 1671, he became Apostolic nuncio to the Duchy of Savoy from 17 June of that same year until 1672 when, on 28 June, he was appointed assistant to the Papal Throne. Apostolic visitor and governor of Loreto from 1672, he became vice-legate to Avignon from 19 August 1672. Appointed Apostolic nuncio to Portugal from 12 April 1673, after 12 years in Portugal, he moved to the Nunciature in the Kingdom of Spain on 5 May 1685. Created

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 ...

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 ...

in the Consistory of 2 September 1686, he became commendatory abbot of Malignano (

Cremona Cremona ( , , ; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po (river), Po river in the middle of the Po Valley. It is the capital of the province of Cremona and the seat of the local city a ...

). Transferred from Titular to Ordinary Archbishop to the See of Carpentras, he became Count of the

Comtat Venaissin The (; ; 'County of Venaissin'), often called the for short, was a part of the Papal States from 1274 to 1791, in what is now the region of Southern France. The region was an enclave within the Kingdom of France, comprising the area aroun ...

, with the personal title of Archbishop, on 10 November 1687. He did not take part in the 1689 papal conclave that elected

Pope Alexander VIII Pope Alexander VIII (; 22 April 1610 – 1 February 1691), born Pietro Vito Ottoboni, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 October 1689 to his death in February 1691. He is the most recent pope to take the ...

, only receiving the Cardinal purple and 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 Santa Prisca later, on 14 November 1689. Transferred again to the Archdiocese of Ferrara-Comacchio from 27 November 1690, he also retained the personal title of Archbishop. He took part in the 1691 papal conclave that elected

Pope Innocent XII Pope Innocent XII (; ; 13 March 1615 – 27 September 1700), born Antonio Pignatelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 July 1691 to his death in September 1700. He took a hard stance against nepotism ...

as pontiff and was then transferred with his pastoral duties to the Archdiocese of Spoleto-Norcia from 27 August 1691, always with the personal title of Archbishop. Appointed Legate to Bologna from 28 September 1693, he resigned from the regency of the Diocese of Spoleto on 7 February 1695 and transferred to the

Diocese of Faenza-Modigliana The Diocese of Faenza-Modigliana () is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in Italy.

from 11 November 1697, always retaining the title of Archbishop. After participating in the 1700 papal conclave that elected

Pope Clement XI Pope Clement XI (; ; ; 23 July 1649 – 19 March 1721), born Giovanni Francesco Albani, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 23 November 1700 to his death in March 1721. Clement XI was a patron of the arts an ...

as pontiff, he opted for the

San Pietro in Vincoli San Pietro in Vincoli (; Saint Peter in Chains) is a Roman Catholic titular church and minor basilica in Rome, Italy. The church is on the Oppian Hill near Cavour metro station, a short distance from the Colosseum. The name alludes to the Bibl ...

on 21 February 1701, later becoming Legate in Romagna on 6 June 1701, remaining in office until 1706. Marcello Durazzo died on 27 April 1710, at 5:00 p.m., in his episcopal palace in Faenza, while his body was then exposed for public veneration and buried in the city cathedral.

Sources

Entry on Cardinal Marcello Durazzo in ''Treccani''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Durazzo, Marcello 1633 births 1710 deaths 17th-century Italian cardinals 18th-century Italian cardinals 17th-century Italian Roman Catholic archbishops 18th-century Italian Roman Catholic archbishops Cardinals created by Pope Innocent XI Bishops of Carpentras Bishops of Ferrara Apostolic nuncios to Savoy Apostolic nuncios to Portugal Apostolic nuncios to Spain