Paolo di Campofregoso (

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 ...

, 1427 –

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, ...

, 22 March 1498) was a Genoese aristocrat and Italian

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 was three times Doge of the Republic of Genoa, Roman Catholic

Archbishop of Genoa The Archdiocese of Genoa () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Italy. Erected in the 3rd century, it was elevated to an archdiocese on 20 March 1133. The archdiocese of Genoa was, in 1986, united with ...

from 1453 to 1498 and Bishop of Ajaccio from 1493 to 1498.

Biography

The son of doge Battista Fregoso, he was convinced by Pope

Nicholas V Pope Nicholas V (; ; 15 November 1397 – 24 March 1455), born Tommaso Parentucelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 March 1447 until his death in March 1455. Pope Eugene IV made him a cardinal in 1446 afte ...

to study ecclesiastical matters at

Pavia Pavia ( , ; ; ; ; ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, in Northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino (river), Ticino near its confluence with the Po (river), Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was a major polit ...

. In 1448, once finished with his studies, he was appointed canon of the cathedral of

Savona Savona (; ) is a seaport and (municipality) in the west part of the northern Italian region of Liguria, and the capital of the Province of Savona. Facing the Ligurian Sea, Savona is the main center of the Riviera di Ponente (the western se ...

, and in 1453 he became abbot of the Cistercian convent of Sant'Andrea at

. The same year, aged only 26, he was appointed

archbishop of Genoa The Archdiocese of Genoa () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Italy. Erected in the 3rd century, it was elevated to an archdiocese on 20 March 1133. The archdiocese of Genoa was, in 1986, united with ...

by request of his brother

Pietro Pietro is an Italian language, Italian masculine given name. Notable people with the name include: People * Pietro I Candiano (c. 842–887), briefly the 16th Doge of Venice * Pietro Tribuno (died 912), 17th Doge of Venice, from 887 to his dea ...

, the current doge. Pietro had become doge for the first time in 1450, succeeding his cousin Lodovico, who had resigned for unknown reasons. His rule ended in 1458 when the city surrendered itself to King

Charles VII of France Charles VII (22 February 1403 – 22 July 1461), called the Victorious () or the Well-Served (), was King of France from 1422 to his death in 1461. His reign saw the end of the Hundred Years' War and a ''de facto'' end of the English claims to ...

. Further strife with his cousin caused Lodovico to cede the title of doge to Paolo on 14 May 1462. His rule ended after just fifteen days, as he was replaced by five captains. The latter, in turn, lasted for only a week, after which Lodovico di Campofregoso was restored as doge: now the hate between Paolo, the city's archbishop, and Lodovico, the city's political chief, reached its apex. Paolo succeeded him as doge in January 1463 and had Lodovico detained in the castle of Castelletto. The following year, after a series of questionable deeds (such as menacing the expulsion of the

Adorno family The Adorno family was a noble family of the Republic of Genoa, with the branches of Botta in Milan, several of whom were Doges of the republic. The family is considered one of the most influential in the history of the republic. The elder branc ...

from Genoa, and the endless strife within the Fregoso family), the Council of the Elders deposed him, accepting the protection of the

House of Sforza The House of Sforza () was a ruling family of Renaissance Italy, based in Milan. Sforza rule began with the family's acquisition of the Duchy of Milan following the extinction of the Visconti family in the mid-15th century and ended with the d ...

, which lasted until 1477.

Life as cardinal

In 1480 he was created cardinal in

. In that year he participated as papal admiral for an expedition alongside the Neapolitan fleet of Ferdinand I against the Turks at

Otranto Otranto (, , ; ; ; ; ) is a coastal town, port and ''comune'' in the province of Lecce (Apulia, Italy), in a fertile region once famous for its breed of horses. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages of Italy"). ...

. In 1483 Paolo di Campofregoso was elected as doge of Genoa for the third time; however, this time a popular rebellion forced him to flee his city in 1488, being succeeded by another submission to the Sforzas. He subsequently lived in exile in

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

Veneto Veneto, officially the Region of Veneto, is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the Northeast Italy, north-east of the country. It is the fourth most populous region in Italy, with a population of 4,851,851 as of 2025. Venice is t ...

and Rome. In 1490 he received the cardinal title of San Sisto, and took part in the conclave of 1492.

Later years

In 1495 he resigned from archbishopric of Genoa, but the following year he was appointed to that post again. In his late life he participated in the struggle to expel Charles VIII of France from Genoa.

References

External links

* retrieved 3 May 2008
Campofregoso Dogi; Paolo
(Italian) retrieved 3 May 2008 {{DEFAULTSORT:Campofregoso, Paolo 1427 births 1498 deaths 15th-century Doges of Genoa Roman Catholic archbishops of Genoa 15th-century Italian cardinals

Paolo Paolo is a masculine given name, the Italian language, Italian form of the name Paul (name), Paul. It may refer to: People Art * Paolo Abbate (1884–1973), Italian-American sculptor * Paolo Alboni (1671–1734), Italian painter * Paolo Anton ...

Bishops of Ajaccio 15th-century Italian Roman Catholic archbishops

Biography

Life as cardinal

Later years

See also

References

External links