The Diocese of Arezzo-Cortona-Sansepolcro () is a

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

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 ...

of the

Catholic Church 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 ...

. It has existed since 1986. In that year the historic diocese of Arezzo was combined with the diocese of Cortona and the diocese of Sansepolcro, the enlarged diocese being suffragan of the archdiocese of Florence.

History

Arezzo Arezzo ( , ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in Italy and the capital of the Province of Arezzo, province of the same name located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about southeast of Florence at an elevation of Above mean sea level, above sea level. As of 2 ...

was the see of a diocese in

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...

, directly dependent on the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

. Tradition says it was converted in the 1st century by

Romulus of Fiesole Saint Romulus of Fiesole (, died AD 90) was bishop of Fiesole during the 1st century. He is venerated as the patron saint of Fiesole, Italy. Romulus was probably a local deacon, priest, or bishop of the 1st century. According to tradition, he w ...

, afterwards Bishop of Fiesole, a disciple of St. Paul. Another foundation tale has it that Christianity was brought to Arezzo by S. Barnabas, and by S. Timothy, the disciple of S. Paul. An equally implausible claim is that all of Arezzo was baptized during the episcopacy of Bishop Dicentius in the 5th century. The city's clerks often helped build the church in their own free time. The church helped reward these people with seats of Cardinals. Many of the seats are still there with the names of people who had helped build and donated to the church. It became a bishopric about 304, under Saint Satyrus. Saint Donatus, his successor, is patron of

Arezzo Cathedral Arezzo Cathedral () is a Roman Catholic cathedral in the city of Arezzo in Tuscany, Italy. It is located on the site of a pre-existing Palaeo-Christian church and, perhaps, of the ancient city's acropolis. History The first cathedral of Arezzo ...

, also dedicated to Saint Peter the Apostle. The diocese was originally very large, embracing most of southeastern Tuscany. In 1325, however,

Pope John XXII Pope John XXII (, , ; 1244 – 4 December 1334), born Jacques Duèze (or d'Euse), was head of the Catholic Church from 7 August 1316 to his death, in December 1334. He was the second and longest-reigning Avignon Papacy, Avignon Pope, elected by ...

created the diocese of Cortona out of the territory of Arezzo. In 1462, Pius II created the dioceses of Pienza and Montalcino. In 1561, Pius IV created the diocese of Montepulciano. In 1515 (1520), Leo X created the diocese of Borgo San Sepolcro. The Canons were gathered together as a corporation by Bishop Petrus, c. 840, on instructions from the Emperor Lothair. Bishop Helmpertus built new quarters for them in 1009. In 1677, the cathedral Chapter was composed of four dignities (the Provost, the Archdeacon, the Dean, and the Primicerius) and fourteen Canons. Bishop Theodaldus (1023–1036?) invited

Guido of Arezzo Guido of Arezzo (; – after 1033) was an Italian music theorist and pedagogue of High medieval music. A Benedictine monk, he is regarded as the inventor—or by some, developer—of the modern Staff (music), staff notation that had a massive ...

to train the cathedral singers in the

plainchant Plainsong or plainchant (calque from the French ; ) is a body of chants used in the liturgies of the Western Church. When referring to the term plainsong, it is those sacred pieces that are composed in Latin text. Plainsong was the exclusive for ...

. He dedicated his book ''Micrologus'' to Bishop Thedaldus c. 1025. A letter of Guido to Bishop Theodaldus survives, in which he explains his methodology. Between 1480 and 1485,

Luca Pacioli Luca Bartolomeo de Pacioli, O.F.M. (sometimes ''Paccioli'' or ''Paciolo''; 1447 – 19 June 1517) was an Italian mathematician, Franciscan friar, collaborator with Leonardo da Vinci, and an early contributor to the field now known as account ...

, O.Min., a native of Borgo San Sepolcro, which is a distance of 16 miles (25 km) from Arezzo, visited the site, and described it as "utterly stunning." While Cardinal Guadagni was Bishop of Arezzo, he was able to obtain from his uncle,

Pope Clement XII Pope Clement XII (; ; 7 April 16526 February 1740), born Lorenzo Corsini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 July 1730 to his death in February 1740. Clement presided over the growth of a surplus in the papal ...

, a number of privileges for himself and Arezzo. In the bull "Insignes Ecclesias" of 1 November 1737, Pope Clement lauded the antiquity, faithfulness, and prestige of the diocese as a direct subject of the Roman Church, and conceded to its bishop ''in perpetuo'' archiepiscopal insignia, the

pallium The pallium (derived from the Roman ''pallium'' or ''palla'', a woolen cloak; : pallia) is an ecclesiastical vestment in the Catholic Church, originally peculiar to the pope, but for many centuries bestowed by the Holy See upon metropolitan bish ...

(which could only be worn inside the diocese, and on certain specified feasts and holy days) and the patriarchal cross.

Reorganization of the diocese

On 18 February 1984, the Vatican and the Italian State signed a new an
revised concordat
Based on the revisions, a set of ''Normae'' was issued by the Vatican on 15 November 1984, which was accompanied in the next year, on 3 June 1985, by enabling legislation. According to the agreement, the practice of having one bishop govern two separate dioceses at the same time, ''aeque personaliter'', was abolished. Instead, the Vatican continued consultations which had begun under

Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII (born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death on 3 June 1963. He is the most recent pope to take ...

for the merging of small dioceses, especially those with personnel and financial problems, into one combined diocese. In Tuscany, this particularly affected three dioceses: Arezzo, Cortona, and Borgo San Sepolcro (Biturgensis). On 30 September 1986,

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

ordered that the dioceses of Arezzo, Cortona, and San Sepolcro be merged into one diocese with one bishop, with the Latin title ''Dioecesis Arretina-Cortonensis-Biturgensis''. The seat of the diocese was to be in Arezzo, and the cathedral of Arezzo was to serve as the cathedral of the merged diocese. The cathedrals in Cortona and San Sepolcro were to become co-cathedrals, and their cathedral Chapters were to be a ''Capitulum Concathedralis''. There was to be only one diocesan Tribunal, in Arezzo, and likewise one seminary, one College of Consultors, and one Priests' Council. The territory of the new diocese was to include the territory of the former dioceses of Cortona and Borgo San Sepolcro.

Bishops of Arezzo

to 1000

* Satyrus * Donatus (d. 362 ?) *Gelasius :DomitianusThis name is only found in a list of bishops of Arezzo, the earliest of which was compiled on orders of Gerardus, Primicerius of the church of Arezzo in the third quarter of the 11th century. Dates are unknown. Lnazoni, p. 571. Hofmeister, ''MGH'' XXX, p. 1438, 1439. :Severinus :Florentius :Maximianus :Eusebius *Gaudentius :Dicentius :Laurentius :Gallius (Gallus)This name is only found in a list of bishops of Arezzo, the earliest of which was compiled on orders of Gerardus, Primicerius of the church of Arezzo in the third quarter of the 11th century. Dates are unknown. Lnazoni, p. 572-573. Hofmeister, ''MGH'' XXX, p. 1439. :Benedictus :Olibrius :Vindicianus :Cassianus :Dativus :Dulcitius :Innocentius :Maiurianus *Servandus (c. 650) *Cyprianus (attested 680) *Bonushomo :Vitalianus :Alparius *Lupartianus (attested 714, 715) :Deodatus :Aliseus (c. 735 ?) :Stabilis :Cunimundus *Aribertus (attested 801) *Lampertus (819–828) *Petrus (c. 833–843) *Petrus *Ioannes (c. 863–900) *Petrus (900–916) *Theodicius :... *Hugo (attested 952) *Everardus (attested 963–979) *Helmpertus (attested 994–1010)

1000 to 1500

*Willelmus (attested 1011−1013) *Adalbertus (attested 1015–1021) *Teodaldus (attested 1023–1033) *Irenfridus (Immo) (attested 1036–1048) *Arnaldus (attested c. 1051−1060) *Constantinus (attested 1063–1095) *Sigifredus (attested 1099) *Gregorius (Gualterius) (1105−1114) *Guido Buccatoria (1114–1128) *Buianus (attested 1135, 1136) *Maurus (attested 1136–1140) :''Sede vacante'' (1142) *Girolamo (1142– after 1173) *Heliottus (attested 1177–1186) *Amadeus (attested 1188–1203) *Gregorius (1203–1212) *Martinus (1212–1236) *Marcellus Pete (1236–1248) * Guillelmus dei Pazzi (1253–1289) * Ildebrandino dei conti Guidi (1289–1312) * Guido Tarlati (1312–1325) *Boso Ubertini (1325–1365) *Jacobus Muti (1365-1371) *Joannes Albergotti (1371–1375) *Joannes Albergotti (1375–1390) * Antonio Arcioni (1390–1391) *Angelo Ricasoli (1391–1403) *Pietro Ricci (1403–1411) *Cappone Capponi (1411–1413) *Francesco Jacobi (Bellarmino) (1413–1433) *Roberto degli Asini, O.E.S.A. (1434–1456) *Filippo de' Medici (1457–1461) *Lorenzo Acciaiuoli (1461–1473) * Gentile de' Becchi (1473–1497) *Cosimo de' Pazzi (1497–1508)

1500 to 1800

: Cardinal Raffaele Sansone Riario (1508–1511) ''Administrator'' * Girolamo Sansoni (1511–1519) * Ottaviano Maria Sforza (1519–1525 Resigned) * Francesco Minerbetti (1525–1538 Resigned) * Bernardetto Minerbetti (1538–1574) * Stefano Bonucci (1 Oct 1574 – 2 Jan 1589) * Pietro Usimbardi (9 Jan 1589 – 28 May 1612) * Antonio Ricci (1611–1637) * Tommaso Salviati (1 Mar 1638 – 15 Oct 1671) *Cardinal Neri Corsini (8 Feb 1672 – 7 Mar 1677 Resigned) * Alessandro Strozzi (8 Mar 1677 – 19 Oct 1682) * Giuseppe Ottavio Attavanti (24 May 1683 – 9 Jan 1691) * Giovanni Matteo Marchetti (19 Dec 1691 – Sep 1704) *Benedetto Falconcini (15 Dec 1704 – 6 Mar 1724) * Giovanni Antonio Guadagni, O.C.D. (20 Dec 1724 – 4 Nov 1732 Resigned) *Francesco Guidi (1733–1734) *Carlo Filippo Incontri (1734–1753) *Jacopo Gaetano Nicolò Inghirami (17 Mar 1755 – 20 May 1772) *Angelo Franceschi (13 Nov 1775 –1778 *Niccolò Marcacci (14 Dec 1778 – 1 Jan 1799) :''Sede vacante'' (1799–1802)

since 1800

*Agostino Albergotti (20 Sep 1802 – 6 May 1825) *Sebastiano Maggi (1827–1839) :''Sede vacante'' (1839–1843) *Attilio Fiascaini (1843–1860) :''Sede vacante'' (1860–1867) *Giuseppe Giusti (22 Feb 1867 – 1891 Resigned) *Donnino Donnini (14 Dec 1891 – 18 Oct 1904) *Giovanni Volpi (14 Nov 1904 – 3 Jul 1919 Resigned) *Emanuele Mignone (18 Dec 1919 – 23 Dec 1961) *Telesforo Giovanni Cioli, O. Carm. (23 Dec 1961 Succeeded – 11 Apr 1983 Retired) *Giovanni D'Ascenzi (11 Apr 1983 – 8 Jun 1996 Retired)

Bishops of Arezzo-Cortona-Sansepolcro

* Flavio Roberto Carraro, O.F.M. Cap. (8 Jun 1996 – 25 Jul 1998 Appointed, Bishop of Verona) * Gualtiero Bassetti (21 Nov 1998 – 16 Jul 2009 Appointed, Archbishop of Perugia-Città della Pieve) *Riccardo Fontana (16 Jul 2009 – 15 Sep 2022 Retired)CV of Archbishop Fontana: Diocesi di Arezzo
"Arcivescovo: Biografia"
retrieved: 24 November 2019. *Andrea Migliavacca (15 Sep 2022 – )

Notes

Books

* p. 743. (Use with caution; obsolete) * * * * * * * * *

Studies

*Bougard, François (2012)
"I vescovi di Arezzo nei secoli IX-XI"
in G. Cherubini, F. Barlucchi, G. Firpo (edd.), ''Arezzo nel medioevo'' (Roma: G. Bretschneider), pp. 63–71. *Bresslau, H. (1880). "Chronik des Capitels zu Arezzo." in: ''Neues Archiv Der Gesellschaft Für Ältere Deutsche Geschichtskunde'' 5 (Hannover: Hahn 1880) pp. 442–451. * * *Hofmeister, Adolf (ed.) (1934)

in: ''Monumenta Germaniae Historica'', ''Scriptores'', Tomus XXX, pars II. Leipzig 1934, pp. 1438–1441. *Kehr, Paul Fridolin (1908)
''Italia pontificia''
vol. III. Berlin 1908. pp. 144–196. *Lanzoni, Francesco (1927)
''Le diocesi d'Italia dalle origini al principio del secolo VII (an. 604)''
Faenza 1927, pp. 567–573. *Pasqui, Angiolo; Pasqui, Ubaldo (1880). ''La Cattedrale aretina e suoi monumenti'' Arezzo : Tip. E. Bellotti. * *Schwartz, Gerhard (1913)
''Die Besetzung der Bistümer Reichsitaliens unter den sächsischen und salischen Kaisern : mit den Listen der Bischöfe, 951-1122''
Leipzig-Berlin 1913, pp. 199–203. *Tafi, Angelo (1986). ''I vescovi di Arezzo dalle origini della diocesi (sec. III) ad oggi.'' Cortona: Calosci. *

External links

* A'Becket, John Joseph

The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. Retrieved: 22 November 2019. ::

Co-cathedrals

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roman Catholic Diocese Of Arezzo-Cortona-Sansepolcro

3rd-century establishments in Italy