Francesco Maria Bourbon Del Monte

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Portrait of Cardinal Francesco Maria del Monte by Ottavio Leoni

Francesco Maria del Monte (born July 5, 1549 in Venice , † August 27, 1627 in Rome ) was an Italian cardinal of the Roman Church .

Life

Del Monte's current fame is based on his position as an early patron of the Italian artist Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio . His collection, the so-called Monte Collection , contained important works of art of his time.

Del Monte was born in Venice as the son of a noble Tuscan family, the Bourbon del Monte Santa Maria , from which several Roman Catholic cardinals come. His father was the Marquis Ranieri Bourbon del Monte, first Count of Monte Baroccio , and his mother was Monte Pianosa. He is related to the royal dynasty of the Bourbon from France. Monte embarked on a professional career in the Roman Catholic Church. He was first abbot of Santa Croce a Monte Fabali . He then went to Rome and became an advisor to Cardinal Alessandro Sforza , before moving to the advisory staff of Cardinal Ferdinando I de 'Medici . He became a member of the Tribunal of the Apostolic Signature for Justice and Grace in 1580 . Years of service for the Medici Grand Duke and former Cardinal Ferdinando de 'Medici followed.

In the consistory of December 14, 1588, Pope Sixtus V made him a cardinalate and in January 1589 he was installed as a cardinal deacon of Santa Maria in Domnica . The ordination received Del Monte on April 10, 1589 in the Church of Santa Maria in Vallicella in Rome by Cardinal Scipione Gonzaga . He took part in the two conclaves in 1590, the conclave in 1591 and the conclave in 1592 . Cardinal Del Monte became cardinal priest of Santi Quirico e Giulia in 1591 and subsequently acquired the titular churches of Santa Maria in Aracoeli (1592), Santa Maria in Trastevere (1611) and San Lorenzo in Lucina (1612). As a cardinal, he represented the interests of the Medici Grand Duke of Tuscany Ferdinando de 'Medici at the Curia. In the conflict between the interests of the Spanish and the French at the papal court, he discreetly sided with the French royal court. From 1606 to 1616 he was Prefect of the Council Congregation , where Pope Paul V made him Cardinal Bishop of the Suburbicarian Diocese of Palestrina in 1615 and personally ordained him on December 7th of the same year ; Co-consecrators were Cardinals Giovanni Evangelista Pallotta , Cardinal Bishop of Frascati , and Benedetto Giustiniani , Cardinal Bishop of Sabina . At the conclave of 1621 he was considered papabile , but his election was prevented by a veto by the cardinals on the Spanish side due to his sympathy for France. Under Pope Gregory XV. In 1621 he became Cardinal Bishop of Porto and Santa Rufina and Subdean of the College of Cardinals , under Urban VIII , the following pontiff, in 1623 Cardinal Bishop of Ostia and Cardinal Dean .

Palazzo Madama , Cardinal del Montes palace in Rome.

Del Monte died in Rome in his Palazzo Madama , now the seat of the Italian Senate .

The Portland Vase

Del Monte is considered an important collector of works of art of his time and a promoter of science. He is considered the first recorded owner of the Portland vase , and his household in Palazzo Madama was an important drawing room during his lifetime, where important intellectuals met. At the time of his death, the art collection consisted of six hundred paintings, and his early financial support to the artist Caravaggio made many of his early works possible. Together with his brother he financially supported the scientist Galileo Galilei , so that he could win a competition in mathematics in Pisa in 1589 and in Padua in 1592. As a thank you, Galileo gave him a copy of Sidereus Nuncius and a telescope as a gift. When Galileo went to Rome in 1611, Cosimo II. De 'Medici sent him to the Cardinal's company to support him.

In current historical research, Del Monte is rated as a homosexual man.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Clovis Whitfield: The Camerino of Cardinal del Monte. In: Paragone , LIX, n.77, 2008, pp. 3-38
  2. ^ Mario Biagioli: Galileo, Courtier: The Practice of Science in the Culture of Absolutism. University of Chicago Press, Chicago & London 1993, ISBN 0-226-04560-9 , pp. 30 f.
  3. ↑ GLBTQ: The Western World from Ancient Greece until 1900 ( Memento of April 2, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
predecessor Office successor
Antonio Maria Sauli Dean of the College of Cardinals
1623–1625 		Ottavio Bandini
Antonio Maria Sauli Cardinal Bishop of Ostia and Velletri
1623–1625 		Ottavio Bandini
Benedetto Giustiniani Subdean of the College of Cardinals
1621–1623 		Francesco Sforza
Benedetto Giustiniani Cardinal Bishop of Porto
1621–1623 		Ottavio Bandini
Benedetto Giustiniani Cardinal Bishop of Palestrina
1615–1621 		Ottavio Bandini
personal data
SURNAME Monte, Francesco Maria Bourbon Del
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Bourbon del Monte Santa Maria, Francesco Maria
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Belgian Catholic priest, doctor of theology, ancient orientalist and historian of religion, bishop, cardinal
DATE OF BIRTH July 5, 1549
PLACE OF BIRTH Venice
DATE OF DEATH August 27, 1627
Place of death Rome