Innocenzo Ciocchi del Monte

Innocenzo Ciocchi del Monte (* 1532 in Fidenza , Province of Parma, † November 3, 1577 in Rome ) was a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church . He owes his cardinal hat to Julius III. who was his adoptive uncle.

Cardinal coat of arms, modern tracing

Problems of nepotism

Promoting and honoring family members was not uncommon for popes of the 15th and 16th centuries. While this nepotism is criticized from today's point of view and is considered incompatible with the papacy, such behavior was expected of a pope in the early modern period. The promotion of Innocenzo Ciocchi del Monte by Julius III. and his appointment as cardinal nonetheless met with widespread incomprehension in the society of the time. One of the official criticisms was his way of life, but it was much more his parentage that was meant. One of the most important critics who considered the newly appointed cardinal unworthy was the influential Cardinal Gian Pietro Carafa , the head of the Inquisition and later Pope Paul IV.

Origin and career

Julius III. was the patron of Cardinal del Monte

Innocenzo came from a humble background. He met his later adoptive uncle at a young age when he was traveling as a papal legate in Parma and Piacenza . The Fama reports that the boy courageously intervened when the future Pope Julius III. was attacked by his pet monkey. Julius III. then supposedly appointed the boy as a monkey keeper and made him a member of his household. He later persuaded his brother Baldovino Ciocchi del Monte to adopt the boy, who was then named Innocenzo Ciocchi del Monte . This unusual practice sparked a rumor in Rome that the boy was either an illegitimate son of Julius III. or trade his beloved.

In any case, the career of Innocenzo Ciocchi del Monte, which this after the papal election of Julius III. on February 8, 1550. Immediately after the beginning of the pontificate he received several benefices, so that he became one of the richest prelates in Rome. With the appointment as cardinal in May 1550, Cardinal del Monte became the so-called cardinal depository , as the dignitary who was closest to the Pope was called. The promotion of a non-blood relative to this office, which was normally reserved for a nephew of the Pope, met with widespread incomprehension. This increased when the last male (marital) heir of the Del Monte family died. Julius III. considered in this situation to restore his adoptive nephew to the worldly status and to marry the widow of his deceased biological nephew. However, this was rejected by members of the Ciocchi del Monte family who were still alive. They prevailed with the fact that an illegitimate son of the Pope's brother Baldovinos was recognized as the heir to the Ciocchi del Monte family.

The career of Cardinal Ciocchi del Monte ended when, in March 1555, Julius III. died. Marcellus II criticized him for the way he lived. Even Paul IV. Admonished and sent the Cardinal, who had lost his influence and prominent position within the College of Cardinals with the death of his patron. Nevertheless, he continued the dissolute and violent lifestyle. In the vacancy after the death of Paul IV, he committed two murders during a quarrel, and beating one of his servants to death a third. He escaped prosecution because , in order to be elected, Pius IV had promised impunity for all crimes committed during the Sedis vacancy. Innocenzo was arrested when he became violent again. On May 27, 1560 he was imprisoned in Castel Sant'Angelo . In September 1561 released from prison, he was under the supervision of two Jesuits in the Tuscany banished. After the cardinal was again noticed by violence in 1568, Pius V had him assigned to a room in the Vatican with two Theatine monks to supervise. After Pius V, who was then taking tough measures against prostitution , which was widespread in Rome, learned that Innocenzo had had sex with prostitutes during Lent in 1569, he was again exiled to Castel Sant'Angelo and finally to the Montecassino Abbey . All benefices granted to him were withdrawn and the right to vote associated with the cardinal title was suspended.

Innocenzo Ciocchi del Monte died on November 3, 1577.

Web links

• Ciocchi del Monte, Innocenzo. In: Salvador Miranda : The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church. ( Florida International University website), accessed July 17, 2017.

literature

• Pietro Messina:  Del Monte, Innocenzo. In: Massimiliano Pavan (ed.): Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (DBI). Volume 38:  Della Volpe-Denza. Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, Rome 1990.
• Daniel Büchel: From ape keeper to ape theater. The rise and fall of Cardinal Innocenzo Ciocchi del Monte. In: Arne Karsten (ed.): Hunt for the red hat. Cardinal careers in baroque Rome. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2004, ISBN 3-525-36277-3 , pp. 29-43.