Markus Sittikus von Hohenems (Cardinal)

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Cardinal Markus Sittikus (1578)
Coat of arms of Cardinal Markus Sittikus in the courtyard of the Hohenems Palace in Hohenems, Vorarlberg
Allegory of the Council of Trent, detail: Cardinal Hohenems (left) with Archbishop Hohenems of Salzburg (center) and St. Karl Borromaeus (right) on the Tridentinum (unhistorical fresco by Andreas Brugger , 1798, in the parish church of Hohenems in Vorarlberg)

Mark Sittich von Hohenems , also Marcus Sitticus von Hohenems , also Markus Sittikus III ., Also Marx Sittich III. , also Marco Sittico Altemps , (born August 19, 1533 in Hohenems ; † February 15, 1595 in Rome ) was bishop of Constance from 1561 to 1589 , as well as papal legate and cardinal .

family

Markus Sittikus III. was the second son of Wolf Dietrich von Ems (1507–1538), a captain of Charles V , who came from the Vorarlberg knight dynasty of the Lords of Ems , and Chiara de'Medigino (approx. 1510–1560) from Milan, daughter of Bernardino de ' Medigino and Cecilia Serbelloni. Their brothers were Gian Giacomo "Il Medeghino" († 1555), a condottiere , and Giovanni Angelo, a cardinal. The latter took the name and coat of arms of the (unrelated) Florentine Medici family and was elected Pope Pius IV in 1559 .

Markus Sittikus' brothers were Gabriel and Jakob Hannibal von Hohenems , the latter became general of the troops of Charles V and Philip II. A cousin was Marx Parakeet II von Ems, who was raised to the rank of imperial count at the same time as the brothers in 1560 . Other cousins ​​were Cardinal Karl Borromäus and Federico Borromeo , nephews were Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau , who later became Prince Archbishop of Salzburg (1587–1612), and Markus Sittikus IV von Hohenems (youngest son Jakob Hannibal), who was also Prince Archbishop of Salzburg rise (1612 to 1619).

Life

Since 1550, Markus Sittich von Hohenems was accompanied by his uncle Gian Giacomo Medici , Marchese of Marignano , one of the last violent condottieri of the Renaissance: in 1552 he took part in the battle to regain Metz against France in the entourage of Charles V , 1554/55 he took part in the siege of Siena and fended off a sea attack by the Turks, who had been sent by the French to relieve Siena , in front of the Tuscan port city of Piombino .

His uncle, Cardinal Giovanni Angelo de Medici , was elected Pope at the end of 1559 and received the tiara on January 6, 1560 as Pius IV . He immediately provided his numerous Italian and German nephews with benefits to ensure his power at the Roman court. The family Hohenems was on 27 April 1560 by Emperor Ferdinand I in the imperial counts charged. Markus Sittikus received the diocese of Cassano (Calabria) as administrator on May 29, 1560 , without having previously received church ordinations. On May 2, he was promoted to governor of the Ancona march and then sent to the imperial court in Vienna as papal legate. In the consistory of February 26, 1561 he was elevated to cardinal position and in March he was appointed cardinal deacon of the Roman titular church Santi XII Apostoli , of which he became cardinal priest in 1563.

His attempt to become coadjutor of the sick Bishop Christoph Metzler in Constance with papal help in 1560 initially failed due to resistance from the cathedral chapter, the nobility and the Swiss Confederation . Only after a second attempt with the help of Rome and the support of Emperor Ferdinand I did he become Metzler's successor.

Although Mark Sittich had no theological training whatsoever, he was first created as a papal chamber cleric and in 1561 made a cardinal. As a papal legate, he briefly took part in the 3rd session of the Council of Trent and later, thanks to his diplomatic skills, gained great influence on the papal elections of Pius V , Gregory XIII. and Sixtus V.

Villa Mondragone near Frascati

Because of his activities in Rome, Mark Sittich von Hohenems hardly took care of the affairs of the Diocese of Constance. A diocesan synod carried out by Pius V in 1567 was also unable to resolve the problem of the clergy in the Catholic cantons of Switzerland who were disciplined for their way of life. Since Cardinal von Hohenems refused an urgent substitute solution, in particular to put a stop to the plans of the Confederates' separation from Constance, he came under increasing pressure from his critics and finally resigned as Bishop of Constance in 1589. He was succeeded by Cardinal Andreas of Austria .

After he had previously held numerous important title churches in succession, Pope Gregory XIII appointed him. 1580 as cardinal priest of Santa Maria in Trastevere .

Hohenems was at the conclave of 1592 in the election of Clemens VIII. One of the most important opinion-determining cardinals.

Palazzo Altemps in Rome

Mark Sittich von Hohenems had the Palazzo Altemps built in Rome, with a library (the book holdings now transferred to the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana ) and sculpture collection, and the Villa Mondragone near Frascati . He also acquired the Villa Vecchia in Monte Porzio Catone in 1567 .

One of the cardinal's natural sons, Roberto Altemps (approx. 1566–1586), was appointed commander of the papal troops in Avignon and Duke of Gallese under Sixtus V at a young age . However, when he married Cornelia Orsini , whose family was one of the Pope's sharpest enemies, he had him beheaded at the age of only 20 for alleged adultery. However, his descendants only died out in 1964 with Don Alessandro Duca Altemps in the male line. The titles Duca di Altemps , Marchese (Margrave) di Soriano , Conte (Count) di Meduraca and Signore (Herr) di Tassignano passed to his grandson, Principe Don Alessandro Boncompagni-Ludovisi- Rondinelli-Vitelli-Altemps (* 1972).

literature

Cardinal Markus Sittikus (III.) Von Hohenems (1594)

Web links

Commons : Markus Sittikus von Hohenems (Cardinal)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Herbert Frey: Mark parakeet von Hohenems. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland . November 21, 2006 , accessed June 14, 2019 .
  2. ^ Franz Xaver Bishop: Synods of Constance. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland . October 30, 2008 , accessed June 14, 2019 . Quote: "Since Mark Sittich published the synodal resolutions from Rome on April 2nd, 1568, regardless of objections (from the federal clergy, who held on to their privileges) as a diocesan law and stayed away from the diocese, their practical implementation was very hesitant."
  3. ^ Conclave of January 10-30, 1592
  4. ↑ Cf. Soprintendenza Speciale per i Beni Archeologici di Roma Palazzo Altemps ( Memento from September 19, 2015 in the Internet Archive ); Biblioteca Altempsiana , SAR Biblio Online; Alfredo Serrai: La biblioteca altempsiana, ovvero Raccolte librarie di Marco Sittico III e del nipote Giovanni Angelo Altemps (= Bibliotecario 22, Biblioteche private in Italia 6). Rome 2008.
predecessor Office successor
Christoph Metzler Bishop of Constance
1561–1589 		Andreas of Austria
personal data
SURNAME Hohenems, Markus Sittikus from
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Hohenems, Mark Parakeet from
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Bishop of Constance, cardinal
DATE OF BIRTH August 19, 1533
PLACE OF BIRTH Hohenems
DATE OF DEATH February 15, 1595
Place of death Rome