Niccolò Ridolfi

Cardinal Niccolò Ridolfi

Niccolò Ridolfi (born July 16, 1501 in Florence , † January 31, 1550 in Rome ) was an Italian cardinal of the Roman Church .

Life

As the son of Piero Ridolfi and Contessina de 'Medici (hence the descendant of Lorenzo il Magnifico ), he was the nephew of Pope Leo X. , which ensured him a quick ecclesiastical career.

As head of Prato , he was made cardinal on July 1, 1517 at the age of 16, and on July 6 of the same year he received the title diaconia of Santi Vito e Modesto .

He held numerous ecclesiastical offices and privileges: from August 24, 1520 until his death, he was Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Orvieto , then he was elected Archbishop of Florence (January 11, 1524 to October 11, 1532, waiver subject to change), Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Vicenza (from March 14, 1524 until death), Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Forlì (April 16, 1526 to August 7, 1528), Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Viterbo (November 16, 1532 to June 6, 1533 and again from April 8 , 1528) . August 1538 to May 25, 1548), Apostolic Administrator of the Archdiocese of Salerno (February 7, 1533 to December 19, 1548) and Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Imola (August 4, 1533 to May 17, 1546).

When differences arose between the two in Florence during the reign of Alessandro de 'Medici , Duke of Florence, and Cardinal Ippolito de' Medici , he and his other cardinal sisters sided with Ippolitos.

In 1534 he returned to Rome, where he opted for the titular diaconia Santa Maria in Cosmedin until he decided on May 31, 1540 for the titled deaconry Santa Maria in Via Lata .

From January 8, 1543 to May 25, 1548 he returned to Florence as Archbishop and resigned again. In the conclave in which Julius III. was elected, he was considered a papabile , but died poisoned during the sessions. It is said that he died at the hand of Giovanni Francesco Lottini , secretary of Cardinal Guido Ascanio Sforza di Santa Fiora .

literature

• La chiesa fiorentina . Arcivescovile Curia, Florence 1970.

Web links

• Niccolò Ridolfi. In: Salvador Miranda : The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church. ( Florida International University website, English)
• Lucinda Byatt:  RIDOLFI, Niccolò. In: Raffaele Romanelli (ed.): Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (DBI). Volume 87:  Renzi – Robortello. Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, Rome 2016.
• Entry on Niccolò Ridolfi on catholic-hierarchy.org