The Diocese of Saluzzo () is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy, centered in the comune of Saluzzo. The diocese was established on 29 October 1511 for political reasons, to transform the Marquisate of Saluzzo into an ecclesiastic territory, and was directly dependent upon the Holy See.Pope Julius II stated in his bull which created the diocese, ...erigimus, creamus, et instituimus... et Sedi Apostolicae immediate subjectam esse volumus et decernamus.... Ughelli, p. 1227. Bima, p. 82. It is now a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Turin."Diocese of Saluzzo" Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved January 4, 2017."Diocese of Saluzzo" GCatholic.org. Gabriel Chow. Retrieved 16 March 2017.
History
The diocese of Saluzzo was established by Pope Julius II on 29 October 1511, in his bull Pro excellenti.Ughelli, I, pp. 1226-1228, prints the entire bull.
The church selected for the new cathedral had formerly been the Church of S. Maria Assunta. In 1481 Count Lodovico II prevailed upon Pope Sixtus IV to establish the church as a Collegiate Church, headed by a Dean and six dignities (Archdeacon, Provost, Archpriest, Cantor, Precentor, Treasurer), with twelve Canons.Savio, Saluzzo e i suoi vescovi, pp. 53-60. The canonical establishment of the Collegiate Church was carried out by Cardinal Domenico della Rovere on 21 January 1483.Domenico Chiattone, in: Savio, Carlo Fedele; Patrucco, C.; Durando E. and Chattone, D. (1901). Studi e documenti sul duomo di Saluzzo e su altre chiese nell'antico marchesato, p. 184. As a cathedral, it was staffed by a Cathedral Chapter,C.D. Fonseca, "La cattedrale e il suo Capitolo. Analisi comparata in prospettiva storica, ecclesiologica e canonistica," , in: Annali di Studi Religiosi Vol. 4 (2003), pp. 215-235. which consisted of six dignities (including the Archdeacon, the Archpriest, the Provost, the Cantor, the Precentor and the Treasurer) and twelve additional Canons.Ughelli, p. 1226. Cappelletti, p. 266. Ritzler-Sefrin, V, p. 341 note 1. Chiattone, p. 256, no. 44. The new Chapter collected its various regulations into a Statute book, which was confirmed by the new Bishop on 3 November 1516Chiattone, p. 201.
A diocesan synod was opened on 3 August 1516 by Bishop Giuliano Tornabuoni (1516–1530). A set of statutes, containing eighty-seven clauses, was issued.Savio, Saluzzo e i suoi vescovi, pp. 138; 143-147. Tornabuoni then went to Rome, to have Pope Leo X rule on some questions about civil and religious jurisdiction in the diocese of Saluzzo. But on 22 October 1517 he had already been appointed Castellan of the Castel S. Angelo, which required his continuing presence in Rome; he was still Castellan on 19 October 1521, according to the records of the Chapter of the cathedral of Saluzzo. Pagliucchi assigns the dates of July 1517 to 24 September 1522 to Tornabuoni's tenure. Saluzzo was governed by his Vicar General, Filippo de Pistorio, and episcopal functions were delegated to Antonio Vacca, the titular Bishop of Nicomedia.Savio, p. 149 note 2.
In 1522 the duchy of Saluzzo was attacked by forces of the Emperor Charles V, led by Pompeo Colonna, who were planning to invade Provence. The ducal family was forced to flee, and the town of Saluzzo was taken by the lances of the imperial army.Savio, pp. 167-168. In 1523 and again in 1525 the Marquisate was stricken by the plague. And on 20 February 1525 the whole of Piedmont suffered two large earthquakes.Savio, p. 170.
A diocesan synod, the fifteenth, was held on 5—7 October 1954 by Bishop Egidio Luigi Lanza.
Bishops of Saluzzo from 1511 to 1698 Gianantonio della Rovere (1511–1512)Giovanni Antonio della Rovere was the son of Bartolomeo Grosso of Savona, and a cousin of Pope Julius II, and a Canon of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. He was appointed on 11 October 1511, though he was not a priest and was too young to be consecrated a bishop. He was made a member of the Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, and Grand Prior of the Roman Province. He resigned the diocese of Saluzzo on 27 August 1512. Ughelli, I, pp. 1228-1229. Bima, pp. 84-85. Savio, Saluzzo e i suoi vescovi, pp. 122-125. Eubel, III, p. 290. Sisto Gara della Rovere (1512–1516)Sisto della Rovere was a cousin of Pope Julius II. He was appointed Bishop of Saluzzo by Julius II on 26 September 1512 (not on 27 August, as in Gams and Eubel, who are inferring the date from the date of resignation of Gianantonio, and who are unfamiliar with the local documents). He was dispensed from the impediment of youth, but was never consecrated a bishop. He never left Rome, but was represented in Saluzzo by the Archpriest, Antonio Vacca, who was titular Bishop of Nicomedia. Sisto della Rovere died in mid-April 1516. Savio, Saluzzo e i suoi vescovi, Pagliucchi, p. Eubel, III, p. 290. Giuliano Tornabuoni (1516–1530 Resigned)Tornabuoni was the son of Filippo Tornabuoni, Gonfaloniere of Florence in 1476. The family was closely connected with the Medici, and Giuliano became a Canon of Florence in 1468; in 1513 he was a member of the Florentine embassy sent to congratulate Giovanni de' Medici on having been elected Pope Leo X. In the Consistory of 7 November 1530 his resignation of the diocese of Saluzzo in favor of his nephew Alfonso was accepted by Pope Clement VII (Medici). Savio, pp. 136-149. Pagliucchi p. 73. Eubel, III, p. 290. Alfonso Tornabuoni (1530–1546)Alfonso Tornabuoni, the nephew of Bishop Giuliano Tornabuoni, was appointed by Pope Clement VII on 7 November 1530, and was consecrated by the Pope. He was transferred to the diocese of Borgo Sansepolcro on 29 October 1546, exchanging that diocese with Bishop Filippo Archinto of Borgo San Sepolcro. Savio, pp. 184-196 (though his dates are confused). Eubel, III, pp. 143, 290. Filippo Archinto (1546–1556)Archinto was a native of Milan, and a noted jurisconsult. In 1527 he was a member of an embassy to the Emperor Charles V to congratulate him on the birth of a son, but also to negotiate better political terms for Milan after the Battle of Pavia. In 1528 he was named a Councilor of the Spanish Governor of Milan, Antonio de Leva. He held the post of Scriptor litterarum Apostolicarum in the Roman Curia, and was Vicar of the City of Rome under four Popes, in which post he continued to serve after his appointment to the diocese of Borgo San Sepolcro (1539–1546). He was named Bishop of Saluzzo on 19 October 1546 by Pope Paul III. He was present at the Council of Trent in 1546 and 1547, and was Papal Legate in Venice from 1554 to 1556. He was appointed Archbishop of Milan on 16 December 1556, and died on 21 June 1558. Bima, p. 85. Savio, pp. 206-219. Eubel, III, p. 240, 290 with note 6. Gabriele Cesano (1556–1568)Cesano had been a Canon of Pisa, and was a friend of Queen Catherine de Medici of France. He was appointed Bishop of Saluzzo on 16 December 1556 by Pope Paul IV at the request of the Queen. He died on 27 July 1568. Ughelli, I, pp. 1229-1230. Bima, p. 86. Eubel, III, p. 290. Giovanni Maria Tapparelli, O.P. (1568–1581)Tapparelli died on 24 February 1581 at the age of 65. Ughelli, I, p. 1230. Bima, p. 86. Savio, Saluzzo e i suoi vescovi, pp. 264-285. Eubel, III, p. 290 with note 8. Giovanni Luigi Pallavicino Ceva (1581–1583)Pallavicino: Appointed Bishop of Marsico Nuovo. Eubel, III, p. 290 with n. 9. Antonio Francesco Pichot, O.S.B. (1583–1597)Pichot: Ughelli, I, p. 1230. Bima, p. 86. Savio, Saluzzo e i suoi vescovi, pp. 298-307. Eubel, III, p. 290.
Sede vacante (1597–1602)Gams, p. 821 column 2. Giovanni Giovenale Ancina, C.O. (1602–1604 Died) Gauchat, Hierarchia catholica IV, p. 302 with note 3. Sede vacante (1604–1608)Gams, p. 821 column 2. Ottavio Viale (1608–1624)Born in Turin, Viale had Vicar General of Turin. He died on 7 December 1624. Bima, p. 85. Gauchat, IV, p. 302 with note 4. [Agappino Solano de' Conti di Moretta]Solano was nominated by Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy, but he died on 18 June 1625, before he was confirmed by Pope Urban VIII. Bima, pp. 86-87. Savio, Saluzzo e i suoi vescovi, pp. 223-224. Gauchat, IV, p. 302 note 4. Giacomo Marenco (1627–1634)Marenco: Appointed Bishop of Nice. Gauchat, IV, p. 302 with note 5. Pietro Bellino (1636–1641 Died)Bellino: Gauchat, IV, p. 302 with note 6. Francesco Agostino della Chiesa (1642–1662)A native of Saluzzo, Della Chiesa, the son of Count Niccolino della Chiesa dei Cervignaschi, was born in 1593. He studied at the Sapienza in Rome and received the degree of Doctor in utroque iure in 1615. He was appointed a Protonotary Apostolic, and was sent back to Saluzzo as a delegate of the Sacred Congregation of Rites to inquire into the heroic virtues of Bishop Giovanni Giovenale Ancina. He was named Vicar General. He served as historian and secretary of the ducal house of Savoy (Carlo Emanuele, Victor Amadeo, and the Regent Christiane de Borbon). At the request of the Duchess, della Chiesa was appointed Bishop of Saluzzo by Pope Urban VIII on 11 August 1642. He died on 13 September 1662. Ughelli, pp. 232-233. Cappelletti, pp. 274-276. Gauchat, IV, p. 302 with note 7. Carlo Piscina (1664–1668 Died)Piscina: Cappelletti, XIV, p. 277. Gauchat, IV, p. 302 with note 8. Nicola Lepori, O.P. (1668–1686)Lepori was born at Pico, a small village in the foothills to the southwest of Aquino near Monte Cassino, in 1623. He was a member of the convent of the Dominicans at the Minerva in Rome, whence he obtained a degree of master of theology (1653). He was named Bishop of Saluzzo by Pope Clement IX on 9 April 1668, and was consecrated in Rome by Cardinal Carlo Pio di Savoia on 15 April. He died in Rome at the Minerva on 21 December 1686 (Ughelli-Coleti puts the death on 21 November). Ughelli, p. 1233. Ritzler-Sefrin, V, p. 341 with note 2. Michael Ludovicus Tevenardi, O.P. (1688–1697 Died)Tevenardi was born in Saluzzo in 1632. He became a master of theology in 1669, and served as Inquisitor of the diocese of Turin. He was named Bishop of Saluzzo by Pope Innocent XI on 31 May 1688, and was consecrated in Rome by Cardinal Carlo Pio di Savoia on 8 June 1688. He died on 17 May 1697. Ughelli, p. 1233. Cappelletti, XIV, p. 277. Ritzler-Sefrin, V, p. 341 with note 3.
from 1698 to 1901 Carlo Giuseppe Morozzo, O. Cist. (1698–1729)Morozzo was born in Mondovi in 1645. He was named Theologian of the Duke of Savoy in 1680, having already been a Prior of his Cistercian convent, and Provincial of the Cistercian Province of Piedmont and Savoy. He became Abbot General of the entire Cistercian Order. He was named Bishop of Bobbio (1693–1698), and was consecrated in Rome by Cardinal Galeazzo Marescotto on 27 December 1693. He was transferred to the diocese of Saluzzo on 27 January 1698. He presided over a diocesan synod in 1707. Cappelletti, p. 277. Ritzler-Sefrin, V, pp. 122 with note 3; 341 with note 4. Giovanni Battista Lomellini, O.P. (1729–1733)Lomellini was born at Carmagnola (diocese of Saluzzo) in 1670. He studied at the Dominican studium at the Minerva in Rome, and held the degree of master of theology. He was Penitentiary in the Cathedral Chapter of Saluzzo. He was nominated by the King of Sardinia, and approved as Bishop of Alghero (Sardinia) by Pope Benedict XIII on 16 December 1726. He was consecrated a bishop in Rome by Pope Benedict on 1 January 1727. He was transferred to the diocese of Saluzzo by Pope Benedict on 17 August 1729. He died in Saluzzo on 28 February 1733 (according to Gams, p. 821), though he is listed as still in office in Annuario pontificio 1734 and 1735. Cappelletti, p. 278. Ritzler-Sefrin, V, pp. 78 with note 8; 341 with note 5. Sede vacante (1733 or 1735 – 1741)