Alessandro Farnese (5 October 1520P. Rosini, Il Palazzo Farnese di Caprarola (2015), pp. 2-3, provides evidence to indicate that the actual birthday was 27 September. – 2 March 1589) was an Italian cardinal, diplomat, and a great collector and patron of the arts. Farnese was the grandson of Pope Paul III (who also bore the name Alessandro Farnese), and the son of Pier Luigi Farnese, Duke of Parma, who was murdered in 1547. He should not be confused with his nephew, Alessandro Farnese, Governor of the Spanish Netherlands, and the great-grandson of Pope Paul III.
Early life
Farnese was born at the family castle at Valentano in Tuscany on 7 October 1520 (current province of Viterbo), the son of Pierluigi Farnese, who was the son of Cardinal Alessandro Farnese (Pope Paul III); and Girolama Orsini, daughter of Ludovico Orsini, seventh Conte di Pitigliano, and Giulia Conti. Pierluigi Farnese and Girolama Orsini were married in Rome on 6 August 1519. Young Alessandro studied at Bologna along with his cousin, Guido Ascanio Sforza di Santa Fiora.Augustinus Theiner (editor), Caesaris S. R. E. Baronii Annales Ecclesiastici 32 (Paris 1878), Paulus III annus 1, no. 14 (p. 338). He was a member of the Collegio Ancarano, which had been founded in the 15th century by Petrus de Ancarano in Tuscia, for students specializing in legal studies.Camillo Trasmondo Frangipani, Memorie sulla vita e i fatti del Cardinale Alessandro Farnese (Roma 1876), pp. 26-29.
On 18 December 1534, at the age of 14, he was appointed Cardinal Deacon of Sant'Angelo in Pescheria by his grandfather Paul III, who had been elected to the papacy two months previously. On 11 August 1535, he was appointed Abbot Commendatory of the Abbey of Tre Fontane on the Via Ostiense, a position he held until 1544.Un Monaco Cisterciense Trappista (a cura di Massimo Pautrier), Storia dell' Abbazia delle Tre Fontane dal 1140 al 1950 (Roma 2010), pp. 292-299. In 1535, he was also appointed Abbot commendatory of S. Étienne de Caën.Gallia christiana XI(Paris 1759), 428. The authors are unaware of Henri II's revocation of the grant.
Offices
Young Cardinal Farnese received many other offices and benefices, becoming Vice-Chancellor of the Holy Roman Church (13 August 1535 – 2 March 1589),Chancellors and Vice-Chancellors of the Holy Roman Church (GCatholic). The office produced the highest annual income of all the curial offices. He also became Governor of Tivoli (1535–1550),He was appointed Governor of Tivoli on 13 August 1535, on the same day as he was promoted to the titulus of S. Lorenzo in Damaso: Luis de Salazar y Castro, Indice de las glorias de la Casa Farnese (Madrid 1716), p. 239. He was replaced by the new pope Julius III and was succeeded in 1550 by Cardinal Ippolito II d'Este: Francesco Saverio Savi, La Villa d'Este in Tivoli: memorie storiche tratta da documenti inediti (Roma 1902), pp. 32-34. Sante Viola, Storia di Tivoli III (Roma 1819), pp. 187-206. Archpriest of St. Mary Major Basilica (1537–1543), Archpriest of St. Peter's Basilica (1543–1589). On 27 August 1539, at the age of 18, Alessandro Farnese was named titular Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem; he vacated the office on the appointment of a new Patriarch on 28 February 1550. The office was highly lucrative, the duties were nominal and did not necessarily involve episcopal functions.G. Gulik and C. Eubel, Hierarchia catholica III editio altera (curavit J. Schmitz-Kallenberg) (Monasterii 1935), p. 210.
In 1538, he was appointed Pope Paul III's principal Secretary and, with the assistance of Monsignor (Msgr.) Marcello Cervino, he managed most of the papal business until 1549.
In 1541, Cardinal Farnese was named Protector of the Holy Roman Empire before the Holy See and Protector of Spain before the Holy See.Luis de Salazar y Castro, Indice de las glorias de la Casa Farnese (Madrid 1716), p. 240 These offices made him the most prominent expediter of all Imperial and Spanish business in the Roman Curia; his opinion was always consulted and, since he was the Pope's nephew, it was often followed. At the same time, he was appointed Papal Legate in Avignon (1541–1565). Royal consent was required.Roger Vallentin Du Cheylard, "Notes sur la chronologie des Vice-Légats d'Avignon au XVI siècle," (Avignon 1890) [Extrait des Mémoires de l'Académie de Vaucluse 9 (1890) 200-213, at 202-205.] pp. 5-8. He made his solemn entry on 18 March 1553, and resided until June 1554. On the powers and functions of the Legate and Vice-Legate, see: Pierre Le Merre, Pierre Le Merre (jr.), Louis Odespunc de La Meschinière, Jean Le Gentil, Marc Du Saulzet, Abregé du Recueil des actes, titres et mémoires concernant les affaires du clergé de France (Paris 1752), 817-823.
From 1564 to 1565, he was Bishop of Sabina and it is conjectured (in the absence of positive evidence) that it was in 1564 that Farnese finally was consecrated a bishop. He was certainly a bishop when he was the principal Consecrator of Cardinal Giulio della Rovere on 15 April 1566. From 1565 to 1578, he was Bishop of Tusculum (Frascati). He was the Bishop of Porto from 9 July 1578 to 5 December 1580. He was then Cardinal-Bishop of Ostia and Velletri and Dean of the College of Cardinals from 5 December 1580 until his death on 2 March 1589.Gulik and Eubel, p. 56.
Benefices and income
His grandfather, Pope Paul III, immediately named Alessandro Farnese Administrator of the Diocese of Parma (1 November 1534), allowing him to collect the episcopal income during the interregnum. Alessandro resigned on 13 August 1535, when Cardinal Guido Ascanio Sforza di Santa Fiora, another grandson of Paul III and only two years older than Alessandro, was named the new Administrator (enjoying his Parmesan income until he resigned in 1560).
Farnese was appointed Administrator of Jaen, Spain, from 30 July 1535 until another Administrator, Cardinal Alessandro Cesarini, was appointed on 6 July 1537.Gulik and Eubel, p. 203. Luis de Salazar y Castro, Indice de las glorias de la Casa Farnese (Madrid 1716), p. 240, already makes it clear that the post was that of Administrator, not Bishop. He was Administrator of the Archdiocese of Avignon from 1535 to 1551Gulik and Eubel, p. 127. Gallia christiana Tomus primus (Paris 1716), 831-833. and of the Diocese of Vizeu, Portugal (1547–1552).Gulik and Eubel, p. 335. Luis de Salazar y Castro, Indice de las glorias de la Casa Farnese (Madrid 1716), p. 240, already makes it clear that the post was that of Administrator, not Bishop. Cardinal Alessandro wrote a letter to the King of Portugal upon his appointment, informing him that he would not be able to visit the diocese personally: Caro, Lettere ... Farnese I, p. 8. In the summer of 1549, he wrote to the Papal Nuncio in Portugal on the subject of the "frutti di Viseo", to ensure that the pension was safe and that it was paid in Rome as usual: Caro, Lettere ... Farnese I, pp. 105-109. One-quarter of the fruits was to be reserved for the repair of the fabric of the Cathedral.
On 9 May 1536, the Emperor Charles V named Cardinal Farnese as the new archbishop of Monreale in Sicily; his appointment was confirmed on 15 May 1536, by Pope Paul III.Gulik and Eubel, p. 250. But Monreale was not a happy place, since the monks of the Cathedral of Monreale and the clergy of the diocese were in one squabble after another with each other. On 26 July 1549, the Pope was forced to intervene, in a letter in which he referred to the Cardinal under the title of perpetuus Administrator. A Vicar was appointed for the underage and absentee Archbishop, Msgr. Giovanni Antonio Fassari, titular Bishop of Christopolis in Greece; he was succeeded in 1546 by Pompeo Zambecari. In 1557, he was followed by Msgr. Giovanni Pietro Fortiguerra, Bishop of Cyrene in Libya.,Gulik and Eubel, p. 340. The Cardinal allowed the Jesuits to found a college in Monreale, and allowed the priests of the Society to work in the diocese. In 1568, Cardinal Farnese visited his diocese and held a synod.Roccho Pirro, Sicilia Sacra I (Palermo 1733), pp. 470-473. He was accompanied by his librarian, the famous antiquarian and papal biographer, Onofrio Panvinio, who, unhappily, died at Palermo on 16 (?) March 1568.Vincenzo Forcella, Inscrizione delle chiese di Roma V (Roma 1873), p. 58, no. 170. The Cardinal continued to enjoy the income of the diocese until 1573, when he resigned the bishopric.
On 17 June 1537, Farnese was appointed Administrator of the Diocese of Bitonto in the Kingdom of Naples on the resignation of Bishop Lopez de Alarcon; his administration ceased upon the appointment of a new bishop on 8 January 1538.Gulik and Eubel, p. 138. He became Administrator of Diocese of Massa Marittima on 15 November 1538, on the resignation of Bishop Hieronymus de Glanderonibus; since he was only eighteen, he was not canonically eligible to be the bishop, though he could—and did—collect the income of the bishop until a successor was appointed in April 1547.Gulik and Eubel, p. 237. On 16 July 1540, Farnese was named Administrator of the Diocese of Cavaillon in Provence, which he resigned one year later on 20 July 1541.Gulik and Eubel, p. 161. In 1549, his grandfather Pope Paul III died.
He was Administrator of the Archdiocese of Tours from 28 April 1553, until Pope Julius III ordered the issue of bulls for Archbishop Simon de Mailly on 25 June 1554.Gulik and Eubel, p. 321. In the case of Tours, the right of nomination belonged to the King of France, Henri II, whose daughter Diane had married Farnese's youngest brother Orazio in 1552.Cf. Gallia christiana XIV p. 134, where it is claimed that bulls were issued. It was Henri II, in a diplomatic transaction, who asked that Cardinal Farnese be appointed Administrator. On 25 June 1554, the same day that his administration of Tours ceased, Farnese was appointed Administrator of the Diocese of Viviers, which lasted until the Pope approved King Henri's nomination of a new bishop on 12 November 1554.Gulik and Eubel, p. 336. He was likewise nominated by the King of France to be Administrator of the Diocese of Cahors, the appointment being approved by Pope Julius III on 12 November 1554; a new bishop was approved by Pope Paul IV on 7 May 1557, ending his appointment.Gulik and Eubel, p. 160. There had been two Conclaves in the interim, accounting probably for the length of his Administration of Cahors. In 1555, Cardinal Farnese was named Administrator of the Diocese of Spoleto, a post he held until a new bishop was appointed on 16 December 1562.Gulik and Eubel, p. 303. Cardinal Alessandro Farnese also served as Administrator of the Archdiocese of Benevento from 22 November 1556, until a new archbishop was approved by Paul IV on 14 January 1558.Gulik and Eubel, p. 132. All of these appointments should be considered as opportunities for financial enrichment, not opportunities for service in vineyards of the Lord far from Rome. The various administrations were carried out by authorized agents.
In 1564, Alessandro Farnese succeeded his brother Ranuccio as Abbot Commendatory of the Monastery of Farfa, which he held until his death in 1589.G. Marocco, Istoria del celebre imperial Monastero Farfense (Roma 1834), p. 51. It was he who introduced the Benedictine monks of the Congregation of Monte Cassino into the monastery in 1567.Marocco, p. 40. He also built, or rebuilt, the monastery's water supply.
Diplomatic activity