Bernardino Maffei ( Bergamo, 27 January 1514 –

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, 16 July 1553) was an Italian archbishop and cardinal. He studied

jurisprudence Jurisprudence, or legal theory, is the theoretical study of the propriety of law. Scholars of jurisprudence seek to explain the nature of law in its most general form and they also seek to achieve a deeper understanding of legal reasoning a ...

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

, and during the frequent absence of Dandino acted as secretary to Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, and later to Pope Paul III. On 12 March 1547, he was made

Bishop of Massa Marittima The Diocese of Massa Marittima-Piombino ( la, Dioecesis Massana-Plumbinensis) is a Roman Catholic eccleasistical territory in Tuscany, central Italy. It was known as Diocese of Massa Marittima before 1978. Up until 1458, it was a suffragan of th ...

, Bishop of Caserta (June 1549), and then

Archbishop of Chieti The Italian Catholic Archdiocese of Chieti-Vasto ( la, Archidioecesis Theatina-Vastensis) received that name in 1986. The historic Archdiocese of Chieti was elevated from a diocese in 1526. History Chieti is the ancient ''Teate''. In the Go ...

(November 1549), and on 8 April 1549, raised to the purple. He was on intimate terms with St.

Ignatius Loyola Ignatius of Loyola, S.J. (born Íñigo López de Oñaz y Loyola; eu, Ignazio Loiolakoa; es, Ignacio de Loyola; la, Ignatius de Loyola; – 31 July 1556), venerated as Saint Ignatius of Loyola, was a Spanish Catholic priest and theologian, ...

and was highly esteemed by

pope Julius III Pope Julius III ( la, Iulius PP. III; it, Giulio III; 10 September 1487 – 23 March 1555), born Giovanni Maria Ciocchi del Monte, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 February 1550 to his death in March 155 ...

. His commentary on the "''Letters of

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...

''" is one of the best. He also wrote: "''De inscriptionibus et imaginibus veterum numismatum''".

References

;Specific Archbishops of Chieti Bishops of Massa 16th-century Italian cardinals 16th-century Italian Roman Catholic archbishops 1514 births 1549 deaths Clergy from Bergamo Italian Renaissance humanists {{italy-RC-cardinal-stub