Domenico della Rovere (1442 – 23 April 1501) was an Italian cardinal and patron of the arts.

Life

He was born at

Vinovo Vinovo ( pms, Vineuv) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Italy, Italian region Piedmont, located about southwest of Turin. Vinovo is home to the Juventus Training Center (Vinovo), training ground of Serie A fo ...

, near

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

, and was not a relative of

Pope Sixtus IV Pope Sixtus IV ( it, Sisto IV: 21 July 1414 – 12 August 1484), born Francesco della Rovere, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 August 1471 to his death in August 1484. His accomplishments as pope include ...

(Francesco Della Rovere), who, however, favoured him in the hope of establishing a link between his humble

Liguria Liguria (; lij, Ligûria ; french: Ligurie) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is ...

n family and that of the Piedmontese counts of Vinovo. In 1478 he was appointed as Bishop of Tarantaise succeeding his brother, Cristoforo. In the same year, on 10 February, he was created cardinal of San Vitale by Sixtus IV (one year later he exchanged the title with that of San Clemente). Also in 1478 he received the title of

bishop of Montefiascone The diocese of Montefiascone (''Latin Name: Faliscodunensis o Montis Falisci'') was a Catholic ecclesiastical territory in Italy. It was created from the diocese of Bagnorea in 1369. In 1986 was united into the diocese of Viterbo, Acquapendente, ...

and

Corneto Tarquinia (), formerly Corneto, is an old city in the province of Viterbo, Lazio, Central Italy, known chiefly for its ancient Etruscan tombs in the widespread necropoleis, or cemeteries, for which it was awarded UNESCO World Heritage statu ...

, which he kept until his death. On 19 July 1482 he was appointed Apostolic Administrator of the

diocese of Geneva The Diocese of Lausanne, Geneva and Fribourg ( la, Dioecesis Lausannensis, Genevensis et Friburgensis) is a Latin Catholic diocese in Switzerland, which is (as all sees in the Alpine country) exempt (i.e. immediately subject to the Holy See, not p ...

, during the ''Sede vacante'' following the death of Joannes Ludovicus de Sabaudia. He was transferred to the diocese of Turin on 24 July 1482, only five days later, when the Bishop of Turin, Jean de Compoys, was transferred to Geneva. In 1483, he laid the cornerstone for the new cathedral of S. Margherita in Montefiascone, and in his Last Will and Testament in 1501 he left money to continue the work, which had barely reached the level of the main floor of the church at the time of his death. After Sixtus' death in 1484, he went to Rome to participate in the

papal conclave A papal conclave is a gathering of the College of Cardinals convened to elect a Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop of Rome, also known as the pope. Catholics consider the pope to be the Apostolic succession, apostolic successor of Saint ...

, which elected

Pope Innocent VIII Pope Innocent VIII ( la, Innocentius VIII; it, Innocenzo VIII; 1432 – 25 July 1492), born Giovanni Battista Cybo (or Cibo), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 August 1484 to his death in July 1492. Son of th ...

. Della Rovere remained in Rome for most of the rest of his life, leaving the diocese of Turin in the hands of his vicars and procurators, including his nephew Giovanni Ludovico della Rovere. In Piedmont, he funded the Collegiate church of

Saluzzo Saluzzo (; pms, Salusse ) is a town and former principality in the province of Cuneo, in the Piedmont region, Italy. The city of Saluzzo is built on a hill overlooking a vast, well-cultivated plain. Iron, lead, silver, marble, slate etc. are fo ...

and the rebuilding of the

Turin Cathedral la, Ecclesia Sancti Johannis Baptista , native_name = Duomo di Torino , native_name_lang = Italian , image = DuomoTorino.jpg , caption = The Cathedral in 2019 , imagelink = , pushpin map = Italy Turin , pushpin mapsize = , map caption = ...

, as well as a new castle in Vinovo to serve as his residence. In

Piazza Scossacavalli Piazza Scossacavalli, also named Piazza di San Clemente, Piazza di Trento, Piazza d'Aragona, Piazza Salviati, was a square in Rome, Italy, important for historical and architectonic reasons. The square was demolished together with the surrounding ...

, in the Borgo

rione A (; plural: ) is a neighbourhood in several Italian cities. A is a territorial subdivision. The larger administrative subdivisions in Rome are the , with the being used only in the historic centre. The word derives from the Latin , the 14 su ...

of Rome, he commissioned

Pinturicchio Pinturicchio, or Pintoricchio (, ; born Bernardino di Betto; 1454–1513), also known as Benetto di Biagio or Sordicchio, was an Italian painter during the Renaissance. He acquired his nickname (meaning "little painter") because of his sma ...

the decoration (including the

Semi-Gods Ceiling The Demi-Gods Ceiling is a painted coffered ceiling by the Italian Renaissance master Pinturicchio, dating to c. 1490 and housed in the last of the suite of reception rooms in the Palazzo dei Penitenzieri in Rome, Italy. It comprises 63 octagonal ...

) of the Palazzo bearing his name, whose construction he had started in 1480, perhaps under design by

Baccio Pontelli Baccio Pontelli (c. 1450 – 1492) was an Italian architect, who designed the Sistine Chapel in The Vatican City. Baccio is an abbreviation of Bartolomeo. Pontelli was born in Florence. Passing the phase of artistic formation with Giuliano and ...

. He died in Rome on 22 April 1501, having made his Last Will and Testament earlier on the same day, before lunch.Eubel, p. 18, no. 23; p. 55, no. 639. The difference in date of death between 22 April and 23 April occurs because of the working of the 16th century Roman calendar, in which the day began at sunset. Della Rovere died two hours after sunset, which would have been 23 April at the time, but which in the modern calendar was still 22 April. He is now buried in the Turin Cathedral.

Life

References

Further reading