Filippo Antonio Gualterio (24 March 1660 – 21 April 1728) was made a

papal nuncio An apostolic nuncio ( la, nuntius apostolicus; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international org ...

to France (1700–1706) and a

cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Col ...

from 1706.

Life

Gualterio was born in

Fermo Fermo (ancient: Firmum Picenum) is a town and ''comune'' of the Marche, Italy, in the Province of Fermo. Fermo is on a hill, the Sabulo, elevation , on a branch from Porto San Giorgio on the Adriatic coast railway. History The oldest hum ...

. Descended from the ancient Gualterio family of

Orvieto Orvieto () is a city and ''comune'' in the Province of Terni, southwestern Umbria, Italy, situated on the flat summit of a large butte of volcanic tuff. The city rises dramatically above the almost-vertical faces of tuff cliffs that are compl ...

related to

Pope Innocent X Pope Innocent X ( la, Innocentius X; it, Innocenzo X; 6 May 1574 – 7 January 1655), born Giovanni Battista Pamphilj (or Pamphili), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 September 1644 to his death in January ...

, he was grand-nephew of Cardinal Carlo Gualterio and uncle of Cardinal Luigi Gualterio. Born at

, whose

archdiocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

was governed by his grand-uncle Carlo, he was the eldest of 17 children of Stanislao Gualterio, ''

Gonfaloniere The Gonfalonier (in Italian: ''Gonfaloniere'') was the holder of a highly prestigious communal office in medieval and Renaissance Italy, notably in Florence and the Papal States. The name derives from ''gonfalone'' (in English, gonfalon), the ter ...

'' of

, and Anna Maria Cioli, noble of

Todi Todi () is a town and ''comune'' (municipality) of the province of Perugia (region of Umbria) in central Italy. It is perched on a tall two-crested hill overlooking the east bank of the river Tiber, commanding distant views in every direction. I ...

. He received doctorates at the University of Fermo in philosophy, theology, and '' utroque iure'', both canon and civil law. Beginning in 1685, when he was made

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of San Severino, he served in various governorates of the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...

until he was sent as Vice-legate to

Avignon Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region of So ...

(1696–1700), where he carried himself so well he was made

to the court of King

Louis XIV of France , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Versa ...

in April 1700, in preparation for which he was made titular archbishop of Atena at the end of March. On 16 May 1700, he was

consecrated Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

bishop by

François de Mailly François de Mailly (1658–1721) was a French archbishop and Cardinal. Biography Born at Nesle, he had ultramontane views, and was a stern opponent of Jansenism. He was a critic of Jean Meslier. On 11 May 1698, he was consecrated bishop by T ...

Archbishop of Arles The former French Catholic Archbishopric of Arles had its episcopal see in the city of Arles, in southern France.Sebastiano Gualterio Sebastiano is both a masculine Italian given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: * Sebastiano Antonio Tanara (1650–1724), Italian cardinal * Sebastiano Baggio (1913–1993), Italian clergyman * Sebastiano Bianchi (16th cent ...

, had already served as nuncio to France in 1554. He was made Commander of the

Order of the Holy Spirit The Order of the Holy Spirit (french: Ordre du Saint-Esprit; sometimes translated into English as the Order of the Holy Ghost), is a French order of chivalry founded by Henry III of France in 1578. Today, it is a dynastic order under the House of ...

. He was recalled to Rome to be created cardinal in the consistory of 17 May 1706 and sent as legate to

Romagna Romagna ( rgn, Rumâgna) is an Italian historical region that approximately corresponds to the south-eastern portion of present-day Emilia-Romagna, North Italy. Traditionally, it is limited by the Apennines to the south-west, the Adriatic to t ...

, 25 June. During his nunciature he established ties with prominent members of the European nobility and, in particular, with the Duc of Saint-Simon, who often mentions him in the ''Memoirs''. In recognition of the esteem he gained from King Louis XIV, he was named the

commendatory abbot A commendatory abbot ( la, abbas commendatarius) is an ecclesiastic, or sometimes a layman, who holds an abbey ''in commendam'', drawing its revenues but not exercising any authority over its inner monastic discipline. If a commendatory abbot is an ...

of the Abbey of Saint-Remy in

Rheims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded by ...

(1710) and of the Abbey of Saint-Victor in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

(1713 or 1714). Gualterio was nominated Cardinal Protector of Scotland, as of 1706, and

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, as of 1717, he was one of the closest advisers to the Stuart Pretender, James Stuart, the would-be James III of England, who conferred upon his brother Giovanni Battista the Jacobite title of

Earl of Dundee Earl of Dundee is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1660 for John Scrymgeour, 3rd Viscount Dudhope. At his death in 1668, the Duke of Lauderdale declared that the first Earl had no heirs-male, and had the crown seize all o ...

.Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts ''Calendar of the Stuart papers belonging to His Majesty the king'', 1902: 204, 25 January 1706. In 1723 Gualterio was created

Marquis A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman wi ...

of Corgnolo, near Orvieto, by

Pope Innocent XIII Pope Innocent XIII ( la, Innocentius XIII; it, Innocenzo XIII; 13 May 1655 – 7 March 1724), born as Michelangelo dei Conti, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 May 1721 to his death in March 1724. He is ...

. Between 1713 and 1720 he also retained the title of

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...

of Cumia (created by King

Philip V of Spain Philip V ( es, Felipe; 19 December 1683 – 9 July 1746) was King of Spain from 1 November 1700 to 14 January 1724, and again from 6 September 1724 to his death in 1746. His total reign of 45 years is the longest in the history of the Spanish mon ...

) In 1709 Gualterio was transferred to the

Diocese of Todi The Italian Catholic diocese of Todi existed until 1986, when it was united into the diocese of Orvieto-Todi.

, with the personal title of archbishop, later resigning the see in favour of his brother, Ludovico Anselmo Gualterio, 5 December 1714. He participated in the Papal conclave, 1721, which elected

and in the conclave of 1724, which elected

Pope Benedict XIII Pope Benedict XIII ( la, Benedictus XIII; it, Benedetto XIII; 2 February 1649 – 21 February 1730), born Pietro Francesco Orsini and later called Vincenzo Maria Orsini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 May ...

. Founder of a monumental library, now part of the

Accademia dei Lincei The Accademia dei Lincei (; literally the "Academy of the Lynx-Eyed", but anglicised as the Lincean Academy) is one of the oldest and most prestigious European scientific institutions, located at the Palazzo Corsini on the Via della Lungara in Rom ...

, and of a vast collection of art, which after his death was partly acquired by

Hans Sloane Sir Hans Sloane, 1st Baronet (16 April 1660 – 11 January 1753), was an Irish physician, naturalist, and collector, with a collection of 71,000 items which he bequeathed to the British nation, thus providing the foundation of the British Mu ...

and is now at the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

, Gualterio was elected an honorary member of the

Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres The Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres () is a French learned society devoted to history, founded in February 1663 as one of the five academies of the Institut de France. The academy's scope was the study of ancient inscriptions ( epig ...

(1715). Gualterio's remains were transferred to the tomb of his family in the

Cathedral of Orvieto Orvieto Cathedral ( it, Duomo di Orvieto; Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta) is a large 14th-century Roman Catholic cathedral dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and situated in the town of Orvieto in Umbria, central Italy. Since 1986 ...

. The Gualterio papers are conserved at the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gualterio, Filippo Antonio 1660 births 1724 deaths People from Fermo Apostolic Nuncios to France 18th-century Italian cardinals Members of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres Burials in Umbria