Giovanni Battista Savelli (1422 - 18 September 1498,

Castel Gandolfo Castel Gandolfo (, , ; la, Castrum Gandulphi), colloquially just Castello in the Castelli Romani dialects, is a town located southeast of Rome in the Lazio region of Italy. Occupying a height on the Alban Hills overlooking Lake Albano, Castel Ga ...

) was an Italian Roman Catholic cardinal. He was born into the aristocratic

Savelli family The House of Savelli (de Sabellis in documents) were a rich and influential Roman aristocratic family who rose to prominence in the 13th century, the youngest is still alive today (1626–2022). History The family, who held the lordship of Palo ...

, which had produced two popes:

Honorius III Pope Honorius III (c. 1150 – 18 March 1227), born Cencio Savelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 18 July 1216 to his death. A canon at the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, he came to hold a number of import ...

(1216–1227) and

Honorius IV Pope Honorius IV (c. 1210 – 3 April 1287), born Giacomo Savelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 April 1285 to his death in 1287. During his pontificate he largely continued to pursue the pro-French politi ...

(1285–1287) and numerous cardinals carrying this surname:

Bertrando {{Infobox racehorse , horsename = Bertrando , image = , caption = , sire = Skywalker , dam = Gentle Hands , damsire = Buffalo Lark , sex = Stallion , foaled = 1989 , country = United States , colour = Dark Bay , breeder = Ed Nahem , ...

, Silvio,

Giulio Giulio () is an Italian given name. Notable people with the name include: * Giulio Alberoni (1664–1752), Italian cardinal and statesman * Giulio Alenio (1582–1649), Italian Jesuit missionary and scholar * Giulio Alfieri (1924–2002), Italian ...

Fabrizio Fabrizio is an Italian first name, from the Latin word "Faber" meaning "smith" and may refer to: * Fabrizio Barbazza (born 1963), Italian Formula One driver * Fabrizio Barca (born 1954), Italian politician * Fabrizio Brienza (born 1969), Italian mo ...

Paolo Paolo is both a given name and a surname, the Italian form of the name Paul. Notable people with the name include: People with the given name Paolo Art *Paolo Alboni (1671–1734), Italian painter *Paolo Abbate (1884–1973), Italian-American s ...

and

Domenico Savelli Domenico is an Italian language, Italian given name for males and may refer to: People * Domenico Alfani, Italian painter * Domenico Allegri, Italian composer * Domenico Alvaro, Italian mobster * Domenico Ambrogi, Italian painter * Domenico Auri ...

Early life and education

He was born in Rome. There is no data about his education. As a young man, he was appointed

protonotary apostolic In the Roman Catholic Church, protonotary apostolic (PA; Latin: ''protonotarius apostolicus'') is the title for a member of the highest non-episcopal college of prelates in the Roman Curia or, outside Rome, an honorary prelate on whom the pop ...

. He was named governor of

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

during 1468 - 1470.

Cardinalate

Savelli was created cardinal ''

in pectore ''In pectore'' (Latin for "in the breast/heart") is a term used in the Catholic Church for an action, decision, or document which is meant to be kept secret. It is most often used when there is a papal appointment to the College of Cardinals wit ...

'' by

Pope Paul II Pope Paul II ( la, Paulus II; it, Paolo II; 23 February 1417 – 26 July 1471), born Pietro Barbo, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 30 August 1464 to his death in July 1471. When his maternal uncle Eugene IV ...

in May or June 1471; the nomination was kept secret because of the opposition of Cardinal

Latino Orsini Latino Orsini (1411 – 11 August 1477) was an Italian Cardinal. Of the Roman branch of the Orsini family The House of Orsini is an Italian noble family that was one of the most influential princely families in medieval Italy and Renai ...

, and was thus not admitted to the

Papal conclave, 1471 The 1471 papal conclave (August 6–9) elected Pope Sixtus IV following the death of Pope Paul II. With the exception of the conclaves of the Western Schism, this conclave was the first since 1305 to feature a working, two-thirds majority of Italia ...

. He was created

cardinal deacon 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 ...

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 ...

in the

consistory Consistory is the anglicized form of the consistorium, a council of the closest advisors of the Roman emperors. It can also refer to: *A papal consistory, a formal meeting of the Sacred College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church *Consistory ...

of 15 May 1480 and received the deaconry of

Santi Vito e Modesto, Rome Santi Vito e Modesto is a Roman Catholic church, and appears to have two facades, a 20th-century marble facade on Via Carlo Alberto, but a rustic brick older entrance, in reality the apse, on the Via San Vito in the Rione Esquilino of Rome, Italy. ...

. He was appointed legate to

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to help negotiate a reconciliation between the feuding

Fregoso The House of Fregoso or di Campofregoso was a noble family of the Republic of Genoa and Liguria in general, divided into numerous branches, whose members distinguished themselves on numerous historical occasions; many of them held the position of ...

and the

Adorno Theodor W. Adorno ( , ; born Theodor Ludwig Wiesengrund; 11 September 1903 – 6 August 1969) was a German philosopher, sociologist, psychologist, musicologist, and composer. He was a leading member of the Frankfurt School of critica ...

families, and to supervise the arming of the papal fleet against the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. He developed a dispute with the Orsini

, which led to being accused of treasonous correspondence with Alfonso of Naples, and imprisoned for 18 months in

Castel Sant'Angelo The Mausoleum of Hadrian, usually known as Castel Sant'Angelo (; English: ''Castle of the Holy Angel''), is a towering cylindrical building in Parco Adriano, Rome, Italy. It was initially commissioned by the Roman Emperor Hadrian as a mausol ...

together with Cardinal Giovanni Colonna. On 15 November 1483 he was liberated. He was granted the deaconry of

San Nicola in Carcere San Nicola in Carcere (Italian, " St Nicholas in prison") is a titular church in Rome near the Forum Boarium in rione Sant'Angelo. It is one of the traditional stational churches of Lent. History The first church on the site was probably built ...

on 17 March 1484. He participated in the

Papal conclave, 1484 The 1484 papal conclave (August 26–29) elected Pope Innocent VIII after the death of Pope Sixtus IV. The election At the death of Sixtus IV, the conclave of cardinals that met to elect his successor numbered thirty-two cardinals. The immediate ...

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 ...

named him legate in

in 1484. He took part in the

conclave of 1492 The 1492 papal conclave (6–11 August) was convened after the death of Pope Innocent VIII (25 July 1492). It was the first papal conclave to be held in the Sistine Chapel. Cardinal Roderic Borja was elected unanimously on the fourth ballot as ...

. Administrator of the see of Mallorca (27 March 1493 - 31 August 1492. Named ''Archpriest of the patriarchal Liberian Basilica'' from September 1492 until his death, on 18 September 1498, in his family's domain of

. His body was transferred to

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 ...

and buried in the church

Santa Maria in Aracoeli The Basilica of St. Mary of the Altar of Heaven ( la, Basilica Sanctae Mariae de Ara coeli in Capitolio, it, Basilica di Santa Maria in Ara coeli al Campidoglio) is a titular basilica in Rome, located on the highest summit of the Campidoglio. I ...

. His tomb is attributed to the studio of the sculptor

Andrea Bregno Andrea di Cristoforo Bregno (1418–1506) was an Italian Renaissance sculptor and architect of the Early Renaissance who worked in Rome from the 1460s and died just as the High Renaissance was getting under way. Early life He was born in Osten ...

References

External links

The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church - Biographical dictionary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Savelli, Giovanni Battista 1422 births 1498 deaths Clergy from Rome 15th-century Italian cardinals Papal families

Giovanni Battista Giovanni Battista was a common Italian given name (see Battista for those with the surname) in the 16th-18th centuries. It refers to "John the Baptist" in English, the French equivalent is "Jean-Baptiste". Common nicknames include Giambattista, Gia ...