Gonzalo Fernández de Heredia y de Bardají ( – 21 November 1511) was an

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to sou ...

ese monk, bishop, politician and diplomat. He was bishop-elect of Segorbe-Albarracín, then

Bishop of Barcelona The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Barcelona is a Latin rite Catholic metropolitan archbishopric in northeastern Spain's Catalonia region. The cathedral archiepiscopal see is a Minor basilica: Catedral Basílica Metropolitana de la Santa Creu i ...

(1478–1490) and

Archbishop of Tarragona The Archdiocese of Tarragona (Latin, ''Tarraconensis'') is a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical territory located in north-eastern Spain, in the province of Tarragona, part of the autonomous community of Catalonia. The archdiocese heads the ecclesias ...

(1490–1511). He also served as

President of the Government of Catalonia The President of the Government of Catalonia ( ca, President de la Generalitat de Catalunya, ) is one of the bodies that the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia stipulates as part of the Generalitat de Catalunya, others being the Parliament, the gov ...

(1504–1506). Gonzalo was born in

Mora de Rubielos Mora de Rubielos is a municipality located in the mountainous area of the Iberian System, province of Teruel, Aragon, Spain. According to the 2009 census (INE), the municipality has a population of 1,756 inhabitants. Mora de Rubielos has a beauti ...

around 1450, the son of Juan Fernández de Heredia and Juana Bardají de Pinós. He studied canon law at the

University of Pisa The University of Pisa ( it, Università di Pisa, UniPi), officially founded in 1343, is one of the oldest universities in Europe. History The Origins The University of Pisa was officially founded in 1343, although various scholars place ...

in 1473–1474. He worked as a scribe in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

in 1475–1476 and 1478 and possibly earlier. There are about 23 books signed by a 'Gundisalvus Hispanus' who is believed to be Gonzalo. These included copies made for

Lorenzo de' Medici Lorenzo di Piero de' Medici (; 1 January 1449 – 8 April 1492) was an Italian statesman, banker, ''de facto'' ruler of the Florentine Republic and the most powerful and enthusiastic patron of Renaissance culture in Italy. Also known as Lorenzo ...

and

Matthias Corvinus Matthias Corvinus, also called Matthias I ( hu, Hunyadi Mátyás, ro, Matia/Matei Corvin, hr, Matija/Matijaš Korvin, sk, Matej Korvín, cz, Matyáš Korvín; ), was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1458 to 1490. After conducting several mi ...

. Gonzalo was appointed Bishop of Barcelona on 8 June 1479. He was later in Rome as

Ferdinand II of Aragon Ferdinand II ( an, Ferrando; ca, Ferran; eu, Errando; it, Ferdinando; la, Ferdinandus; es, Fernando; 10 March 1452 – 23 January 1516), also called Ferdinand the Catholic (Spanish: ''el Católico''), was King of Aragon and Sardinia from ...

's ambassador to the Holy See, during which time

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 ...

made him Archbishop of Tarragona on 13 June 1490. On the election of

Pope Alexander VI Pope Alexander VI ( it, Alessandro VI, va, Alexandre VI, es, Alejandro VI; born Rodrigo de Borja; ca-valencia, Roderic Llançol i de Borja ; es, Rodrigo Lanzol y de Borja, lang ; 1431 – 18 August 1503) was head of the Catholic Churc ...

he was made captain of the palace guard and later governor of Rome. He left the Papal See for Naples in 1494 to become a counsellor to king

Ferdinand Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "protection", "peace" (PIE "to love, to make peace") or alternatively "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "co ...

's widow Joanna of Aragon. On 21 June 1500 he returned to his cathedral church, residing at San Miguel de Escornalbou Monastery,

La Selva del Camp La Selva del Camp is a municipality in the province of Tarragona, Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute ...

and

Valls Valls () is a city and municipality in the province of Tarragona in Catalonia, Spain. According to the 2014 census it has a population of 24,570. Valls is known for its calçots – a type of scallion or green onion – and the human towers tradi ...

. He died in Valls in 1511. ''Història de la Generalitat de Catalunya i els seus Presidents'', Barcelona: Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2003.

References

1450 births 1511 deaths Archbishops of Tarragona Bishops of Barcelona Ambassadors of Spain to the Holy See People from Tarragona Spanish monks {{Spain-RC-archbishop-stub