Michele Mazzarino, or Mazzarini, also known as Michel Mazarin, ( Pescina, 1 September 1605 –

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 ...

, 31 August 1648) was an Italian

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

and statesman in the service of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Early life

Mazzarino was born in Pescina, Italy, then part of the

Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples ( la, Regnum Neapolitanum; it, Regno di Napoli; nap, Regno 'e Napule), also known as the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was ...

, but was raised in

. His baptismal name was Alessandro.''Michele al secolo Alessandro Mazzarino''
(Treccani.it, accessed 9 March 2013) His father was

Pietro Mazzarini Cardinal Jules Mazarin (, also , , ; 14 July 1602 – 9 March 1661), born Giulio Raimondo Mazzarino () or Mazarini, was an Italian cardinal, diplomat and politician who served as the chief minister to the Kings of France Louis XIII and Louis XIV ...

, and his mother was Ortensia Buffalini, a woman of a noble family of

Città di Castello Città di Castello (); "Castle Town") is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Perugia, in the northern part of Umbria. It is situated on a slope of the Apennines, on the flood plain along the upper part of the river Tiber. The city is north of ...

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, and a god-daughter of

Filippo I Colonna Filippo Colonna (1578 – 11 April 1639), Prince of Paliano, was an Italian nobleman, who was the head of the Colonna family of Rome and the hereditary Gran Connestabile at the court of Naples. Biography He was born in Rome. A nephew of Carl ...

, the

Grand Constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

.''Michel Mazarin''
by S. Miranda (

Florida International University Florida International University (FIU) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in Miami-Dade County. Founded in 1965, the school opened its doors to students in 1972. FIU has grown to become the third-largest uni ...

, last updated May 2012) He was one of six children, the oldest of whom,

Giulio Mazzarino Cardinal Jules Mazarin (, also , , ; 14 July 1602 – 9 March 1661), born Giulio Raimondo Mazzarino () or Mazarini, was an Italy, Italian cardinal (Catholic Church), cardinal, diplomat and politician who served as the Chief minister of France, c ...

, would become a Cardinal and chief minister under

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 ...

, under the new name of Cardinal Mazarin. Mazzarino entered the

Dominican Order The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of Cal ...

at the convent of Santa Maria sopra Minerva in

in 1620, at the age of fifteen, and took the new name of ''Michele'' in honor of his grand-uncle Cardinal Michele Bonelli. In 1624 he was sent to complete his studies at the ''studia'' of the Order in

Viterbo Viterbo (; Viterbese: ; lat-med, Viterbium) is a city and ''comune'' in the Lazio region of central Italy, the capital of the province of Viterbo. It conquered and absorbed the neighboring town of Ferento (see Ferentium) in its early history. ...

and

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 ...

, where he studied theology with

Tommaso Turco Tommaso Turco (died 1649) was the Master of the Order of Preachers from 1644 to 1649. Biography He was born in Cremona and taught metaphysics at the University of Padua.

Ecclesiastic career

Mazzarino was ordained a priest in 1628. After his ordination he taught theology at the College of Saint Thomas, the future Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, ''Angelicum'' in

. Mazzarino became provincial of the

Apulia it, Pugliese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographic ...

in 1635. In 1637 the

Master General of the Order of Preachers The Master of the Order of Preachers is the Superior General of the Order of Preachers, commonly known as the Dominican Order, Dominicans. The Master of the Order of Preachers is ''ex officio'' Chancellor (education), Grand Chancellor of the Pont ...

Niccolò Ridolfi Niccolò Ridolfi (1501 – 31 January 1550) was an Italian cardinal. Early life Born in Florence, son of Piero Ridolfi and Contessina de' Medici (the daughter of Lorenzo de' Medici the Magnificent). His father was a Gonfaloniere of Justice. ...

, appointed Mazzarino as Vicar of the Province of Rome, and in April 1638 he was elected as Provincial. In 1642 Mazzarino was appointed

Master of the Sacred Palace In the Roman Catholic Church, Theologian of the Pontifical Household ( la, Pontificalis Domus Doctor Theologus) is a Roman Curial office which has always been entrusted to a Friar Preacher of the Dominican Order and may be described as the pope's ...

under Pope Urban VIII. At the suggestion of his brother Cardinal Mazarin, he was made Archbishop of Aix-en-Provence in 1645 by Pope Innocent X. In October 1647 he was elevated to cardinal and in December of the same year was named as Cardinal-Priest of

Santa Cecilia in Trastevere Santa Cecilia in Trastevere is a 5th-century church in Rome, Italy, in the Trastevere rione, devoted to the Roman martyr Saint Cecilia (early 3rd century AD). History The first church on this site was founded probably in the 3rd century, by Pop ...

. In January 1648 he was appointed Viceroy of Catalonia and went to

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

, but fell ill and was forced to leave without formally taking up the post. He returned to Rome as ambassador to the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

for France, but died the following month, on 31 August 1648.

Legacy

Mazzarino was the promoter of the "Mazarin district" in

Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Ais de Provença in classical norm, or in Mistralian norm, ; la, Aquae Sextiae), or simply Aix ( medieval Occitan: ''Aics''), is a city and commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. ...

located south of the Cours Mirabeau.''Aix-en-Provence Tourism''
(Accessed 9 March 2013)

References and notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mazzarino, Michele 17th-century Italian cardinals Italian Dominicans Viceroys of Catalonia 1605 births 1648 deaths Dominican cardinals People from Pescina Academic staff of the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas