Pedro Antonio de Aragón (7 November 1611 – 1 September 1690) was a Spanish nobleman, military figure and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

who served under Kings Philip IV and

Charles II of Spain Charles II of Spain (''Spanish: Carlos II,'' 6 November 1661 – 1 November 1700), known as the Bewitched (''Spanish: El Hechizado''), was the last Habsburg ruler of the Spanish Empire. Best remembered for his physical disabilities and the War ...

. He was the brother of Cardinal Pascual de Aragón,

Viceroy of Naples This is a list of viceroys of the Kingdom of Naples. Following the conquest of Naples by Louis XII of France in 1501, Naples was subject to the rule of the foreign rulers, the Kings of France, Aragon and Spain and the Habsburg Archdukes of Austri ...

, 1664–1666. the son of Enrique Ramón Folch de Cardona y Córdoba. He was born in

Lucena Lucena, officially the City of Lucena ( fil, Lungsod ng Lucena), is a 1st class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Calabarzon region of the Philippines. It is the capital city of the Provinces of the ...

, in what is now the Province of Córdoba. A cultured and educated man, he held different positions of high importance for the Court, acting as

Viceroy of Catalonia This is a list of Spanish viceroys (also called lieutenants) of the Principality of Catalonia from 1479 to 1713. *1479–1493: Enrique de Aragón *1493–1495: Juan de Lanuza y Garabito *1495–1496: Juan Fernández de Heredia *149 ...

from 1642 to 1644, as ambassador in Rome (1664–1666), and

(1666–1671), as well as Commander in chief of

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the nort ...

. He claimed in 1670 the joint titles of 8th

Duke of Segorbe Duke of Segorbe ( es, Duque de Segorbe) is an hereditary title in the peerage of Spain, accompanied by the dignity of Grandee and granted in 1469 by John II of Aragon to Enrique de Aragón, son of Infante Henry, Duke of Villena and Beatriz de ...

, and 9th

Duke of Cardona Duke of Cardona ( es, Duque de Cardona) is a hereditary title in the Peerage of Spain, accompanied by the dignity of Grandee and granted in 1482 by Ferdinand II to Juan Ramón Folch de Cardona, 5th Count of Cardona, as an elevation to dukedom ...

, after the death of his brother Luis Raimundo Folch de Cardona (January 1670) and his infant son Joaquín (March 1670), leaving only 7 daughters. He was brought before the Justice Courts by two of his nieces and their husbands, but he died in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

before the case was solved, creating some problems afterwards with the numbering of the titles of both Dukedoms since then, as apparently he had been too quick claiming "legal", self-appointed, succession to both Dukedoms. During his period of ten years in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

(1662–1672), he amassed a personal library of great value. Being one of the protectors and

patron Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

s of

Poblet Monastery Poblet Abbey, otherwise the Royal Abbey of Santa Maria de Poblet ( ca, Reial Monestir de Santa Maria de Poblet), is a Cistercian monastery, founded in 1151, located at the foot of the Prades Mountains, in the comarca of Conca de Barberà, in Ca ...

, he donated his library of approximately 3600 volumes in 1677 in exchange for being able to be buried amongst its venerated figures after his death. He sent back to Naples, from the

, in 1671, the body of king Alfonso V of Aragon. He published a book on ''Geometria Militar'' in 1671.

References

''Biblioteca del virrey Pedro Antonio de Aragón'' (1611-1690)"El gobierno de las imágenes. Ceremonial y mecenazgo en la Italia española de la segunda mitad del siglo XVII"
1611 births 1690 deaths People from Lucena, Córdoba 17th-century Spanish writers Ambassadors of Spain to the Holy See Dukes of Spain Spanish politicians Viceroys of Naples Viceroys of Catalonia {{spain-diplomat-stub