Raffaele Petrucci

Raffaello Petrucci (1472 in Siena – 11 December 1522, in Rome) was a Cardinal and Roman Catholic bishop.

Biography

He was born in Siena, circa 1472. He was the son of Giacoppo Petrucci. Since 1494, the year of the Medici expulsion from Florence, he represented the pro-Medici party, advocating for Piero de Medici and his attempts to return home. Between 1495 - 1497, he handled negotiations with the Republic of Siena, aimed at obtaining military support, at a stage where the Republic of Florence had to deal with the rebellion of Pisa (self-proclaiming as an independent republic (1494)) and of Montepulciano (1494), and with the campaign by Bartolomeo d'Alviano on behalf of the Republic of Venice, which targeted Casentino (1496–1497).

In 1497 his father died, and on 4 August he was elected as bishop of Grosseto. His tenure in Siena was discreet because of is uncle Pandolfo's preponderance, who, after the agreements signed between the Republic of Siena and Florence in 1498, came to take on the role of leading citizen or ''Primus''. Politically, the agreement between the two Republics sanctioned the defeat of both Venetian Niccolo Borghesi and pro-Medicean Raffaele Petrucci. He then moved to Rome to follow Cardinal Giovanni de Medici, remaining bound to him in his years of exile, under the pontificates of Alexander VI and Julius II.

The election of Cardinal Medici to the papacy in March 1513, opened up the possibility of him taking on a more active role in papal policy, especially concerning disagreements between cousins Borghese and Alfonso with Leo X. This led to him claiming the role of Primus and as party leader. In March 1516, with the support of the Pope and Florence, he implemented a coup that brought him to power in Siena but, in the wake of greater Church responsibility, was forced to cede control to his nephew, Francesco in 1522.

On 1 July 1517, during the confused events surrounding the "conspiracy of the cardinals", his name was included among the 31 new cardinal appointments of Leo X. On 26 December he received the title of Santa Susanna. On 14 March 1519 he was appointed apostolic administrator of Bertinoro, keeping the job exactly one year. Later he took the position of Abbot of San Galgano. On 6 February 1520 he was elected bishop of Sovana, belonging to the diocese of Grosseto.

From the conclave that brought on the election of Adrian VI as Pope (9 January 1522), Raffaello was named one of the cardinals in charge of welcoming the new Pope from Utrecht. That year, Renzo da Ceri (hired by the enemies of the Medici) attempted a new invasion of the territories of the Republic. The past two years (1520–1522), he enlisted his cousin Francis Camillo Petrucci of Siena to govern, especially in his moments of absence. He is buried in the basilica of San Domenico in Siena.

References

*Maurizio Gattoni, Pandolfo Petrucci and the Republic of Siena (1487–1512), Siena, Cantagalli 1997;
*Maurizio Gattoni, Leo X and the geo-politics of the Papal States (1513–1521), Vatican City, Vatican Archives Collectanea (47), 2000;
*Maurizio Gattoni, foreign policy and the primacy of Petrucci in Siena (1498–1524), in Siena and its territory in the Renaissance, edited by *M. Ascheri, vol. III, Siena, Holm 2000, p. 215-222;
*UG Mondolfo, Pandolfo Petrucci, Lord of Siena, Siena 1899
*V. Lusini, A paper on Raphael Petrucci, castellan of Castel S. Angelo, in Siena Bulletin of National History, The (1894), p. 117-123;
*N. Mengozzi, Cardinal Raphael Petrucci of Siena, in Siena Bulletin of National History, XX (1913), p. 147-157;
*R. Terziani, The Government of Siena from Medieval to Modern. Continuity Republican at the time of Petrucci (1487–1525) by Betti Publishing, Siena, 2002, reprinted 2006;
*I. Ugurgieri-Azzolini, pumps Siena, Pistoia 1649.

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Petrucci, Raffaello
1472 births
1522 deaths
Bishops in Tuscany
Bishops of Grosseto
16th-century Italian cardinals
Raffaello
15th-century Italian Roman Catholic bishops