Silvio Valenti Gonzaga (1 March 1690 – 28 August 1756) was an Italian nobleman and Catholic cardinal.

Biography

Gonzaga was born in Mantua. He served as

papal nuncio to Flanders The Apostolic Nunciature to Flanders was the diplomatic mission of the Holy See to the Habsburg Netherlands (a predecessor state of modern Belgium commonly referred to as "Flanders" from its component part, the County of Flanders). The diplomatic ...

, 1731–1736, and was elevated to the rank of cardinal in 1738 by

Pope Clement XII Pope Clement XII ( la, Clemens XII; it, Clemente XII; 7 April 16526 February 1740), born Lorenzo Corsini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 July 1730 to his death in February 1740. Clement presided over the ...

. On 15 May 1747 he was given the titular church of San Callisto. He died in Viterbo. He was known as a patron of arts and sciences, and his villa outside of Porta Pia had a botanical collection. He owned a large library, collected the latest instruments of measurement, and sponsored literary salons. He owned a large collection of paintings (including the ''

Portrait of Lorenzo Cybo ''Portrait of Lorenzo Cybo'' (1524) is a painting by the Italian late Renaissance artist Parmigianino. It is housed in the Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen, Denmark. History The painting is mentioned by late Renaissance art biographer Giorgi ...

''), which, after his death, was sold on 18 May 1763 at Amsterdam and the paintings by

Salvator Rosa Salvator Rosa (1615 –1673) is best known today as an Italian Baroque painter, whose romanticized landscapes and history paintings, often set in dark and untamed nature, exerted considerable influence from the 17th century into the early 19th ...

and

Francesco Solimena Francesco Solimena (4 October 1657 – 3 April 1747) was a prolific Italian painter of the Baroque era, one of an established family of painters and draughtsmen. Biography Francesco Solimena was born in Canale di Serino in the province of ...

dispersed in several locations. His nephew Luigi Valenti Gonzaga (1725 – 1808) also was named cardinal. Luigi's brother, Marquis Carlo Valenti Gonzaga (1718-1782), was a statesman and ambassador for the papal state; he also was a prominent patron in Mantua and amassed a large library.Nuovo Dizionario Istorico
Va = Uz, Tomo XXI, translated from French, Remondini of Venice (1796); pages 19.

References

1690 births 1756 deaths Clergy from Mantua 18th-century Italian cardinals Cardinal-bishops of Sabina Cardinal Secretaries of State Members of the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith Camerlengos of the Holy Roman Church Nobility of Mantua {{Italy-RC-cardinal-stub