Laudivio Zacchia (1565 – 30 August 1637) was an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

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cardinal.S. Miranda:
Laudivio Zacchia

Early life

Zacchia was born in 1565 at the Castle of Vezzano, the son of Gaspare Zacchia and Veronica de' Nobili, of the signori of Vezzano. It was not Zacchia's original intention to serve an ecclesiastic life. He originally married Laura Biassa and had a son and a daughter; Felice Zacchia (mother of Cardinal

Paolo Emilio Rondinini Paolo Emilio Rondinini (1617 – 16 September 1668) was an Italian Catholic Cardinal. Early life and education Rondinini was born in 1617 to Alessandro Rondinini and Felice Zacchia. He was the grandson of Cardinal Laudivio Zacchia (who had b ...

). However, after his wife died, he left Vezzano and went to

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 ...

to aid his brother, Cardinal Paolo Emilio Zacchia. There he worked in the Roman Curia and later became pro-

treasurer A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance. Government The treasury ...

of the Apostolic Chamber and later its

commissary A commissary is a government official charged with oversight or an ecclesiastical official who exercises in special circumstances the jurisdiction of a bishop. In many countries, the term is used as an administrative or police title. It often c ...

-general.

Ecclesiastic career

On 17 August 1605 he was named bishop of Montefiascone, a bishopric which had previously been held by his brother. Both undertook works on the cathedral there. During the papacy of

Pope Paul V Pope Paul V ( la, Paulus V; it, Paolo V) (17 September 1550 – 28 January 1621), born Camillo Borghese, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 16 May 1605 to his death in January 1621. In 1611, he honored ...

, Zacchia was named vice-legate 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 vice-legate of the province of the Patrimony. Pope Gregory XV appointed Zacchia as nuncio to

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

, where he served from 1621 until December 1623. In 1626, Pope Urban VIII made him a cardinal in the

consistory Consistory is the anglicized form of the consistorium, a council of the closest advisors of the Roman emperors. It can also refer to: *A papal consistory, a formal meeting of the Sacred College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church * Consistor ...

of 19 January 1626 and he was named

cardinal-priest A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Col ...

San Sisto Vecchio The Basilica of San Sisto Vecchio (in Via Appia) is one of the over sixty minor basilicas among the churches of Rome, and a titular church since 600 AD. As such, it is connected to the title of a Cardinal priest, currently Antoine Kambanda. Bas ...

the following month, then opted for the title of

San Pietro in Vincoli San Pietro in Vincoli (; Saint Peter in Chains) is a Roman Catholic titular church and minor basilica in Rome, Italy, best known for being the home of Michelangelo's statue of Moses, part of the tomb of Pope Julius II. The '' Titulus S. Petr ...

in 1629. Between 1631 and his death in 1637, Zacchia was named

crown-cardinal A crown-cardinal ( it, cardinale della corona) was a cardinal protector of a Roman Catholic nation, nominated or funded by a Catholic monarch to serve as their representative within the College of Cardinals and, on occasion, to exercise the rig ...

of the

Republic of Genoa The Republic of Genoa ( lij, Repúbrica de Zêna ; it, Repubblica di Genova; la, Res Publica Ianuensis) was a medieval and early modern maritime republic from the 11th century to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast. During the La ...

. Zacchia was one of three cardinals who did not subscribe to the condemnation of Galileo in 1633.

Bid to remove Pope Urban VIII

According to his contemporary

John Bargrave John Bargrave (1610 – 11 May 1680), was an English author and collector and a canon of Canterbury Cathedral.''Under the Sign: John Bargrave as Collector, Traveler, and Witness'' by Stephen Bann, Michigan, 1995 Early life Bargrave was born in K ...

, in 1636 members of the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

faction of the

College of Cardinals The College of Cardinals, or more formally the Sacred College of Cardinals, is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church. its current membership is , of whom are eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope. Cardinals are app ...

were so horrified by the conduct of Pope Urban VIII that they conspired to have him arrested and imprisoned (or killed) so that they could replace him with a new

pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

; namely Zacchia.''Pope Alexander the Seventh and the College of Cardinals'' by

, edited by

James Craigie Robertson James Craigie Robertson (1813 – 9 July 1882) was a Scottish Anglican churchman, canon of Canterbury Cathedral, and author of a ''History of the Christian Church''. Life Robertson was born at Aberdeen, where his father was a merchant; his mothe ...

(reprint; 2009)Note: Bargrave describes Zacchia as the ''uncle'' of

when in fact the younger cardinal was his grandson. When Urban travelled to Castel Gandolfo to rest, the members of the Spanish faction met in secret and discussed ways to progress their plan. But they were discovered and the pope raced back to Rome where he immediately held a

and demanded to know who the new pope was. To put an end to the conspiracy, the pope decreed that all cardinal-bishops should leave Rome and return to their own churches. As it was, Zacchia died the following year, in 1637, and was buried in the chapel of Saint Domenico at the Church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva in Rome.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zacchia, Laudivio 1565 births 1637 deaths Bishops of Montefiascone 17th-century Italian cardinals Apostolic Nuncios to the Republic of Venice Cardinals created by Pope Urban VIII