Niccolò Ridolfi (1501 – 31 January 1550) was an Italian

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

Early life

Born in

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

, son of Piero Ridolfi and Contessina de' Medici (the daughter of

Lorenzo de' Medici Lorenzo di Piero de' Medici (), known as Lorenzo the Magnificent (; 1 January 1449 – 9 April 1492), was an Italian statesman, the ''de facto'' ruler of the Florentine Republic, and the most powerful patron of Renaissance culture in Italy. Lore ...

the Magnificent). His father was a Gonfaloniere of Justice. The family was wealthy and prominent.

Pope Leo X Pope Leo X (; born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, 11 December 14751 December 1521) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 March 1513 to his death in December 1521. Born into the prominent political and banking Med ...

was Niccolò's maternal uncle and granted him a quick ecclesiastical career. He was named governor of

Spoleto Spoleto (, also , , ; ) is an ancient city in the Italian province of Perugia in east-central Umbria on a foothill of the Apennines. It is south of Trevi, north of Terni, southeast of Perugia; southeast of Florence; and north of Rome. H ...

in the period 1514-1516 and protonotary apostolic at the age of thirteen. Niccolò became a long time friend of humanist

Gian Giorgio Trissino Gian Giorgio Trissino (8 July 1478 – 8 December 1550), also called Giovan Giorgio Trissino and self-styled as Giovan Giωrgio Trissino, was a Venetian Renaissance humanist, poet, dramatist, diplomat, grammarian, linguist, and philosopher. ...

, who served Leo as his

Nuncio An apostolic nuncio (; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international organization. A nuncio is ...

in Germany."Ridolfi, Niccolò", Treccani
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Church career

created him

cardinal deacon A cardinal is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. As titular members of the clergy of the Diocese of Rome, they serve as advisors to the pope, who is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. C ...

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 1 July 1517 at the age of sixteen with the deaconry of SS. Vito e Modesto. Later his uncle appointed him administrator of the see of

Orvieto Orvieto () is a city and ''comune'' in the Province of Terni, southwestern Umbria, Italy, situated on the flat summit of a large butte of volcanic tuff. The city rises dramatically above the almost-vertical faces of tuff cliffs that are compl ...

on 24 August 1520 and he kept that post until 3 September 1529. Ridolfi participated in the conclaves of 1521–1522 and

1523 Year 1523 (Roman numerals, MDXXIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. Events January–March * January 20 – Christian II is forced to abdicate as King of Denmark and Norway after the nobles of the ...

Pope Clement VII Pope Clement VII (; ; born Giulio di Giuliano de' Medici; 26 May 1478 – 25 September 1534) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 November 1523 to his death on 25 September 1534. Deemed "the most unfortunate o ...

named him archbishop of Florence on 11 January 1524. He resigned from that position on 11 October 1532. He served also as administrator of

Vicenza Vicenza ( , ; or , archaically ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, where it straddles the Bacchiglione, River Bacchiglione. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and e ...

from 14 March 1524 until his death. In 1537 he invited the Angelic Sisters of Saint Paul to

, where they received the support of the Valmarana family. Ridolfi was administrator of

Forlì Forlì ( ; ; ; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) and city in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, and is, together with Cesena, the capital of the Province of Forlì-Cesena.The city is situated along the Via Emilia, to the east of the Montone river, ...

(16 April 1526 - 7 August 1528). During the

Sack of Rome (1527) The Sack of Rome, then part of the Papal States, followed the capture of Rome on 6 May 1527 by the mutiny, mutinous troops of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, during the War of the League of Cognac. Charles V only intended to threaten military ...

he was taken hostage to

Hugo of Moncada Hugo de Moncada (also Ugo de Moncada), (born Chiva, Valencia, circa 1476 - died Gulf of Salerno, 28 April 1528) was a Spanish political and military leader of the late 15th and early 16th century. He served as General of Ocean and Land, Viceroy ...

with other cardinals. Later he was named administrator of

Viterbo Viterbo (; Central Italian, Viterbese: ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in the Lazio region of Italy, the Capital city, capital of the province of Viterbo. It conquered and absorbed the neighboring town of Ferento (see Ferentium) in ...

(16 November 1532 – 6 June 1533), administrator of the metropolitan see of

Salerno Salerno (, ; ; ) is an ancient city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Campania, southwestern Italy, and is the capital of the namesake province, being the second largest city in the region by number of inhabitants, after Naples. It is located ...

(7 February 1533 - 19 December 1548) and administrator of

Imola Imola (; or ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Bologna, located on the river Santerno, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. The city is traditionally considered the western entrance to the historical region Romagna ...

(4 August 1533 - 17 May 1546).

opted him for the deaconry of

Santa Maria in Cosmedin The Basilica of Saint Mary in Cosmedin (; Latin: Santa Maria ''de Schola Graeca'') is a minor basilica, minor basilican churches of Rome, church in Rome, Italy, dedicated to the Mary, mother of Jesus, Virgin Mary. It is located in the rione (neig ...

on 19 January 1534. He participated in the Papal conclave, 1534.

Pope Paul III Pope Paul III (; ; born Alessandro Farnese; 29 February 1468 – 10 November 1549) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 October 1534 to his death, in November 1549. He came to the papal throne in an era follo ...

appointed him administrator of

again (8 August 1538 - 25 May 1548) and opted him for the deaconry of

Santa Maria in Via Lata Santa Maria in Via Lata is a church on the Via del Corso (the ancient Via Lata), in Rome, Italy. It stands diagonal from the church of San Marcello al Corso. It is the stational church for Tuesday in the fifth week of lent. History The first ...

on 31 May 1540 as he became

cardinal protodeacon A cardinal is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. As titular members of the clergy of the Diocese of Rome, they serve as advisors to the pope, who is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. C ...

. He was a member of a special commission of eleven cardinals for reform of the

Roman Curia The Roman Curia () comprises the administrative institutions of the Holy See and the central body through which the affairs of the Catholic Church are conducted. The Roman Curia is the institution of which the Roman Pontiff ordinarily makes use ...

. On 8 January 1543 he was named Archbishop of Florence for second time and resigned again on 25 May 1548. After the death of

he was a ''

papabile ( , , ; plural: ; ) is an unofficial Italian term coined by Vaticanologists and used internationally in many languages to describe a Catholic man—in practice, always a cardinal—who is thought of as a likely or possible candidate to be ...

'', entered the conclave of 1549 - 1550, but left because of illness. He died on 31 January 1550 of an apoplexy before the new

Pope Julius III Pope Julius III (; ; 10 September 1487 – 23 March 1555), born Giovanni Maria Ciocchi del Monte, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 February 1550 to his death, in March 1555. After a career as a disting ...

was elected on 7 February 1550. Cardinal Ridolfi was buried in the church of Sant'Agostino. A patron of the arts, Ridolfi had an extensive collection of books, paintings, and sculpture that passed to his brother Lorenzo. A large armorial pitcher, currently held by the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

is believed to have been commissioned by Ridolfi on the occasion of Charles V's coronation in Bologna in 1530.Wilson, Timothy. "Double-spouted armorial pitcher", ''Maiolica: Italian Renaissance Ceramics in the Metropolitan Museum of Art'', MET, 2016. p. 160

References

Bibliography

* ery tangential, of background value only* * *

External links

The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church - Biographical Dictionary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ridolfi, Niccolo 1501 births 1550 deaths Clergy from Florence House of Medici 16th-century Italian cardinals Bishops of Forlì Bishops of Orvieto Bishops of Vicenza Bishops of Viterbo Cardinal-nephews 16th-century Italian Roman Catholic archbishops