Antonio Pallavicini Gentili

Contents

Antonio Gentile Pallavicini[1] (c. 1441 – 10 September 1507) was an Italian Cardinal[2] of the Pallavicini family, Camerlengo of the Sacred College of Cardinals, bishop of Frascati (April - December 1503) and later of Palestrina (1503 - 1505). He was considered papabile in the 1492 papal conclave.[3]

Life

Although Pallavicini grew up in Genoa, documents from the time, including a papal bull from 1472, refer to his Castilian connection. Historians speculate that his father, a merchant, may have used a Castilian ship to travel, claiming the protection of the King of Castile.[4] When Pallavicini was young, he and his brothers also conducted business in Spain.[5] Much later, in the conclave of 1503, he had Spanish support to become Pope.[6]

He moved to Rome with Cardinal Cibo (future Pope Innocent VIII, also from Genoa)[7] and Pope Sixtus IV hired him to draft Apostolic letters and then made him bishop of Ventimiglia in 1484.[8] After Pope Sixtus IV's death in 1484, the new Pope Innocent VIII made Pallavicini bishop of Ourense in Spain in 1486.[9] From 1484 (the first year of Pope Innocent VIII's papacy) to 1489 he was Papal Datary in the Roman Curia, and therefore did not reside in Ventimiglia. In 1489, Pope Innocent VIII appointed him cardinal.[10]

His first conclave occurred three years later, in 1492, after Pope Innocent VIII's death. Although Pallavicini was considered papabile, his chances of being elected pope were low because it was traditional not to elect two popes from the same location in a row and Innocent VIII was also from Genoa.[11] Cardinal Borgia (who would be elected Pope Alexander VI) bribed Pallavicini with the Bishopric of Pamplona in exchange for his vote.[12] (Pallavicini took over this position from Cesare Borgia, against the will of the monarchs of Navarre, and finding instead the veiled support of Ferdinand II of Aragon.[13])

During the Italian Wars, Pope Alexander VI and then Pope Julius II entrusted him with a series of diplomatic responsibilities. While the pope himself was in the fortress, Castel Sant'Angelo he sent Pallavicini to negotiate with Charles VIII of France who had entered Rome.[14] In 1507, Pallavicini served as Papal legate to Pope Julius II to negotiate with the King of France and Ferdinand II of Aragon to unite against Venice in the War of the League of Cambrai.[15]

Pallavicini was confident he would be elected pope in the September 1503 conclave that elected Pope Pius III.[16] He had the support of the Spanish cardinals and during the conclave, he worked to persuade the French and Italian factions to back him.[17] Pallavicini was sure enough in his chances that he requested Johann Burchard move him to a room that would not be next to Cardinal Piccolomini (who would be elected pope). In the first scrutiny, however, he received only three first-choice votes. This was the fifth most of any of the seventeen candidates, but significantly less than Oliviero Carafa and Giuliano Della Rovere, the two front-runners.[18] He did not manage to make up this loss in the next scrutinies and Pope Pius III was soon elected Pope.

Pallavicini directed the early education of his nephew, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Pallavicino (1480–1524), hand-picking his private tutors.[19] Around 1506 when his nephew was 26, Pallavicini gave him authority over the S. Anthony of Pré monestary and appointed him Dean of the Chapter of the Ourense Cathedral.[20]

There is a well-known portrait by Titian. He was buried in the Old St. Peter's Basilica but his tomb was transferred to the Montemirabile Chapel in Santa Maria del Popolo in 1596.

Public image and reputation

Pallavicini was known as il incantatore, The Enchanter, because of his persuasiveness.[21] Gaetano Moroni elaborates on this character trait, writing, "Antoniotto had been endowed by nature with a singular dexterity in handling the hearts of others, and he thoroughly mastered the art of insinuating himself into people's souls; thus, through the sweetness of his demeanor and the gentleness of his manners, he won the heart of everyone with whom he interacted."[22]

The historian Oberto Foglietta, wrote the following elegy for Pallavicini:

Antoniotto’s gravity, prudence, wisdom, and integrity shone with such brilliance that, when the pontifical throne fell vacant, he was designated—by a plurality of votes during the cardinals’ preparatory meetings—to occupy the Chair of Saint Peter; indeed, he came very close to attaining the Sovereign Pontificate, borne to that exalted station by the votes of many Pontiffs and by his own merits.[23]

References

  1. 1.Antonio Pallavicino, Antonio Gentile Pallavicini, Antoniotto Pallavicini.
  2. 2.From 1489; he was bishop of Frascati in 1503, and in the same year bishop of Palestrina.
  3. 3.Miranda, Salvador. "PALLAVICINI, Antonio Gentile (1441–1507)". The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church. Florida International University. OCLC 53276621.
  4. 4.Celier, Léonce (1910). Les dataires du XVe siècle et les origines de la Daterie apostolique. Paris: Fontemoing et cie. p. 50.
  5. 5.Miranda, Salvador. "The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church: Conclave of August 6 to 11, 1492". The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church. Florida International University. Retrieved May 4, 2026.
  6. 6.Thynne, Roger (1924). The Churches of Rome. London: K. Paul, Trench, Trubner & Company, Limited. p. 289.
  7. 7.Gaetano Moroni (1851). Dizionario di erudizione storico-ecclesiastica da S. Pietro sino ai nostri giorni (in Italian). Vol. 51 (Pal-Pat). Venezia: Tipografia Emiliana.
  8. 8.Cheney, David M. "Diocese of Ventimiglia-San Remo". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. Retrieved December 16, 2021. [self-published]
  9. 9.Cheney, David M. "Antonio Gentile Cardinal Pallavicini †". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. Retrieved December 16, 2021. [self-published]
  10. 10.Miranda, Salvador. "The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church: Conclave of August 6 to 11, 1492". The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church. Florida International University. Retrieved May 4, 2026.
  11. 11.Rhodes, Marissa; Earls, Averill (4 January 2021). "Transcript for: The Papal Election of 1492". DIG. Retrieved 20 May 2026.
  12. 12.Pastor, Ludwig (1912). The history of the popes from the close of the Middle Ages. Drawn from the secret archives of the Vatican and other original sources. From the German of Ludwig Pastor. St. Louis, Herder. p. 383.
  13. 13.Adot Lerga, Álvaro (2005). Juan de Albret y Catalina de Foix o la defensa del Estado navarro (1483–1517). Pamplona/Iruña: Pamiela. pp. 156–158. ISBN 84-7681-443-7.
  14. 14.Gaetano Moroni (1851). Dizionario di erudizione storico-ecclesiastica da S. Pietro sino ai nostri giorni (in Italian). Vol. 51 (Pal-Pat). Venezia: Tipografia Emiliana.
  15. 15.Miranda, Salvador. "PALLAVICINI, Antonio Gentile (1441–1507)". The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church. Florida International University. OCLC 53276621.
  16. 16.Adams, John Paul. "SEDE VACANTE 1503, I". Portraits of the Popes. Retrieved 15 May 2026.
  17. 17.ibid
  18. 18.ibid
  19. 19.Vanni, Andrea. "PALLAVICINO, Giovanni Battista Biographical Dictionary of Italians - Volume 80 (2014)". Treccani. Treccani. Retrieved 20 May 2026.
  20. 20.ibid
  21. 21.Miranda, Salvador. "Pallavicino, Antoniotto (1441—1507)". The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church. Florida International University. Retrieved 2026-05-04.
  22. 22.Gaetano Moroni (1851). Dizionario di erudizione storico-ecclesiastica da S. Pietro sino ai nostri giorni (in Italian). Vol. 51 (Pal-Pat). Venezia: Tipografia Emiliana. Avea Antoniotto sortito dalla natura particolare destrezza nel maneggiare i cuori altrui, e sapeva a fondo l'arte d'insinuarsi nell'animo delle persone, onde colla dolcezza del tratto e colla soavità delle maniere guadagnava il cuore di chiunque trattava con lui. [Antoniotto had been endowed by nature with a singular dexterity in handling the hearts of others, and he thoroughly mastered the art of insinuating himself into people's souls; thus, through the sweetness of his demeanor and the gentleness of his manners, he won the heart of everyone with whom he interacted.]
  23. 23.Société archéologique, historique, littéraire et scientifique du Gers (1894). Soirées archéologiques aux archives départementales Volumes 3-4 (in French). p. 36. La gravité, la prudence, la sagesse, l'intégrité d'Antoniotto brillèrent d'un tel éclat que le trône pontifical étant venu à vaquer, il fut désigné par la pluralité des suffrages, dans les réunions préparatoires des cardi-naux, pour occuper la chaire de saint Pierre, et que peu s'en fallut qu'il n'arrivât au Souverain Pontificat, porté à cette place élevée par les votes de beaucoup de Pontifes et par ses mérites (Translation: Antoniotto's gravity, prudence, wisdom, and integrity shone with such brilliance that, when the pontifical throne fell vacant, he was designated—by a plurality of votes during the cardinals' preparatory meetings—to occupy the Chair of Saint Peter; indeed, he came very close to attaining the Sovereign Pontificate, borne to that exalted station by the votes of many Pontiffs and by his own merits.)