Niccolò Ridolfi

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

Niccolò Ridolfi

Early life

Born in Florence, son of Piero Ridolfi and Contessina de' Medici (the daughter of Lorenzo de' Medici the Magnificent), he was therefore nephew of Pope Leo X, who granted him a quick ecclesiastical career. He was named governor of Spoleto in the period 1514-1516 and protonotary apostolic at the age of thirteen.

Church career

Pope Leo X created him cardinal deacon in the consistory 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 on 24 August 1520 and he kept that post until 3 September 1529. Ridolfi participated in the conclaves of 1521–1522 and 1523.

Pope Clement VII elected him archbishop of Florence on 11 January 1524. He resigned from that position on 11 October 1532. He served also as administrator of Vicenza from 14 March 1524 until his death, administrator of Forli (16 April 1526 - 7 August 1528). During the Sack of Rome (1527) he was taken hostage to Hugo of Moncada with other cardinals. Later he was named administrator of Viterbo (16 November 1532 – 6 June 1533), administrator of the metropolitan see of Salerno (7 February 1533 - 19 December 1548) and administrator of Imola (4 August 1533 - 17 May 1546). Pope Clement VII opted him for the deaconry of Santa Maria in Cosmedin on 19 January 1534. He participated in the Papal conclave, 1534.

Pope Paul III appointed him administrator of Viterbo again (8 August 1538 - 25 May 1548) and opted him for the deaconry of Santa Maria in Via Lata on 31 May 1540] as he became cardinal protodeacon. He was a member of a special commission of eleven cardinals for reform of the Roman Curia. On 8 January 1543 he was named Archbishop of Florence for second time and resigned again on 25 May 1548.

After the death of Pope Paul III he was a papabile, 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 was elected on 7 February 1550. Cardinal Ridolfi was buried in the church of Sant'Agostino.

Bibliography

  • Byatt, Lucinda M. C. (1988). "The concept of hospitality in a cardinal's household in Renaissance Rome". Renaissance Studies. 2 (2): 312–320. JSTOR 24409406. [very tangential, of background value only]
  • Byatt, Lucinda (1984). "Il Cardinale Niccolo Ridolfi ed il Palazzo di Bagnaia". Biblioteca e società. 4: 3–8. Retrieved 2016-05-09.
  • Una suprema magnificenza :Niccolo' Ridolfi a Florentine Cardinal in sixteenth-century Rome, by Lucinda Byatt, Ph.D. thesis, European University Institute, 1983.
  • Ridolfi, Roberto (1929). "La biblioteca del cardinale Niccolo Ridolfi (1501-1550)". La Bibliofilia. 31: 173–193.
Catholic Church titles
Preceded by
Carlo Domenico del Carretto
Cardinal-Deacon of Santi Vito, Modesto e Crescenzia
1517–1534
Succeeded by
Guido Ascanio Sforza di Santa Fiora
Preceded by
Ercole Baglioni
Administrator of Orvieto
1520–1529
Succeeded by
Vincenzo Durante
Preceded by
Achille Grassi
Administrator of Pomesania
1523–1524
Succeeded by
Paul Sperato
Preceded by
Giulio de' Medici
Archbishop of Florence (1st term)
1524–1532
Succeeded by
Andrea de Bondelmonte
Preceded by
Francesco Soderini
Administrator of Vicenza
1524–1550
Succeeded by
Angelo Bragadino
Preceded by
Leonardo de' Medici
Administrator of Forli
1526–1528
Succeeded by
Bernardo Antonio de' Medici
Preceded by
Egidio da Viterbo
Administrator of Viterbo e Tuscania (1st term)
1532–1533
Succeeded by
Giampietro Grassi
Preceded by
Federico Fregóso
Administrator of Salerno
1533–1548
Succeeded by
Luis Torres (bishop)
Preceded by
Domenico Scribonio dei Cerboni
Administrator of Imola
1533–1546
Succeeded by
Girolamo Dandini
Preceded by
Franciotto Orsini
Cardinal-Deacon of Santa Maria in Cosmedin
1534–1540
Succeeded by
Guido Ascanio Sforza di Santa Fiora
Preceded by
Giampietro Grassi
Administrator of Viterbo e Tuscania (2nd term)
1538–1548
Succeeded by
Niccolò di Antonio Ugolini
Preceded by
Alessandro Cesarini (seniore)
Cardinal-Deacon of Santa Maria in Via Lata
1540–1550
Succeeded by
Innocenzo Cibo
Preceded by
Andrea de Bondelmonte
Archbishop of Florence (2nd term)
1543–1548
Succeeded by
Antonio Altoviti
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