Giovanni Castiglione (cardinal)

Giovanni Castiglione (1420–1460) was an Italian Roman Catholic bishop and cardinal.

Biography

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Giovanni Castiglione was born in Milan in 1420, the son of Palatine Count Maffiolo Castiglione and Angela Lampugnani.[1] His family was of the patrician rank.[1]

After studying civil law, Castiglione became a protonotary apostolic, gaining a reputation as a great canonist and sacred orator.[1] Pope Eugene IV named him a secretary apostolic.[1]

On 2 September 1444 the cathedral chapter of Coutances Cathedral elected him Bishop of Coutances.[1] In 1447, he was named papal legate to the Kingdom of England.[1] He was transferred to the see of Pavia on 3 October 1453.[1] He served as the papal legate of Pope Nicholas V and Pope Callixtus III to Germany, in which capacity he was present at the Diet of Regensburg of April 1454 and the Diet of Frankfurt of October 1454.[1] At these two diets, his main goal was to promote war with the Ottoman Empire, which had recently captured Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire.[1] On 8 September 1455 he was present in St Mark's Basilica in Venice for the ceremony of the departure of the Crusade.[1] In 1456, he served as legate to Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor.[1]

At the request of Francesco I Sforza, Pope Callixtus III made Castiglione a cardinal in the consistory of 17 December 1456.[1] Castiglione entered Rome on 23 February 1457, received the red hat in the public consistory of 24 February 1457 and received the titular church of San Clemente on 9 March 1457.[1]

Cardinal Castiglione participated in the papal conclave of 1458 that elected Pope Pius II.[1] Pius named Castiglione legate a latere to the March of Ancona, and Castiglione left Rome on this assignment in September 1458. He occupied this post until his death.[1] He also became commendatory abbot of the Basilica of Sant'Abbondio in 1458.[1]

Castiglione died in Macerata on 14 April 1460.[1] He is buried in his family tomb in Milan.[1]

References

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Additional sources
  • Nowak, Jessika (2011). Ein Kardinal im Zeitalter der Renaissance: die Karriere des Giovanni di Castiglione (ca. 1413 - 1460) (in German). Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck. ISBN 978-3-16-150545-4.