Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 11.djvu/359

 ORSINI

327

ORSINI

against whom he pubhshed a tract. He assisted at the Council of Pisa, and took part in the election of the Pisan pope, Alexander V (1409), and of his successor John XXIII (Balthasar Cossa). The latter sent him as envoy to Spain, later appointing him papal legate to the Marches, in which position he was equally distinguished for his ability and prudence. He assisted zealously at the Council of Constance, and took part in the election of Martin V (1417). He was sent by this pope as legate to England and France, in company with Cardinal Filastre, to make peace between the two countries. He was also selected for the difficult embassy to Bohemia and the neighbouring countries (1426), where he was to combat the Hussite heresy. On this occasion he took with him as his secretary the future cardinal, Nicholas of Cusa. Upon his return, the pope entrusted to him another difficult task, namely the visitation and reform of the churches and ecclesiastical institutions of Rome. In the Con- clave of 14.31 Eugene IV was elected pope. A close friendship existed between him and Giordano, and the latter supported him loyally and energetically during all the trying conditions of the time. With two other cardinals, Giordano was commissioned to proceed against the usurpers of ecclesiastical possessions in Italy, after which he was delegated by the pope to attend the Council of Basle (q. v.), where he exerted every effort to uphold the rights of the pope against the schismatic element in the council. We are in- debted to him for a diary of this council. Later, as papal legate, he journeyed with Cardinal Conti to Siena to meet Emperor Sigismund on his way to Rome to receive the imperial crown. A man of wide culture, Giordano took an active part in the literary life of his time. Numerous and valuable manuscripts were the result of his journe3dngs as legate, and these he willed to St. Peter's in Rome (cf. the catalogue of manu- scripts in Cancelfieri, "De secretariis basilicae Vati- cance", II, Rome, 1786, pp. 906-14). An Augustinian monastery was founded by him in Bracciano. He died dean of the College of Cardinals, and was buried in St. Peter's in a chapel founded and richly endowed by him.

(9) Latino Orsini, likewise of the Roman branch of the family and the owner of rich possessions, b. 1411; d. 11 August, 1477. He entered the ranks of the Roman clergy as a youth, became subdeacon, and as early as 10 March, 14.38, was raised to the Episcopal See of Conza in Southern Italy. Trans- ferred from this see to that of Trani (Southern Italy) on 8 June, 1439, he remained archbishop of the latter after his elevation to the cardinalate by Nicholas V on 20 December, 1448. On 4 December, 1454, the Archbishopric of Bari was conferred upon him, which made it pcssible for him to take up his residence in Rome, the See of Trani being given to his brother, John Orsini, Abbot of Farfa. Paul II appointed him legate for the Marches. Sixtus IV, for whose election in 1471 Cardinal Latino had worked energetically, named him camerlengo of the College of Cardinals, granted him in 1472 the Archdiocese of Taranto, which he governed by proxy, and, in addition, placed him at the head of the government of the Papal States. He was also appointed commander-in-chief of the papal fleet in the war against the Turks, and, acting for the pope, crowned Ferdinand King of Naples. He founded in Rome the monastery of S. Salvatore in Lauro, which he richly endowed and in which he established the canons regular, donating to it also numerous manu- scripts. In the last years of his life he became deeply religious, though he had been worldly in his youth, leaving a natural son named Paul, whom, with the consent of the pope, he made the heir of his vast possessions.

(10) GiAMBATTisT.*. Orsini, nephew of Latino, d. 22 Feb., 1503. He entered the service of the Curia at an early age, became cameral cleric, canon of St.

Peter's, and was elevated to the cardinalate by Sixtus IV in 1483. Innocent VIII conferred upon him in 1491 the Archiepiscopal See of Taranto, which he governed by proxy, and, as papal legate for Romagna, the Marches, and Bologna, he was entrusted with the administration of these provinces of the Ecclesiastical States. In the Conclave of 1492, the election of Alexander VI was almost entirely due to him. How- ever, Cardinal Giambattista, together with the head of the House of Orsini, the Duke of Bracciano, having espoused the cause of the Florentines and the French in the Italian wars, was taken prisoner in the Vatican at the command of the pope and thrown into the dungeon of the Castel Sant' Angelo, where he died. The report was current that he had been poisoned by Alexander VI.

Other cardinals of the family of Orsini who are worthy of mention because of the active part taken by them either as administrators of the papal states or as legates in other lands are the following :

(11) Flavio Orsini, flourished in the .sixteenth cen- tury, d. 16 May, 1581. He was created a cardinal in 1565, having been a bishop since 1560, first of the See of Muro and later that of Spolcto. In 1572 he was sent by Gregory XIII as legate to Charles IX of France, principally to support this monarch in his conflict with the Huguenots.

(12) Altsssandro Orsini, belonging to the ducal family of Bracciano, b. 1592; d. 22 August, 1626. He was brought up at the court of the Grand Duke Ferdi- nand I of Tuscany, and in 1615 created a cardinal by Paul V. As Legate to Ravenna under Gregory XV, he distinguished himself in 1621 by his great charity on the occasion of the outbreak of a malignant pesti- lence. Upon his return to Rome, he devoted himself to religion and to the practice of an austere asceticism. He even begged permission of the pope to resign the cardinalate and to enter the Jesuit Order, but this was refused. Nevertheless, the pious cardinal always re- mained closely united to the Jesuits. He was a patron of Gahleo.

(13) ViRGiNio Orsini, likewise of the ducal family of Bracciano, b. 1615; d. 21 August, 1676. He re- nounced his birthright in his youth, entered the mili- tary order of the Knights of Malta, and more than once distinguished himself in the war against the Turks by his reckless bravery. In December, 1641, Urban VIII raised him to the cUgnity of cardinal, and ap- pointed him Protector of the Polish as well as of the Portuguese Orient. He was commissioned to direct the building of the new fortifications with which Ur- ban VIII enclosed the Leonine City and a quarter of Trastevere, and which are still in existence. In 1675 he became Cardinal Bisiiop of Frascati, but died the next year, leaving behind him a reputation of a pious, gentle, and benevolent prince of the Church.

In addition to the members of the Orsini family who were prominent as cardinals in the history of the Roman Church, others have gained a place in political history as statesmen, warriors, or patrons of the arts and sciences.

(1) Or.so di Bobone, nephew of Pope Celestine III (1191-8) and the first Orsini to hold a conspicuous place in Rome. Under the protection of his uncle, the pope, he was destined to have the principal part in laying the foundation of the dominion, power, and prestige of the Roman Orsini. His grandchild, (2) Matted Rcsso Orsini, was made senator of Rome by Pope Gregory IX in 1241. In this capacity he took a decided stand against the ventures of Emperor Frederick II in Italy. He was a patron of religious undertakings, a personal friend of St. Francis of Assisi, and a member of that saint's Third Order. While one of the sons of Matteo RoSso, Gian Gaetano, ascended the papal throne as Nicholas III, another, (3) Rinaldo, continued the activities of his father in the political field, exerting himself to the utmost to prevent the