ALCIATI, FRANCESCO

FRANCESCO ALCIATI. - Cardinal, b. in Milan in 1522, d. in Rome in 1580. Nephew and heir of the famous jurist Andrea, disciple and then successor of the latter at the University of Pavia. There he had among his pupils St Charles Borromeo, and this encounter led to his going to Rome, where the saint’s uncle, having become pope under the name of Pius IV, appointed him chancellor of the Apostolic Chancery in 1561, bishop of Civita and then substitute of the Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church in 1564. The following year, he created him cardinal. Extremely versed in legal studies, he was praised by his contemporaries also as a man of letters. Vettori and Muret recall him as one of the greatest ornaments of the century. He left various works in manuscript.