Aldrovandi, Ulisse

ALDROVANDI, POMPEO. - Cardinal, b. at Bologna on 23 Sept. 1668, d. at Montefiascone on 16 Jan. 1752. Having come to Rome in 1696, he was appointed auditor of the Rota in 1706 and, in 1712, nuncio to Philip V. Pope, A. was recalled to Rome, but was sent back to Spain only a year later, in 1717. As relations became increasingly strained, A. returned to Italy without being recalled and was exiled by the Pope to Bologna. He regained his former post as auditor of the Rota and was also appointed regent of the Penitentiary under Innocent XIII. He was made counsellor of the Holy Office and, in 1729, patriarch of Jerusalem by Benedict XIII. In 1733, under Clement XII, he was appointed governor of Rome. On 24 March 1734 he was created cardinal of the title of S. Eusebio. In the same year he also became bishop of Montefiascone and Corneto. In the conclave of 1740 he was a candidate for the tiara and lacked only a few votes for election. He was buried in the church of S. Petronio in Bologna.