ALTEMPS (HOHENEMS), MARCUS SITTICH D'

ALTEMPS (HOHENEMS), MARCUS SITTICH d'. - Cardinal, b. at Hohenems (Vorarlberg) in 1533, d. at Rome in 1595. Nephew on his mother’s side of Card. G. A. de' Medici of Milan, the future Pius IV, he devoted himself at a very young age to the profession of arms, under the command of his other uncle, the celebrated Gian Giacomo de' Medici, marquis of Marignano, and subsequently of Cosimo I de' Medici. His uncle’s election to the papacy marked the beginning of his fortune. Having come to Rome together with his elder brother, he was named count of the Empire. An incident from which he escaped led him to take holy orders. Bishop of Cassano in 1560 and, in the same year, extraordinary nuncio in Germany, cardinal and bishop of Constance in 1561, he was one of the five papal legates to the Council of Trent at the end of that same year. This latter appointment was much criticized, since he was a young man of twenty-eight and more experienced in arms than in theology. Although he was eventually appointed by his uncle legate in the Marches and loaded with other benefices, he never held important offices in the Curia. He had the Chapel of the Virgin built in S. Maria in Trastevere, where he had the Council of Trent commemorated, and there his body was buried.