BICCHI, ALESSANDRO

BICCHI, ALESSANDRO. – Cardinal, born in Siena in 1596, died in Rome in 1657. In 1628 he was elected Bishop of the Island and sent as nuncio to Naples with the principal task of restoring the obligation of residence for bishops. Two years later (1630) he was transferred to Paris, where he worked to prevent France’s alliance with Sweden and to bring Richelieu back to peace during the Thirty Years’ War. Created cardinal in 1633, he left Paris in 1634. Upon his return to Rome, with the consent of Urban VIII, he promoted a secret conference at Einsiedeln between delegates of France and Bavaria to restore peace, which failed due to Richelieu’s opposition (January 1640). He was also one of the main promoters of the Peace of Venice that followed the so-called War of Castro (late 1643–March 1644). A strong supporter of France in the conclaves of 1644 and 1655, he consistently opposed, though in vain, all of Richelieu’s policies.