BICHI, ALESSANDRO. - Cardinal, b. in Siena in 1596, d. in Rome in 1657. In 1628 he was elected bishop of Isola and sent as nuncio to Naples with the principal task of bringing the bishops back to the obligation of residence. Two years later (1630) he was transferred to Paris, where he worked to prevent the alliance of France with Sweden, and to bring Richelieu back to peace during the Thirty Years' War. Made cardinal in 1633, he left Paris in 1634. Having returned to Rome, he promoted, with the consent of Urban VIII, a secret conference at Einsiedeln between the delegates of France and of Bavaria for the restoration of peace, which failed because of Richelieu's opposition (Jan. 1640). He was also one of the principal promoters of the peace of Venice that followed the so-called war of Castro (end of 1643-March '44). A great supporter of France in the Conclaves of 1644 and 1655, he always opposed, though in vain, the whole policy of Richelieu.

Bibliography

BIBL.: Pastor, XIII and XIV, passim: L. Grottanelli, Il ducato di Castro, Florence 1891, passim: A. Leman, Urbain VIII et la rivalité de la France et de la maison d'Autriche de 1631-35. Lille-Paris 1920, passim.

Renata Orazi Ausenda

@incollection{ec2_bichi_alessandro, author = {Orazi, Ausenda Renata}, title = {Bichi, alessandro}, booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica}, volume = {II}, pages = {1621--1622}, note = {Cited by column}, publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico}, address = {Città del Vaticano}, year = {1949}, url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/bichi-alessandro} }

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Bichi, Alessandro

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