BUGLIO, GIOVANNI ANTONIO, BARONE DEL BURGIO

BUGLIO, GIOVANNI ANTONIO, Baron of BURGIO. – A distinguished diplomat of the Holy See (in documents: 70. Ant. Pulleo, or also Bulleounus, baro Burgii; in Pastor: Puglioni), born in Mineo (Sicily) at the end of the 15th century, died in Palermo between 1545 and 1548. While passing through Rome, the Pope invited him into his service, sending him in 1523 as nuncio to Hungary with Cardinal Vio, legate to the courts of Germany and Hungary, to promote the union of Christian princes against the Turk. In 1524, Clement VII sent him again as a special nuncio to Hungary, torn by noble disputes and threatened by Turkish invasion. B. won the admiration and affection of that nation to such an extent that he was esteemed as one of their own, striving in every way to save it from extreme peril, though in vain. After the disastrous day of Mohács (29 Aug. 1526), in which, however, King Louis II, recalled to Rome, was named general commissioner of the forces against the Colonna. In 1527 he was in Hungary once more; in 1529 nuncio to the court of Sicily. In 1530 he was sent to the court of Henry VIII, a difficult post in which he remained for three years. Steph. Ehses (Römische Dokum. zur Gesch., Heinrichs VIII V. England, Paderborn 1893) laments that he could not find the reports of B. on this nunciature. From 1534 he was again appointed nuncio to the court of Sicily, continuing to enjoy the full trust of Paul III. Worthy of special note is B.’s patriotism, which led him to advise Clement VII to remain neutral in the disputes between Charles V and Francis I (a lassi rumpere le teste a li Barbari), while seeking to fortify Italy, which he desired to be independent of all foreign influence and united into a single confederated state under the Pope.