CAPODIFERRO, GEROLAMO

CAPODIFERRO, GEROLAMO. — Cardinal. Born in 1502 into the Recanati family, a Neapolitan noble house, he took his mother’s surname of C. Having entered the court of Cardinal Alessandro Farnese (later Pope Paul III) while still a youth, he soon became part of the Roman Curia. In 1537 he was sent as nuncio to Portugal, where serious disputes arose with King John III, particularly concerning the converted Jews; he then went to France, where he worked diligently to secure Francis I’s acceptance of the bull convoking the Council of Trent. In the same year he was appointed treasurer of the Apostolic Chamber and, together with Cardinal Ascanio Sforza, was tasked with collecting money from churches and other sources for the war against the Turks. On 9 December 1544 he was created cardinal with the title of San Giorgio in Velabro, serving as datary and later as governor of Romagna. He returned to France as legate in 1547 to interest Francis I in the Catholic restoration of England, and again in April 1553 to mediate peace between Francis and Emperor Charles V, though without success; he returned to Italy at the beginning of October. In Rome he built the magnificent palace later acquired by the Spada family. He died in Rome on 10 December 1559 and was buried in Santa Maria della Pace.