CARACCIOLO, DIEGO INIGO. — Cardinal, born 18 July 1759 at Martina, died 24 January 1820 at Naples. He was Master of the Papal Chamber under Pius VI, and followed him into exile in 1798 when the French dragged the Pope from Rome.
He remained at the Pontiff’s side in Siena, Florence, Grenoble and Valence, and witnessed his final moments, even drawing up, in his capacity as protonotary, the authentic document on the death of Pius VI. To reward Caracciolo’s devotion to his predecessor, Pius VII created him cardinal in the Consistory of 11 August 1800, and later appointed him Suburbicarian Bishop of Palestrina. When Joseph Bonaparte became King of Naples, Caracciolo swore allegiance to the new sovereign, but his goods were later sequestered, and he only recovered them after the return of King Ferdinand IV. In 1815 the cardinal was entrusted with negotiations for a new concordat between the Holy See and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, which were successfully concluded three years later. During the same period he also took an interest in the abolition of abuses arising from the service of Neapolitan couriers in Papal territory.