CARACCIOLO, MARINO, cardinal. - B. in Napoli in 1468, he spent his early years in Milano with Card. Ascanio Sforza, whom he followed to Germany in 1499 and to France, where he remained until 1503. In 1515 he was sent by the duke of Milano as orator to the Lateran Council. Pope Leone X, who appreciated his gifts as a negotiator, appointed him apostolic protonotary and in 1518 sent him as legate of the Holy See to Carlo V; in this capacity he took part in the Diet of Augusta. He attended the Diet of Worms of 1521, at which Lutero was placed under the ban of the Empire.
He took an active part in the negotiations that led to the conclusion of the league against Francesco I. In 1524 he was elected bishop of Catania, and Paolo III created him cardinal on 21 May 1535. The following year Carlo V appointed him first grand chancellor and then governor of the duchy of Milano for political and civil affairs. D. in Milano on 28 Jan. 1538.