CORSI, COSIMO. — Cardinal, b. at Firenze on 10 June 1798, d. at Agnano on 7 Oct. 1870. A page of Elisa Bonaparte, he later entered the clergy; appointed auditor of the Rota, he became its dean, until in 1842 Gregory XVI created him cardinal and bishop of Jesi (1845), whence, in 1853, he was chosen as archbishop of Pisa.
During the disturbances of Apr. 1859 he maintained a resolute attitude and led the resistance of the Tuscan episcopate against the provisional government. In 1860, on the occasion of Vittorio Emanuele II’s visit to Pisa, he ordered the doors of the Duomo to be closed and, for this act of protest, was taken to Torino, where he was kept under surveillance for two months in a religious institution. A convinced and ardent defender of ecclesiastical rights, he was distinguished by the goodness of his character and by Christian piety. He died almost immediately after having taken part in the Vatican Council of 1870.