DURINI, ANGELO MARIA. — Cardinal, born in Milan to a noble family on 24 May 1725, died at Balbiano (Como) on 28 April 1796. After earning his degree in law at the Collegio Romano, he followed his uncle Carlo Francesco to the nunciature in Paris. In 1758 Clemente XI appointed him referendary of the Signatura, and the following year sent him as inquisitor to Malta. After six years on the island, he was given the title of archbishop of Ancira (22 Dec. 1766), and then the nunciature of Poland (Aug. 1767). There the religious and political conditions were extremely grave, since the “dissidents,” that is, the Lutherans, were in conflict with the Catholics; while the former, supported by the legitimate government, appealed to the Russians, the latter, headed by the bishops, rose as defenders of national independence.
D. took an active part in the events of the kingdom, favoring the confederation of Bar, which opposed the king’s government; consequently, the king did everything possible to have him recalled (Sept. 1772). The following year he was appointed vice-legate of Avignon and the Venassino, then restored to the Holy See. He remained there until June 1776, when he was granted the cardinalate and the wealthy abbey of Merate (Brianza). From then on he lived in his splendid villas around Milan, which became centers of culture and meeting places for men of letters and poets, among them Parini, who dedicated to him the ode La gratitudine. He himself wrote poetry in Latin, in an artificial and conventional manner (Carmina, 2 vols. [Warsaw 1768–69]).