GIOVANNI. – Cardinal, born in Florence, died in Rome on 17 September 1573. The elder brother of Clemente VIII, in 1554 he was appointed consistorial advocate and governor of Imola. In 1556 he became an auditor of the Rota. In 1569 he was created bishop of Imola by Pius V, and on 17 May 1570 cardinal of the title of S. Susanna. He was entrusted with very important assignments, including the negotiations for the league of Rome, Venice, and Spain against the Turks. He was buried in S. Maria sopra Minerva, in the family chapel.
between the Austrians and the Poles. On 17 September 1593 he was created cardinal of the title of S. Giorgio in Velabro, later changed to that of S. Pietro in Vincoli. In the same year he was appointed, together with Cardinal Pietro, Secretary of State, and in this capacity subsequently accompanied the Pope to Ferrara. After a brief stay in Venice and Milan, he returned to Rome, where he was appointed Prefect of the Segnatura of Justice and, in 1604, legate of Avignon. Under Leo XI he held the office of Major Penitentiary. He protected artists and men of letters, among them especially Torquato Tasso, who dedicated the Gerusalemme Conquistata to him. He was buried in S. Pietro in Vincoli.