GRAVINA, PIETRO. – Cardinal, born on 11 December 1749 at Monte Vago (diocese of Girgenti), died on 6 December 1830 at Palermo. He studied with the Theatines in Palermo and at the Collegio Clementino in Rome, and attended the Ecclesiastical Academy. Referendary of both Signatures, he governed Città di Castello, Spoleto, Jesi, Fano, and Ancona.
Named titular archbishop of Nicaea by Pius VI on 12 September 1794, he was sent as nuncio to Lucerne; then in 1802 to Madrid. In 1812 he condemned as illegal the provisions of the Cortes of Cadiz regarding the reduction of convents, the abolition of mortmain, etc., advising that controversial matters be regulated by agreement with the Holy See rather than unilaterally. Above all, the suppression of the tribunal of the Inquisition provoked a serious conflict between the government and the nuncio, who in July 1813 had to leave Cadiz and take refuge in Portugal. Recalled in 1814, after the return of Ferdinand VII, Gravina remained in Madrid for another two years. Created cardinal by Pius VII with the title of S. Lorenzo in Panisperna on 8 March 1816, he was appointed archbishop of Palermo the following September. During the Sicilian revolution of 1820 he served as president of the provisional junta of public safety and tranquility, as well as lieutenant general, and supported the legitimate government.