Grimani, Giovanni, Patriarch of Aquileia

GRIMANI, Giovanni, Patriarch of Aquileia. - Born in Venice around 1500 to Girolamo and Elena Priuli; he was the nephew of Cardinal Domenico and the brother of Cardinal Marino; he received the bishopric of Ceneda on 28 March 1520, and the patriarchate of Aquileia on 23 January 1545 through the cession of his brother Marino, but he took possession of it only upon the latter's death (28 September 1546).

He governed the diocese through vicars, never having resided there. Because of his contacts in Venice with persons accused of heresy he was suspected of unorthodox ideas, particularly after 1549, when he wrote a letter to his vicar on the subject of Grace and Predestination, for which he had to apologize to Julius III. This stood in the way of his obtaining the cardinalate he so greatly desired; he therefore sought a new examination under Pius IV (1561); but the verdict of the Inquisition proved unfavorable, so he brought the case before the Council of Trent, which recognized his orthodoxy (17 September 1563). He could not, however, obtain the cardinal's hat, nor even the pallium as metropolitan. G. was a collector of medals and antiquities, a patron of artists, and he built a palace in Venice and the facade of S. Francesco della Vigna. Died in Venice on 3 October 1593.