NASALLI, IGNAZIO. - Cardinal, b. in Parma on 7 Oct. 1750, d. in Rome on 7 Dec. 1831. Ordained priest in 1785, he completed his studies in Rome at the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, of which he became pro-president. Canon of the cathedral of Ravenna in 1789 and domestic prelate in 1800, in 1804 he accompanied Pius VI on the journey to Paris for Napoleon's coronation, and at the famous ceremony of 2 Dec. he was apostolic subdeacon. Having lived privately at Piacenza during the period of Pius VII's captivity, at the Restoration he was charged by the dukes of Parma with handling the ecclesiastical affairs of the State before the Holy See and also drew up a draft concordat.
In 1819 he was elected titular archbishop of Cyrrhus and appointed apostolic nuncio to the Swiss Confederation. The principal task of his mission was to discuss with the Cantons the plans for the erection of new dioceses, and in Apr. 1820 the Conference of Langelthal took place, at which the essential points for the resolution of the arduous question were set out, though it continued to drag on for some years. Without leaving the Swiss nunciature, he was sent by Pius VII in 1823 to the Netherlands and found himself facing grave difficulties, since King William I upheld the right of appointing bishops and intended to interfere in the administration of the seminaries, and therefore also in the education of the clergy; at the same time, the influence of the Jansenist Church of Utrecht on the court and on the men of the government was very strong. Leo XII, in the Consistory of 25 June 1827, created N. cardinal.
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