PALLOTTA, GIOVANNI EVANGELISTA. — Cardinal, born in 1548 at Caprarola, died in Rome on 2 August 1620.
Having previously served as a member of his household, he was appointed by Sixtus V secretary of the Memorials and seal-bearer of the Penitentiary (1585). Because of his charity and integrity of life, he was placed at the head of the Dataria (1587), appointed archbishop of Cosenza (September 1587), and made a cardinal (18 December 1587); he was frequently consulted by the Pontiff. He was also bishop of Frascati (24 January 1611) and of Porto (8 April 1620). Archpriest of St Peter’s and president of the Fabbrica, he supervised the works for the enlargement of the Vatican Basilica, according to the design of Maderno, which he had supported. A protector of artists and men of letters, among them Tasso, he expressed his patronage through embellishments, restorations, and buildings commissioned in Rome (at S. Lorenzo in Lucina), Cosenza, Frascati, and his native town.