SFORZA DI SANTA FIORA, GUIDO ASCANIO. - Cardinal, b. in Rome in 1518, d. 7 Oct. 1564, Alessandro (v.).
Appointed cardinal in 1534, he administered the diocese of Anglona for a few days, then Parma (13 Aug. 1535–26 Apr. 1560); he was sent to Bologna and Romagna as legate (1537–38), chamberlain of the Sacred Roman Church (1537), legate to Hungary (1540) for the war against the Turks, and patriarch of Alexandria (1541). By order of Julius III he went to Parma to seek an agreement with Ottavio Farnese in the disputes he had with the Holy See. He played a major part in the Conclaves of 1550 and 1555. Arrested (31 Aug. 1555) by order of Paul IV, because of his relations with the Spaniards, by Cardinal Carlo Carafa, he was detained for 22 days and had to pay 200,000 scudi in order to be released. In 1557 he took part in the negotiations for peace between the Pope and the duke of Alba. In 1559 he was one of the supporters of the election of Pius IV. A Hispanophile, he safeguarded Spanish interests with this latter Pope.