Vitelleschi, Giovanni

VITELLESCHI, GIOVANNI. - Cardinal, b. at Corneto (Tarquinia) of an honored family, in his youth served the condottiere Tartaglia; under Martin V he entered the Curia, where he was a notary when on 16 April 1431 he received from Eugene IV the bishopric of Recanati and Macerata, although the temper of a man of war was in him more than that of an ecclesiastic.

His first undertaking was to break the power of the turbulent lords of Vico, powerful in the Patrimony and prefects of Rome; Giacomo, the last of them, was captured, judged and put to death in 1435. The Pope, who in 1434 had taken refuge in Florence, appointed V. patriarch of Alexandria on 21 February 1435 and then also archbishop of Florence on 12 October 1435, giving him the commission to repress the rebellion of the Roman barons. The undertaking ended with the capture of Palestrina from the Colonna on 18 August 1436, which took place with great acclaim from the Romans. The following spring V. had that fortress destroyed without pity; then he moved southward against Alfonso of Aragon, achieving great successes, for which the Pope created him cardinal on 9 August 1437. On this occasion V. left the archbishopric of Florence to take the bishopric of Traù in commendam; but the southern undertaking ended badly; V. had to take refuge in Venice in February 1438 and then with the Pope, Eugene IV sent him again against the Roman barons, whom V. treated without pity, so much so that on 2 April 1439 he destroyed Zagarolo occupied by Lorenzo Colonna; he was then the most powerful among the papal condottieri and invested with the office of legate. Toward the end of 1439 he was waging war in central Italy against the Trinci at Foligno and took possession of Spoleto, then returned to Rome and meted out harsh justice against the promoters of disorders. But meanwhile he himself came under suspicion of agreements with the Duke of Milan to the detriment of Florence, the Pope and Francesco Sforza; Antonio da Rio, castellan of Castel S. Angelo, managed by surprise to have him in his hands on 19 March 1440 and to drag him wounded into the Castle, where he died on 2 April. He left enormous riches that were the occasion of harsh disputes. At Tarquinia the beautiful Palace that he had built for himself there was recently restored, incorporating earlier buildings into it.

Pio Paschini