GIOVANNI VITELLESCHI. — Cardinal. Born in Corneto (Tarquinia) to a respected family, in his youth he served the condottiere Tartaglia; under Martin V he entered the Curia, where he was a notary when, on 16 April 1431, Eugenius IV appointed him Bishop of Recanati and Macerata, despite his more martial than ecclesiastical temperament.
His first undertaking was to break the power of the turbulent Lords of Vico, who were influential in the Patrimony and Prefects of Rome; Giacomo, the last of them, was captured, tried, and executed in 1435. The Pope, who in 1434 had taken refuge in Florence, appointed V. Patriarch of Alexandria on 21 February 1435 and later Archbishop of Florence on 12 October 1435, entrusting him with the task of suppressing the rebellion of the Roman barons. The enterprise culminated in the capture of Palestrina from the Colonna on 18 August 1436, an event greeted with great acclaim by the Romans. The following spring, V. had that fortress ruthlessly destroyed; then he marched south against Alfonso of Aragon, achieving great successes, for which the Pope created him cardinal on 9 August 1437. On this occasion, V. relinquished the Archbishopric of Florence to take in commendam the Bishopric of Traù; but the southern campaign ended badly, and in February 1438 he was forced to flee to Venice and then to the Pope. Eugenius IV sent him once more against the Roman barons, whom V. treated without mercy, so much so that on 2 April 1439 he destroyed Zagarolo, which had been occupied by Lorenzo Colonna. He was then the most powerful of the papal condottieri and held the office of legate.
Toward the end of 1439 he waged war in central Italy against the Trinci at Foligno and seized Spoleto, then returned to Rome and carried out harsh justice against the instigators of disorder. Meanwhile, however, he himself came under suspicion of colluding with the Duke of Milan to the detriment of Florence, the Pope, and Francesco Sforza. On 19 March 1440, Antonio da Rio, castellan of Castel Sant’Angelo, surprised and seized him, dragging him wounded to the castle, where he died on 2 April. He left enormous wealth that became the subject of bitter disputes. At Tarquinia, the fine palace he had built there—incorporating earlier structures—has recently been restored.