ZURLA, PLACIDO. — Cardinal. Born at Legnago (Verona) on 2 April 1769, died in Sicily on 29 October 1834.
In 1787 he entered the Camaldolese Order at S. Michele di Murano near Venice, taking the religious name of Placido in place of his baptismal name, Giacinto. His preferred studies were in the physical and mathematical sciences, and he began his literary activity in 1790 with the dissertation *Sulla forza d'inertia e di attrazione secondo il sistema di Newton*. Among his later works were *Sul Mappamondo di fra Mauro camaldolese* (1806); *Intorno ai viaggi e scoperte settentrionali di Nicolò e Antonio fratelli Zeni* (1808); *Di Marco Polo e degli altri viaggiatori veneziani più illustri* (2 vols., 1818), a *Commentario sulle antiche Mappe idro-geografiche lavorate in Venezia* and a *Vita di Marco Polo* (1818). In 1802 there had already appeared another of his writings of a theological-moral character: *Enchiridion dogmatum et morum*. During the Napoleonic suppression of religious orders he indefatigably defended S. Michele di Murano, of which he had meanwhile (1809) become abbot; when the monastery was suppressed (1810), Z. attempted after 1815 to restore its fortunes, but in vain. In 1818 Murano passed to the Franciscans, and Z., after spending some years as a professor in the Seminary of Venice, moved to Rome (1821) in the monastery of S. Gregorio al Celio. Elected consultor to various Congregations, associated with numerous academies, entrusted with the reorganisation of the Borgian Museum and the Library of the Urban College of Propaganda, he was created cardinal by Pius VII on 10 March 1823; by Leo XII on 17 November of the same year he was enrolled among the members of the Sacred Congregations of Propaganda Fide, of the Index, of Rites, of Indulgences and Relics, of the Examination of Bishops, and on 3 January 1824 was named Vicar for the city and diocese of Rome. As his first act, Z. provided for a new parochial arrangement, reducing the number of parishes in Rome to 44, grouped into 14 districts; he called for respect for churches and decorum in sacred functions; he repressed some serious breaches of public morality; he exposed the true aims of the secret societies of the Francomasons and the Carbonari; he organised the successful celebration of the Jubilee Year 1824-1825; he infused new life into the Roman Seminary, giving it better accommodation in the vast premises previously occupied by the German-Hungarian College; and he assisted the Pope in the reform of the great charitable institutions of Rome. After the death of Leo XII, he received from Pius VIII confirmation as Vicar of Rome and in addition the prefecture of the Sacred Congregation of Studies (1829). At this period, through Z.’s efforts, the Academy of Sacred Music “S. Cecilia” was revived. With the election as Pope of his confrere and friend D. Mauro Cappellari (Gregory XVI), of whom he was chosen as confessor, Z.’s work and responsibilities were doubled, for he became the trusted man of the new Pope. Despite this, he did not abandon his beloved studies, writing still *Sui vantaggi della Religione alla geografia e scienze annesse* (1822); *Sui vantaggi della Religione alla poesia* (1826); *Sulla unità del soggetto nel quadro della Trasfigurazione di Raffaello* (1830); *Del gruppo della Pietà... di Antonio Canova* (1834). All these works were published in Rome in 1835, while others remain unpublished.
His zeal for archaeological research led him in 1834 to undertake a journey of study to Sicily, where, after a few days of illness, he died. He was buried in the church of S. Gregorio al Celio, and a monument, desired by Gregory XVI, commemorates his memory.