Oliviero Carafa
Encyclopedia
Oliviero Carafa was an Italian cardinal
and diplomat of the Renaissance
. Like the majority of his era's prelate
s, he displayed the lavish and conspicuous standard of living that was expected of a prince of the Church. In his career he set an example of conscientiousness for his contemporaries and mentored his relative, Giovanni Pietro Carafa, who became Pope Paul IV
.
, Portici
and Resina. His mother, as contemporaries often pointed out, was distantly related to Thomas Aquinas
. Though he was elevated to the Archbishopric of Naples (18 November 1458) at a young age, his career was mainly that of a statesman
rather than an ecclesiastic. He retained the powerful and lucrative position until September 20, 1484, but kept control of the see at the heart of the Regno by ceding the position to his brother Alessandro, retaining his right to resume it should his brother die, by a papal brief. When that eventuality happened (July 1503), he was archbishop once more, ceding the title to his nephew Bernardino, who died within months, and then to Vincenzo. "What emerges clearly from this complicated pattern of exchanged titles is that Carafa was determined to retain the prestigious and wealthy title of Naples within his family's control."
Pope Paul II
made him a cardinal of Santi Marcellino e Pietro
on 18 September 1467, and Pope Sixtus IV
appointed him legate
to King Ferdinand of Naples
in 1471. Carafa was also named by Sixtus admiral of the papal fleet, which captured Smyrna
from the Ottoman Turks under his command. Carafa thus gained the reputation of an able military leader and the respect of Sixtus IV, who maintained him in his court despite his feud with the Naples
. In 1473 he was appointed protector of the teaching order of the Dominicans
. In 1476, he succeeded Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia as bishop of Albano, which upgraded much his standing in the Roman Curia
. In the conclave of 1484, Oliviero’s name was discussed as a possible successor of Sixtus IV, but his firm adhesion to Ferdinand's interests prevented his candidature. After Innocent VIII's election, Oliviero resigned the see of Naples in favour of his brother, Alessandro Carafa, and was raised to the bishopric of Salamanca, in Spain, which he retained till 1494. During the turbulent reign of Innocent VIII (1484–1492), Carafa acted as an ambassador of Naples to the Holy See
, succeeded well in conciliating his King with the Church
and received the gratitude of the Roman clergy.
(August). Despite his quarrel with his master, he acted in favour of Naples, supporting Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere against Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia (whose Spanish descent seemed a threat to the Aragonese dynasty of Naples). After Borgia’s election as Alexander VI, Oliviero’s influence was not restrained (he replaced Borgia as dean of the Sacred College of Cardinals). The new Pope must have appreciated his diplomatic skills, for he bestowed upon him the Bishopric of Sabina, which Carafa gave up in 1503.
In 1494, Oliviero resigned the see of Chieti in favour of his teenage nephew Giovanni Pietro Carafa, later Pope Paul IV
. During Alexander VI's reign, Oliviero gradually gave up his intervention in the Neapolitan affairs and was not engaged in the bull with which the Pope deposed the Aragonese dynasty of Naples in 1501.
, where he may have employed Donato Bramante
to remodel the structure, which was replaced in the late eighteenth century by Palazzo Braschi
. Carafa was an intellectual patron of Renaissance humanists
and assembled a great library that was resorted to by scholars. He carried on Torquemada's patronage of printing, at the first printing press
in Italy, established by Torquemada at Subiaco
. In his household his nephew Giampietro Carafa, later Pope Paul IV
, received a thorough training in Latin, Greek and Hebrew. There in 1501 the battered Roman marble dubbed "Pasquino" by the Romans was unearthed, and set upon a pedestal at the corner of Piazza di Pasquino and Palazzo Braschi, on the west side of Piazza Navona
. He devoted himself to the patronage of art and, as Cardinal Protector of the Dominican order from 1478, benefited generously the Dominican church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva
; for the decoration of his chapel at its associated priory, organized about the theme of the Annunciation
, he employed Filippino Lippi
in 1488; for the painter, who had made his reputation in Florence, it was his first large-scale fresco
. In the altarpiece, Lippi depicted his patron, kneeling, his lean, bony face, long sharp nose and narrow lips in profile, with his patron Saint Thomas Aquinas standing by.
When Bramante arrived in Rome, his first architectural commission came from Carafa, the cloister at Santa Maria della Pace
.
During the last years of his life, which coincided with the pontificate of Pope Julius II
, Carafa was regarded as a wise counsellor of the Church. He died on 20 January 1511. His tomb is in the Carafa Chapel
of Santa Maria sopra Minerva
.
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
and diplomat of the Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
. Like the majority of his era's prelate
Prelate
A prelate is a high-ranking member of the clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin prælatus, the past participle of præferre, which means "carry before", "be set above or over" or "prefer"; hence, a prelate is one set over others.-Related...
s, he displayed the lavish and conspicuous standard of living that was expected of a prince of the Church. In his career he set an example of conscientiousness for his contemporaries and mentored his relative, Giovanni Pietro Carafa, who became Pope Paul IV
Pope Paul IV
Pope Paul IV, C.R. , né Giovanni Pietro Carafa, was Pope from 23 May 1555 until his death.-Early life:Giovanni Pietro Carafa was born in Capriglia Irpina, near Avellino, into a prominent noble family of Naples...
.
Early ecclesiastic career
He was born in Naples to an illustrious house, prominent in the military and administrative service of the House of Aragon. His father Francesco was lord of Torre del GrecoTorre del Greco
-Main sights:*Roman archaeological remains, including the so-called "Villa Sora" , probably a property of the Flavians.*Monastery of the Zoccolanti, with a cloister housing 28 frescoed panels depicting the life of St...
, Portici
Portici
Portici is a town and comune of the Province of Naples in the Campania region of southern Italy. It is the site of the Portici Royal Palace.-Geography:...
and Resina. His mother, as contemporaries often pointed out, was distantly related to Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas, O.P. , also Thomas of Aquin or Aquino, was an Italian Dominican priest of the Catholic Church, and an immensely influential philosopher and theologian in the tradition of scholasticism, known as Doctor Angelicus, Doctor Communis, or Doctor Universalis...
. Though he was elevated to the Archbishopric of Naples (18 November 1458) at a young age, his career was mainly that of a statesman
Statesman
A statesman is usually a politician or other notable public figure who has had a long and respected career in politics or government at the national and international level. As a term of respect, it is usually left to supporters or commentators to use the term...
rather than an ecclesiastic. He retained the powerful and lucrative position until September 20, 1484, but kept control of the see at the heart of the Regno by ceding the position to his brother Alessandro, retaining his right to resume it should his brother die, by a papal brief. When that eventuality happened (July 1503), he was archbishop once more, ceding the title to his nephew Bernardino, who died within months, and then to Vincenzo. "What emerges clearly from this complicated pattern of exchanged titles is that Carafa was determined to retain the prestigious and wealthy title of Naples within his family's control."
Pope Paul II
Pope Paul II
Pope Paul II , born Pietro Barbo, was pope from 1464 until his death in 1471.- Early life :He was born in Venice, and was a nephew of Pope Eugene IV , through his mother. His adoption of the spiritual career, after having been trained as a merchant, was prompted by his uncle's election as pope...
made him a cardinal of Santi Marcellino e Pietro
Santi Marcellino e Pietro
Santi Marcellino e Pietro al Laterano is a Roman catholic parish and titular church in Rome on the Via Merulana. It is dedicated to Saints Marcellinus and Peter, 4th century Roman martyrs, whose relics were brought here in 1256.-History:...
on 18 September 1467, and Pope Sixtus IV
Pope Sixtus IV
Pope Sixtus IV , born Francesco della Rovere, was Pope from 1471 to 1484. His accomplishments as Pope included the establishment of the Sistine Chapel; the group of artists that he brought together introduced the Early Renaissance into Rome with the first masterpiece of the city's new artistic age,...
appointed him legate
Papal legate
A papal legate – from the Latin, authentic Roman title Legatus – is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic Church. He is empowered on matters of Catholic Faith and for the settlement of ecclesiastical matters....
to King Ferdinand of Naples
Ferdinand I of Naples
Ferdinand I , also called Don Ferrante, was the King of Naples from 1458 to 1494. He was the natural son of Alfonso V of Aragon by Giraldona Carlino.-Biography:...
in 1471. Carafa was also named by Sixtus admiral of the papal fleet, which captured Smyrna
Smyrna
Smyrna was an ancient city located at a central and strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Thanks to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to prominence. The ancient city is located at two sites within modern İzmir, Turkey...
from the Ottoman Turks under his command. Carafa thus gained the reputation of an able military leader and the respect of Sixtus IV, who maintained him in his court despite his feud with the Naples
Kingdom of Naples
The Kingdom of Naples, comprising the southern part of the Italian peninsula, was the remainder of the old Kingdom of Sicily after secession of the island of Sicily as a result of the Sicilian Vespers rebellion of 1282. Known to contemporaries as the Kingdom of Sicily, it is dubbed Kingdom of...
. In 1473 he was appointed protector of the teaching order of the Dominicans
Dominican Order
The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
. In 1476, he succeeded Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia as bishop of Albano, which upgraded much his standing in the Roman Curia
Roman Curia
The Roman Curia is the administrative apparatus of the Holy See and the central governing body of the entire Catholic Church, together with the Pope...
. In the conclave of 1484, Oliviero’s name was discussed as a possible successor of Sixtus IV, but his firm adhesion to Ferdinand's interests prevented his candidature. After Innocent VIII's election, Oliviero resigned the see of Naples in favour of his brother, Alessandro Carafa, and was raised to the bishopric of Salamanca, in Spain, which he retained till 1494. During the turbulent reign of Innocent VIII (1484–1492), Carafa acted as an ambassador of Naples to the Holy See
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
, succeeded well in conciliating his King with the Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
and received the gratitude of the Roman clergy.
Borgia rule
After Innocent's death (July 1492), Carafa endeavoured again to be made pope but was excluded from the first ballots of the 1492 ConclavePapal conclave, 1492
The papal conclave of 1492 convened after the death of Pope Innocent VIII , elected unanimously on the fourth ballot Cardinal Rodrigo Borja as Pope Alexander VI...
(August). Despite his quarrel with his master, he acted in favour of Naples, supporting Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere against Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia (whose Spanish descent seemed a threat to the Aragonese dynasty of Naples). After Borgia’s election as Alexander VI, Oliviero’s influence was not restrained (he replaced Borgia as dean of the Sacred College of Cardinals). The new Pope must have appreciated his diplomatic skills, for he bestowed upon him the Bishopric of Sabina, which Carafa gave up in 1503.
In 1494, Oliviero resigned the see of Chieti in favour of his teenage nephew Giovanni Pietro Carafa, later Pope Paul IV
Pope Paul IV
Pope Paul IV, C.R. , né Giovanni Pietro Carafa, was Pope from 23 May 1555 until his death.-Early life:Giovanni Pietro Carafa was born in Capriglia Irpina, near Avellino, into a prominent noble family of Naples...
. During Alexander VI's reign, Oliviero gradually gave up his intervention in the Neapolitan affairs and was not engaged in the bull with which the Pope deposed the Aragonese dynasty of Naples in 1501.
Patron of arts
Carafa's income was estimated at 12,000 ducats a year. In Naples he brought the High Renaissance to the city in the richly decorated Succorpo in the crypt of the cathedral, designed to contain the relics of Saint Januarius in a sufficiently magnificent manner that it could serve also as his own mortuary chapel; it was commenced in 1497 and completed in 1508. In Rome he established himself in a palazzo of the Orsini in the ParioneParione
For the isopod genus in the family Bopyridae, see Parione Parione is the VI rione of Rome.Its name comes from the fact that in the area there was a huge ancient wall, maybe belonging to the stadium of Domitianus; the nickname people gave to this wall was Parietone , from which the name "Parione"...
, where he may have employed Donato Bramante
Donato Bramante
Donato Bramante was an Italian architect, who introduced the Early Renaissance style to Milan and the High Renaissance style to Rome, where his most famous design was St...
to remodel the structure, which was replaced in the late eighteenth century by Palazzo Braschi
Palazzo Braschi
Palazzo Braschi is a large Neoclassical palace in Rome, Italy and is located between the Piazza Navona, the Campo de' Fiori, the Corso Vittorio Emanuele II and the Piazza di Pasquino. It presently houses the Museo di Roma, the civic museum of Rome....
. Carafa was an intellectual patron of Renaissance humanists
Renaissance humanism
Renaissance humanism was an activity of cultural and educational reform engaged by scholars, writers, and civic leaders who are today known as Renaissance humanists. It developed during the fourteenth and the beginning of the fifteenth centuries, and was a response to the challenge of Mediæval...
and assembled a great library that was resorted to by scholars. He carried on Torquemada's patronage of printing, at the first printing press
Printing press
A printing press is a device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a print medium , thereby transferring the ink...
in Italy, established by Torquemada at Subiaco
Subiaco, Italy
Subiaco is a town and comune in the Province of Rome, in Lazio, Italy, from Tivoli alongside the river Aniene. It is mainly renowned as a tourist and religious resort for its sacred grotto , in the St. Benedict's Abbey, and the other Abbey of St. Scholastica...
. In his household his nephew Giampietro Carafa, later Pope Paul IV
Pope Paul IV
Pope Paul IV, C.R. , né Giovanni Pietro Carafa, was Pope from 23 May 1555 until his death.-Early life:Giovanni Pietro Carafa was born in Capriglia Irpina, near Avellino, into a prominent noble family of Naples...
, received a thorough training in Latin, Greek and Hebrew. There in 1501 the battered Roman marble dubbed "Pasquino" by the Romans was unearthed, and set upon a pedestal at the corner of Piazza di Pasquino and Palazzo Braschi, on the west side of Piazza Navona
Piazza Navona
Piazza Navona is a city square in Rome, Italy. It is built on the site of the Stadium of Domitian, built in 1st century AD, and follows the form of the open space of the stadium. The ancient Romans came there to watch the agones , and hence it was known as 'Circus Agonalis'...
. He devoted himself to the patronage of art and, as Cardinal Protector of the Dominican order from 1478, benefited generously the Dominican church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva
Santa Maria sopra Minerva
The Basilica of Saint Mary Above Minerva is a titular minor basilica and one of the most important churches of the Roman Catholic Dominican order in Rome, Italy. The church, located in the Piazza della Minerva in the Campus Martius region, is considered the only Gothic church in Rome. It houses...
; for the decoration of his chapel at its associated priory, organized about the theme of the Annunciation
Annunciation
The Annunciation, also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary or Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian celebration of the announcement by the angel Gabriel to Virgin Mary, that she would conceive and become the mother of Jesus the Son of God. Gabriel told Mary to name her...
, he employed Filippino Lippi
Filippino Lippi
Filippino Lippi was an Italian painter working during the High Renaissance in Florence, Italy.-Biography:...
in 1488; for the painter, who had made his reputation in Florence, it was his first large-scale fresco
Fresco
Fresco is any of several related mural painting types, executed on plaster on walls or ceilings. The word fresco comes from the Greek word affresca which derives from the Latin word for "fresh". Frescoes first developed in the ancient world and continued to be popular through the Renaissance...
. In the altarpiece, Lippi depicted his patron, kneeling, his lean, bony face, long sharp nose and narrow lips in profile, with his patron Saint Thomas Aquinas standing by.
When Bramante arrived in Rome, his first architectural commission came from Carafa, the cloister at Santa Maria della Pace
Santa Maria della Pace
Santa Maria della Pace is a church in Rome, central Italy, not far from Piazza Navona.The current building was built on the foundations of the pre-existing church of Sant'Andrea de Aquarizariis in 1482, commissioned by Pope Sixtus IV. The church was rededicated to the Virgin Mary to remember a...
.
During the last years of his life, which coincided with the pontificate of Pope Julius II
Pope Julius II
Pope Julius II , nicknamed "The Fearsome Pope" and "The Warrior Pope" , born Giuliano della Rovere, was Pope from 1503 to 1513...
, Carafa was regarded as a wise counsellor of the Church. He died on 20 January 1511. His tomb is in the Carafa Chapel
Carafa Chapel
The Carafa Chapel is a chapel in the church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva, Rome, Italy, known for a series of frescoes by Filippino Lippi.-History:...
of Santa Maria sopra Minerva
Santa Maria sopra Minerva
The Basilica of Saint Mary Above Minerva is a titular minor basilica and one of the most important churches of the Roman Catholic Dominican order in Rome, Italy. The church, located in the Piazza della Minerva in the Campus Martius region, is considered the only Gothic church in Rome. It houses...
.