Guido Bentivoglio

Guido Bentivoglio (1579 - September 7, 1644), Italian cardinal, statesman and historian, was born at Ferrara.

After studying at Padua, he went to reside at Rome, and was received with great favour by Pope Clement VIII, who made him his private chamberlain. The next pope, Paul V, created him archbishop of Rhodes in 1607, and appointed him as nuncio to Flanders and afterwards to France; on his return to Rome in 1621 he was created cardinal and entrusted by Louis XIII with the management of French affairs at the papal court.

He became the intimate friend of Pope Urban VIII, who appointed him to the suburban see of Palestrina in 1691. An able writer and skilful diplomatist, Bentivoglio was marked out as Urban's successor, but he died suddenly at the opening of the conclave.

Bentivoglio's principal works are:

• Delia Guerra di Fiandria (best edition, Cologne, 1633-1639), translated into English by Henry, earl of Monmouth (London, 1654)
• Relazioni di G. Bentivoglio in tempo delle sue Nunziature di Fiandria e di Francia (Cologne, 1630)
• Lettere diplomatiche di Guido Bentivoglio (Brussels, 1631, frequently reprinted, best edition by L Scarabelli, 2 yols., Turin, 1852).

The complete edition of his works was published at Venice in 1668 in 4to. A selection of his letters was adopted as a classic in the Italian schools.

Reference

• This entry incorporates public domain text originally from the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica.