Leonardo Grosso della Rovere

Leonardo Grosso della Rovere

Coat of arms of Cardinal Leonardo Grosso della Rovere

Leonardo Grosso della Rovere (1464 – 17 September 1520) (called the Cardinal of Agen, Aginensis, or Agennensis)[1] was an Italian Roman Catholic bishop and cardinal.

Biography

Leonardo Grosso della Rovere was born in Savona in 1464, the son of Antonio Grosso and Maria della Rovere, a member of the House of della Rovere.[2] He was a grand-nephew of Pope Sixtus IV and a nephew of Cardinal Girolamo Basso della Rovere.[2] One of his brothers, Clemente Grosso della Rovere, also became a cardinal.[2]

After studying canon law and civil law, he moved to Rome, becoming a canon of St. Peter's Basilica.[2]

On 9 December 1487 he was elected Bishop of Agen.[2] He occupied that see until 22 March 1519.[2]

Pope Julius II made him a cardinal priest in the consistory of 1 December 1505.[2] He received the red hat and the titular church of Santi Apostoli, Rome on 17 December 1505.[2]

He accompanied the pope on his expeditions against the House of Bentivoglio in Bologna and the Baglioni family of Perugia.[2] He accompanied the pope to Viterbo on 30 August 1506, becoming papal legate to that city.[2] On 1 February 1507 he was made papal legate to Perugia.[2] Also in 1507, he served as the ambassador of Louis XII of France in Rome.[2]

On 15 December 1508 he opted for the titular church of Santa Susanna.[2] He was the governor of Rome in 1510.[2] He served as Major Penitentiary from 5 October 1511 until his death.[2] He was papal legate to the Patrimonium Sancti Petri in 1511.[2]

He participated in the papal conclave of 1513 that elected Pope Leo X.[2]

Together with Cardinal Lorenzo Pucci, he was the executor of the will of Pope Julius II.[2] In this capacity, he collaborated with Michelangelo on the Tomb of Pope Julius II in San Pietro in Vincoli.[2]

Cardinal della Rovere opted for San Pietro in Vincoli as his titulus on 9 March 1517.[2] In 1518, he became archpriest of the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.[2]

He died in Rome on 17 September 1520, and was buried in the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore.[2]

References

1. Buonerati, Michelangelo (1875). "La Lettera di Michelangelo Buonerati" (PDF) (in Italian). Gaetano Milanesi. pp. 660–664, 507.
2. Miranda, Salvador. "GROSSO DELLA ROVERE, Leonardo (1464-1520)". The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church. Florida International University. OCLC 53276621.