Alessandro Pico della Mirandola

Alessandro Pico della Mirandola (1705, in Bologna – 1787, in Madrid), known under the pseudonym Abate Pico della Mirandola, was an Italian nobleman and politician, and the last male descendant of the Pico della Mirandola lineage.

He lived almost all his life in exile in Madrid, and was highly esteemed for his talents; although he was not a priest, he always wore the cassock, calling himself Abate ('abbot').

Life Alessandro Pico della Mirandola was the legitimised natural son of Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, Marquis of Quarantoli (in turn son of Alessandro II Pico della Mirandola), and Isabella Caterina Barbieri. He was baptised in Bologna Cathedral on 21 February 1705. Following the defeat in the siege of Mirandola in the spring of 1705, the Pico family, accused of felony, was expelled from the Duchy of Mirandola, which was sold to Rinaldo I d'Este, Duke of Modena. Emperor Joseph awarded him a pension of 25 doubles as alimony together with his uncles Galeotto, Maria Isabella and Maria Celeste. and resided in Madrid at the Spanish Court for the rest of his life, where he held various offices and obtained various prebands and honours, including the archdeaconry of Cordoba, which he was given on 25 October 1743.

On 3 November 1744, he was appointed Courtier of the King of Spain, with the mission of accompanying the infanta María Teresa Rafaela, together with the Duchess of Mirandola, to the French border. no children were born of the marriage.

At the court of King Ferdinand VI of Spain, he distinguished himself as a man of refined artistic taste, possessor of a collection of paintings and playwright. His opera Il vellocino d'oro (translated into Spanish as El vellón de oro) was first performed at the Buen Retiro Palace in 1749 with music by Giovanni Battista Mele, and was rewarded with 13,000 reales, as well as a gold case decorated with brilliants and two barrels of tobacco; the serenade Le Mode (in Spanish Las Modas) was performed in 1754, with music by Nicola Conforto, at the Royal Palace of Aranjuez and was rewarded with a ring adorned with a round brilliant. He was a close friend of Marquis Jerónimo Grimaldi, 1st Duke of Grimaldi.

In 1754 King Ferdinand VI appointed him Minister of the Treasury Council. His successor King Charles III of Spain confirmed him as a member of the Chamber of Single Taxes of the Treasury Council (4 July 1770) and made him a retired knight of the Order of Charles III (28 December 1772).

He died in Madrid in 1787, at the age of 82, which was destroyed in the 19th century. In his will of 1787 he established some schools in Madrid;