Francesco Alidosi

Francesco Alidosi (145524 May 1511) was an Italian cardinal, diplomat and condottiero, remembered as a friend and favourite of Pope Julius II, used by Michelangelo to smooth his relations with his difficult patron. He accompanied Giuliano della Rovere to France in 1494, and continued in favour when Della Rovere was elected pope, becoming Pope Julius II. Alidosi was elected as bishop of Mileto in 1504, and then transferred to the see of Pavia on 26 March 1505. He occupied the seat until his murder in 1511.

Early life Born at Castel del Rio, he was the third son of Giovanni Alidosi, lord of Castel del Rio. He went to France with Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere, the future Pope Julius II, in 1494. When Della Rovere was elected pope in 1503, Alidosi became his secretary and main collaborator, and was appointed papal chamberlain, then treasurer.

Cardinal-priest

Though many cardinals opposed the promotion, in 1505, Alidosi was created cardinal-priest of Santi Nereo e Achilleo, opting for the title of S. Cecilia on 11 August 1506. He served as an intermediary between Michelangelo Buonarroti and Pope Julius II and, in 1506, signed on behalf of the pope the contract for the Sistine Chapel ceiling frescoe, later doing the same for the proposed statue of the Pope in Bologna. He also served as Cardinal protector of England within the college. He was a protector of Erasmus and patron of the arts.

The cardinal's remains were honoured by Pope Julius II with solemn exequies in the cathedral of Ravenna, where they were interred. When the cathedral was demolished in 1745, Gaspare Desiderio Martinetti, a physician, gave the cardinal's skull to the Benedictines of San Vitale, so that it would not get mixed with other bones. From them, it passed to the Classense Library and was exposed to the public. Later, the legate, Cardinal Agostino Rivarola, had it removed and reinterred. From a recognition made on 20 June 1968, the traces of cleaving that he received on the head could still be noticed. In the cathedral of Imola, there is a cenotaph surmounted by the effigy of the cardinal in a bas-relief, and under it, a marble plaque that remembers him and others of his family.

Personality Alidosi's many enemies criticized his supposed sexual activities. Cardinal Pietro Bembo described him as "a man of shameful and criminal life, in whom there was no integrity and no religion, to whom nothing was ever inviolate, nothing chaste, nothing holy."

Portrayals in fiction Francesco Alidosi is a character in the 2011 television series Borgia. He is portrayed by Matt Di Angelo and is depicted as the lover of Cardinal della Rovere. The rumor dates from his lifetime.