Rodrigo Alidosi

Roderigo or Rodrigo Alidosi (, Florence - 29 September 1623, Florence) was an Italian nobleman, diplomat and courtier in the service of the Medici family. A member of Alidosi family, he was the penultimate lord of Castel del Rio.

Early life Roderigo Alidosi was born around 1545 in Florence to Ciro Alidosi, lord of Castel del Rio, and Elena de Mendoza, maid of honor of Eleonora de Toledo, wife of Cosimo I. He was named after his maternal grandfather, Rodrigo de Mendoza and was a grand-nephew of Francesco Alidosi. As a second, he was destined for ecclesiastical career and later moved to Rome and spent some time with Mark Sittich von Hohenems Altemps and was given scholarship by Cardinal Castagna. He studied law in University of Siena and Pisa and graduated in 1587. However, after his brother's death he became heir to his father at some point in his life, Roderigo married Lucrezia Concini, daughter of Giovan Battista Concini.

Upon his father’s death in 1589, Roderigo inherited the lordship of Castel del Rio and received from Grand Duke Ferdinando I the Order of St. Stephen commandery of Romagna established by his father in 1566 and endowed with family estates in the dioceses of Imola and Cesena.

Career Roderigo, being connected to powerful Concini family, he was entrusted with various diplomatic tasks: He visited Munich in 1590, Spain in 1602, and Warsaw in 1605 to offer the Medici's respects to Sigismund III of Poland for his victory in Livonia and his marriage to Archduchess Constance of Austria. While in Warsaw, Roderigo also began talks with the ambassador of False Dmitry I to secure trading privileges for Florentine merchants in Moscow, equivalent to those granted to Polish traders. From 1605 to 1607, Roderigo lived in Prague as the Medici's envoy at the court of Emperor Rudolf II. During negotiations for the marriage of Cosimo, the grand duke’s eldest son, to Magdalene, daughter of Archduke Charles of Austria, Roderigo prepared a report for Ferdinando I outlining the situation in the empire.

Controversy with Papacy When Roderigo came back to Italy in 1607, he brought along a young Bohemian Protestant named Hans Christoph Berbistorff, whom he welcomed into his home at Castel del Rio. the daughter of Giovan Battista Concini with whom he had:

Ciro (died in infancy) Mariano Alidosi, Lord of Castel del Rio (d. 29 December 1645) Isabella (d. 14 September 1649) Elena Alidosi (1593-1655) married to Francesco Avogli (1588-1641) from Ferrara

Works

Relazione di Germania e della Corte di Rodolfo II imperatore negli anni 1605-1607 (Modena, 1872)