Research topic: Ercole Consalvi

Ercole Consalvi , 1757-1824, Italian cardinal and papal diplomat. In his first term (1800-1806) as secretary of state for Pope Pius VII he negotiated the Concordat of 1801 with Napoleon Bonaparte (later Emperor Napoleon I). Despite Consalvi's astute diplomacy, Napoleon annexed the papal states in 1809. Consalvi was compelled to go to Paris, where his refusal to attend Napoleon's second marriage (1809) resulted in exile at Reims. Reinstated as secretary of state after Napoleon's second abdication (1814), Consalvi vainly struggled against reactionary elements to reform the administration of... Read more