Name Antonio Ferrero | ||
Antonio Ferrero (died 1508) (called the Cardinal of Gubbio) was an Italian Roman Catholic bishop and cardinal.
Biography
Antonio Ferrero was born into a poor family in Savona. As a youth, he was a squire of Cardinal Girolamo Basso della Rovere. He then entered the service of Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere, the future Pope Julius II, who made him a protonotary apostolic and majordomo of the papal household.
On January 8, 1504, he was elected Bishop of Noli. He was consecrated as a bishop in the Vatican by Pope Julius II on April 9, 1504. He was transferred to the see of Gubbio on August 13, 1504, occupying that see for the rest of his life. He became Master of the Pontifical Household and Prefect of the Apostolic Palace.
Pope Julius II made him a cardinal priest in the consistory of December 1, 1505. He received the red hat and the titular church of San Vitale on December 17, 1505.
On January 23, 1506, he was appointed papal legate in Perugia. He was named Bishop of Perugia on March 30, 1506. He also served as a pro-datary.
On February 20, 1507, he was appointed papal legate in Bologna. In Bologna, he had several inhabitants executed and extorted 30,000 gold ducats from the populace. He also may have conspired to assassinate the pope. As such, the pope recalled the cardinal to Rome in August 1507 and ordered the cardinal be imprisoned in the Castel Sant'Angelo. He was subsequently fined 20,000 scudi and then imprisoned in the convent of Sant'Onofrio.
He died in custody in Rome on July 23, 1508. He was buried without ceremony in the Basilica di Sant'Agostino and his estates were sold in order to repay his victims.