Gianantonio Cardinal Davia
ChurchCatholic
DioceseRimini
Orders
RankCardinal-Priest
Personal details
Born13 October 1660 (1660-10-13)
Bologna, Papal States
Died11 January 1740 (1740-01-12) (aged 79)
Rome, Papal States
BuriedSan Lorenzo in Lucina
Previous post(s)
  • Apostolic Internuncio to Belgium (1687–1690)
  • Titular Archbishop of Thebae (1690–1698)
  • Apostolic Nuncio to Germany (1690–1696)
  • Apostolic Nuncio to Poland (1696–1700)
  • Archbishop (Personal Title) of Rimini, Italy (1698–1726)
  • Apostolic Nuncio to Austria (1700–1706)
  • Cardinal-Priest of San Callisto (1713–1725)
  • Cardinal-Priest of San Pietro in Vincoli (1725–1737)
Education
Ordination history
History
Episcopal consecration
Principal consecratorHumbertus Guilielmus de Precipiano
Co-consecrators
  • Réginald Cools,
  • Jean-Ferdinand Van Beughem
Date18 May 1712
PlaceArchipiscopal Residence, Chapel, Brussels, Archdiocese of Mechelen, Belgium
Cardinalate
Elevated byClement XI
Date18 May 1712
Episcopal succession
Bishops consecrated by Gianantonio Davia as principal consecrator
Otto Wilhelm von Bronckhorst zu Gronsfeld1693
Jan Dłużewski1696
Teodor Andrzej Potocki1699
Fulvio Salvi1713
Source(s):[1][2]

Gianantonio Davia (13 October 1660 – 11 January 1740) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church, who served as an apostolic nuncio, Bishop/Archbishop, cardinal, and secretary of a major department (congregration) of the Roman Curia.

Biography

Davia was born in Bologna to a prominent family, whose name is also spelled as D'Avia and De Via. He was educated in both canon and civil law at the University of Bologna, and early in life, served as a magistrate and a soldier in the war between Venice and the Ottomans in 1684, where he took part in the siege of Santa Maura. He then moved to Rome, where he rose rapidly in the ecclesiastical ranks, despite never attending seminary. He served as nuncio in Cologne, Poland, and ultimately Austria by 1700, only to be expelled from Vienna after the death of Emperor Leopold I by his successor, Emperor Joseph I, in May 1706. On May 18, 1712; he was named a cardinal. He participated in the conclaves of 1721, 1724, and 1730.

In 1727, he was named Protector of Scotland, and minister of England to the exiled of Stuart pretender in Rome in April 1728. He was accused of supporting Jansenism on several occasions. He died in Rome and was buried at San Lorenzo in Lucina.[1]

Cardinal Davia was particularly interested in scientific research. He had studied with Marcello Malpighi and Geminiano Montanari during his student days in Bologna. He participated in the lively scientific discussions of Montanari's Accademia della Traccia, continuing the academy in his own home when Montanari left Bologna. In 1681 he visited the Royal Society and the French Academy of Sciences. In 1725 Cardinal Davia donated to the Academy of Sciences of the Institute of Bologna a pendulum regulator of fine quality, a Newtonian reflecting telescope, and a quadrant.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Miranda, Salvador (1998). "Biographical Dictionary - Consistory of May 18, 1712". The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church.
  2. ↑ "Gianantonio Cardinal Davia †". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney.
  3. ↑ Silvio A. Bedini (1994). Science and Instruments in Seventeenth-century Italy. Variorum. p. XXVII.

Further reading

  • Brizzi, Gianpaolo (1987). "Davia, Giovanni Antonio". Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (Biographical Dictionary of Italians) (in Italian). Vol. 33.
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