Delfino

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DELFINO

A noble Venetian family of which the following members are prominent.

Pietro, humanist, Camaldolese abbot; b. Venice, 1444; d. Venice, Jan. 16, 1529. He entered the Monastery of San Michele at Murano and in 1480 was elected abbot of the community and made general of the Camaldolese Order. He held the office of general until 1513, when he resigned in favor of Paolo Giustiniani; he was the last abbot elected for life. In 1488 he was designated by his countrymen as cardinal but refused to accept the honor from Innocent VIII. He was named vicar in 1514 by Leo X. His letters are valuable for the light they throw upon events and personalities of his day. An opponent of Savonorola, he is known for his Dialogus in Hieronymum Ferrariensem.

Zaccaria, cardinal; b. Venice, May 29, 1527; d. Rome, Dec. 19, 1583. He was named bishop of Lesina in 1553, and was nuncio to Vienna to the courts of Ferdinand I (1554–56) and Maximilian II (1556–65). He tried to obtain Ferdinand's consent for the reopening of the Council of Trent. After much criticism of his efforts, he finally achieved accord with Ferdinand. At Ferdinand's wish he attended the Protestant reunion at Naumburg, where he was able to do nothing. He promised Ferdinand concessions of the use of the chalice for the laity and the marriage of the clergy, but only the first of these was approved by the pope. Zaccaria was named cardinal on March 12, 1565, by Pius V.

Giovanni, papal nuncio; b. Venice, March 1528; d. Brescia, May 1, 1584. He was named bishop of Torcello in 1563, and bishop of Brescia in 1579. From 1571 to 1578 he served as nuncio to the imperial court.

Giovanni, cardinal; b. Venice, 1545; d. Venice, Nov. 25, 1622. He served as bishop of Vicenza and was named cardinal by Clement VIII June 6, 1604.

Giovanni, cardinal; b. Venice, April 22, 1617; d. Udine, July 19, 1699. Great-nephew of Cardinal Giovanni Delfino, he was named bishop coadjutor of Ende (1556), and patriarch of Aquileia (1657). Named cardinal in 1667, he was considered a papal candidate in the conclave that elected Innocent XII (1691).

Daniello, archbishop; b. Venice, 1688; d. Udine, March 13, 1743. He was named coadjutor archbishop of

Aquileia in 1714, and patriarch in 1734. In the partition of the patriarchate he became the first archbishop of Udine in 1751.

Bibliography: b. g. dolfin, I Dolfin, patrizi veneziani … 452–1923 (2d ed. Milan 1924). j. leclercq, Un Humaniste ermite; Le Bienheureux Paul Giustiniani, 1476–1528 (Rome 1951). l. pastor, The History of the Popes from the Close of the Middle Ages (London-St. Louis 1938–61): v. 13-40 from 1st German ed. Geschichte des Päpste seit dem Ausgang des Mittelalters (Freiburg 1885–1933 repr. 1955–) v. 20, passim. f. d. ragni, Il Giovanni Delfinopatriarca aquileise drammaturgo (Udine 1940). j. wodka, Lexikon für Theologie und Kirche, ed. j. hofer and k. rahner (2d, new ed. Freiburg 1957–65) 3:208–209. r. aubert and j. ruysschaert, Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie ecclésiastiques, ed. a. baudrillart et al. (Paris 1912–) 14:178–180, with bibliog.