(13) 1. RIVIERA, Domenico (1671-1752)

Birth. December 3, 1671, Urbino. Son of Giovanni Carlo Riviera and Cinzia Pazzini. The family was originally from Aquila. Related to Albani family. Last cardinal of the counts of Marsi. His last name is also listed as Rivera. Relative of Cardinal Girolamo d'Andrea (1852).

Education. Collegio di S. Saverio, Bologna; University of Urbino, Urbina (doctorate).

Early life. Received the clerical habit in Urbino and then went to Rome. Coadjutor of the custody of the secret archive at Castle S. Angelo di Urbe. Canon of the collegiate church of S. Maria in Via Lata, Rome. Sent by Pope Clement XI at the beginning of 1707 in a mission before Eugenio di Savoia, supreme commander of the Imperial forces that occupied Romagna, to negotiate the return of the territory to the Holy See; successfully accomplished his mission when on February 5, 1707 a treaty was signed agreeing on the devolution of the territory. Charged with other missions before Savoia, Parm and Modena. Canon of the patriarchal Vatican basilica. Privy chamberlain of His Holiness. Secretary of the S.C. Consistorial and of the Sacred College of Cardinals, February 19, 1710 until July 24, 1730, when he resigned. Secretary of Latin Letters. Secretary of the Congregation for Waterways. Referendary of the Tribunals of the Apostolic Signature of Justice and of Grace, 1716. Domestic prelate of His Holiness. Apostolic visitor to Romagna to stop the flood of the Reno River, 1716. Envoy to regulate with the government of Tuscany the course of the Chiana River. Charged with providing for all the necessities of the conclaves of 1721 and 1724. Attached to the mission of Cardinal Spinola for the investiture of Emperor Charles VI as king of Naples. During the pontificate of Pope Benedict XIII (1724-1730), he was consultor of the secret matters and member of the governing regency with Cardinal Nicolò Maria Lercari, secretary of State. Secretary of the S.C. of the Sacred Consulta of the Ecclesiastical State, July 17, 1730. Protonotary apostolic.

Cardinalate. Created cardinal priest in the consistory of March 2, 1733; received the red hat and the title of Ss. Quirico e Giulitta, April 13, 1733. Archivist of the secret archive at Castle S. Angelo di Urbe, March 3, 1733. Granted permission to receive the diaconate and presbyterate without time interval, March 21, 1733.

Priesthood. Ordained, March 21, 1733. In charge of Poland's affairs before the Holy See from 1735. Participated in the conclave of 1740, which elected Pope Benedict XIV. Opted for the title of Ss. XII Apostoli, January 2, 1741. Camerlengo of the Sacred College of Cardinals, January 25, 1745. Prefect of the S.C. of Good Government, 1737.

Death. November 2, 1752, Rome. Transferred to the basilica of Ss. XII Apostoli in the evening of November 4, 1752, the capella papalis took place on November 5, 1752, with the participation of Pope Benedict XIV; and buried in that same church in the tomb that he had built for himself (1).

Bibliography. Rivera, Giuseppe. Memorie biografiche dei cardinali Abruzzesi. Aquila : Tipografia G. Mele, 1924, pp. 132-146.

(1) When the basilica was renovated in the last quarter of the 19th century, the simple inscription that had been placed on his tomba was replaced by a more elegant and detailed one composed by Canon Domenico Mariangeli. This is its text taken from Rivera, Memorie biografiche dei cardinali Abruzzesi, p. 144:

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