Cardinal Pompeo Aldrovandi
Pompeo Aldrovandi (Bologna, September 23, 1668 - Montefiascone, January 6, 1752) was an Italian cardinal.
Aldrovandi was born in Bologna, where he studied law at the university. He graduated in 1691, both in church and civil law. Five years later, he began his career at the Roman Curie. In 1710 he was dedicated to the priest. From 1712 to 1717 he worked at the nuntiature in Madrid. In 1717 he was appointed to titular archbishop of Neocesarea and promoted to nuntius in Spain. Struggling between the Holy See and Spain, however, allowed Aldrovandi to be recalled to Italy soon. In 1729 the Pope appointed him as the patriarch of Jerusalem.
In 1734 he became cardinal. Thus he took part in the conclave of 1740. That conclave lasted almost half a year, especially because Aldrovandi had a lot of followers but failed to unite the required majority. Finally, Cardinal Prospero Lambertini, who would conclude, said: "If you seek a holy, take Gotti, if you seek a state man, take Aldrovandi, but if you seek a fair man, take me." Lambertini would eventually go into history as Pope Benedict XIV.
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