Amico Agnifili
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Amico Agnifili or Agnifilo (c. 1398 – 1476), known as the Cardinal of L'Aquila, was an Italian Roman Catholic bishop and cardinal.
Biography
[edit]Amico Agnifili was born in Rocca di Mezzo, the son of a poor shepherd.[1] His family had not yet adopted a family name, so when he was elevated to the cardinalate, he chose the name of Agnifili, meaning "Friend of the Lamb".[1]
His father sent him to L'Aquila to be educated.[1] He later studied in Rome under Cardinal Domenico Capranica.[1] Later, at the University of Bologna, he was a schoolmate of Enea Silvio Piccolomini, the future Pope Pius II.[1] He received a doctorate of both laws.[1]
He then returned to L'Aquila, becoming a canon of San Massimo Cathedral and archpriest of San Paolo di Barete.[1] He then moved to Rome and was named a canon of the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore.[1] He then became a professor of law at the University of Bologna, where one of his students was Pietro Barbo, the future Pope Paul II.[1]
On 23 May 1432 he was elected Bishop of L'Aquila.[1] While bishop, he served as a counselor to Alfonso I of Naples and his successor Ferdinand I of Naples.[1] Pope Eugene IV named him papal legate to attend the coronation of Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor in Milan.[1] He later served as legate several other times, including once as legate to the Patrimonium Sancti Petri.[1] Together with Giovanni da Palena, Bishop of Penne, he was the commissary responsible for the canonization of Bernardino of Siena.[1] He was also visited by John of Capistrano.[1] When the city of L'Aquila rebelled against Ferdinand I of Naples, Bishop Agnifili sided with the rebels, which angered Pope Pius II.[1] The rebels returned to their obedience in 1464.[1]
Agnifili's former student, Pope Paul II, named him general treasurer of the church in the Marche.[1] In the consistory of 18 September 1467, Pope Paul II made him a cardinal priest; he received the red hat in San Marco, Rome the next day; and he received the titular church of Santa Balbina on 13 November 1467.[1] In October 1468 he participated in the celebrations surrounding the marriage of Giovanni Antonio Carafa and Vittoria Camponeschi, parents of the future Pope Paul IV.[1] On 13 October 1469 he opted for the titular church of Santa Maria in Trastevere.[1] Pope Paul II put him in charge of overseeing the construction of fortifications at Civitavecchia.[1]
When the news of Paul II's death reached him, he left L'Aquila for Rome on 28 July 1471.[1] He participated in the papal conclave of 1471 that elected Pope Sixtus IV.[1]
He resigned his bishopric in 1472 in favor of his nephew Francesco, but resumed possession of the see after his nephew's death in 1476.[1]
He died in L'Aquila on 9 November 1476.[1] He is buried there in San Massimo Cathedral.[1]
