Cattani di Diacceto was born on 2 September 1531 to Dionigi Cattani di Diacceto and Maria di Guglielmo Martini. His father was one of the thirteen children of the noted philosopher
Francesco di Zanobi Cattani da Diacceto, sometimes dubbed "Il Vecchio" or "Il Pagonazzo" to distinguish him from his grandson. In 1546 Cattani became a
canon of the
Cathedral of Florence, and by 1558 was an
apostolic pronotary. On 11 August 1570 he was named
Bishop of
Fiesole, on the retirement of his uncle
Angelo Cattani da Diacceto from that post. During the 25 years of his tenure he completed the construction, begun by his uncle, of the at
Pratovecchio; restored the church of in Florence and the in the
Bishop's Palace of Fiesole; and supervised the restoration of the
Duomo of Fiesole, giving the
apse its present form. He had studied
civil law and
theology, and as a young man had been associated with the
Accademia fiorentina of
Marsilio Ficino. He was a prolific writer on religious topics. He attempted to collect and publish the works, in Latin and Italian, of his grandfather
Francesco di Zanobi Cattani da Diacceto, and commissioned
Benedetto Varchi to write his biography. This was published together with the
Tre libri d’amore e un panegirico all’amore of the elder Cattani in Venice in 1561. He died on 4 November 1595; he was buried in the Oratory of San Jacopo in the Episcopal Palace of Fiesole. == Works ==