Bernardo degli Uberti was born circa 1060 in
Florence to the nobles Bruno degli Uberti and Ligarda. His paternal grandfather was Corbizo. He was the nephew of
Pietro Igneo. Bernardo's father died sometime in 1085 and it was on 1 July 1085 that he made a donation to the
San Salvi convent for his father's repose. But he also became a monk in the
Vallumbrosans and he later made another donation for the repose of his father and grandfather on 26 April 1089. and was later elected as the Superior-General for the congregation in 1098 after the death of the abbot Almarius of Vallambrosa. On 7 March 1100, he presided over a meeting of all the order's abbots to discuss important resolutions on both organization and discipline. In 1097
Pope Urban II named Uberti
Cardinal-Priest of San Crisogono. He worked at the
Lateran until 1101 when he was appointed
papal legate to Lombardy and began to serve as an advisor to
Countess Matilda. On 7 April 1101 he was sent as a legate to
Grosseto and on 4 May 1101 was with Matilda in
Governolo where she restituted some lands to the pope upon his advice. He was exiled again in 1127 after opposing the proclamation of
Conrad II. In September 1104 he served as an advisor to the countess in both Cosogno and
Modena while on 20 March 1105, he was in the
Lateran Palace to sign a
papal bull for the pope. Uberti tried to return to Parma in August 1105 to recruit troopers for the pope in his struggle against the German king but this venture proved unsuccessful. He was later appointed as the
Bishop of Parma in October 1106 at the Council of Guastalla where the pope made the announcement. He received his
episcopal consecration from Paschal II himself in Parma in November. In February 1111 he and
Roman Curia were removed from
Rome and imprisoned at the behest of the emperor. The pope too had been taken prisoner but it was the countess who managed to obtain their release. But Paschal II decided to crown the emperor and Uberti attended this event in Rome on 13 April 1113. on 4 December 1133 and was interred in the
Parma cathedral. He was the subject of paintings that
Bernardino Gatti and
Pietro Perugino made. ==Canonization==