Giacomo Puteo was born in
Majorca on 13 February 1495, the son of
noble Antoni del Pozzo (from
Nice, native of
Alessandria,
Piedmont) and Praxedis Berard i Caulelles. He was educated at the
University of Bologna, becoming a
doctor of both laws. After university, he went to
Rome and became
auditor of Cardinal
Pietro Accolti. During the pontificate of
Pope Paul III, he became an auditor of the
Roman Rota, a post he held for fifteen years, ultimately becoming
Dean of the Roman Rota. On 18 April 1550 he was elected
Archbishop of Bari. He never visited his archdiocese.
Pope Julius III made him a
cardinal priest in the
consistory of 20 November 1551. He received the
red hat and the
titular church of
San Simeon in Posterula on 4 December 1551. He was a participant in both the
papal conclave of April 1555 that elected
Pope Marcellus II and the
papal conclave of May 1555 that elected
Pope Paul IV. On 29 May 1555 he opted for the titular church of
Santa Maria in Via Lata. During the pontificate of Pope Paul IV, he was
Prefect of the
Apostolic Signatura; a member of the
Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office; and was
cardinal protector of both the
Kingdom of Poland and the
Sovereign Military Order of Malta. Together with Cardinal
Giovanni Battista Cicala, he was charged with examining abolishing the alienation of ecclesiastical patrimony done against the constitution of
Pope Paul II. He participated in the
papal conclave of 1559 that elected
Pope Pius IV. He participated in the planning of the
Council of Trent and was an active proponent of the
Counter-Reformation. In 1561, he was named a
papal legate to the Council of Trent, though his health did not permit him to attend the council. On 16 December 1562 he resigned the government of Bari in favor of his nephew
Antonio del Pozzo. He died in Rome on 26 April 1563. He was buried in
Santa Maria sopra Minerva. ==References==