Giovanni Garzia Mellini was born to a noble Roman family in
Florence,
Italy in 1562, the son of Mario Millini and Ortensia Jacovacci. On September 11, 1606, he was elevated to cardinal by
Pope Paul V and appointed
Bishop of Imola on 7 February 1607. On 7 January 1608, he received the title of Cardinal-Priest of
Santi Quattro Coronati. On 27 June 1611, he resigned as
Bishop of Imola. He served as Vicar general of Rome (1610-1629) and Secretary of the
Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition (1616-1629). While cardinal, he participated in the
conclave of 1621 which elected
Pope Gregory XV; and the
conclave of 1623 which elected
Pope Urban VIII. In 1622, he was appointed the Archpriest of the
Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore. On August 6, 1623, he was elected as
Camerlengo of the Sacred College of Cardinals and reelected on January 15, 1624; he served until January 13, 1625. On 14 April 1627, he received the title of Cardinal-Priest of
San Lorenzo in Lucina and Archpriest of the patriarchal Liberian basilica. On 20 August 1629, he was named
Cardinal-Bishop of
Frascati, a title he held until his death on October 2, 1629, in
Rome. He is buried in the church of Santa Maria del Popolo. ==Episcopal succession==