Mark Sittich von Hohenems Altemps

Mark Sittich von Hohenems was born in Hohenems in 1533, the son of Wolf Ludwig von Hohenems and Chiara de' Medici (daughter of Bernardino de'Medici and Cecilia Serbelloni), a distant relative (or none at all) of the Florentine House of Medici. His mother was the sister of Giovanni Angelo Medici (Pope Pius IV). Her sister, Margherita, married Gilberto Borromeo, Conte d' Arona. He was the cousin of Cardinals Giovanni Antonio Serbelloni and Charles Borromeo. and Mark Sittich von Hohenems, who were both Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg, in 1587-1612 and 1612–1619 respectively. of Cardinal Mark Sittich von Hohenems. Nothing is known of any formal education he might have received. As a young man, he fought in the Italian War of 1551–1559 under the command of his uncle Giangiacopo de' Medici, one of the last of the Renaissance condottieri. ==Bishop, 1560-61==

His uncle Giovanni Angelo Medici was elevated to the papacy on 26 December 1559, taking the name Pius IV. He proved generous in providing benefices for his Italian and German nephews. On 23 March 1560 Mark Sittich von Hohenems became a cleric in the Apostolic Camera. and was named Administrator of the diocese until he reached the canonical age for consecration as a bishop. He was consecrated by his cousin Charles Borromeo on 17 February 1566. He resigned the government of the Diocese of Cassano on 11 May 1561, at the request of his uncle, who had named him a Cardinal and who had a more important See for him. In order to ensure that the Council of Trent resumed as the Pope wished, by Easter of 1562, he served as papal legate to Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor and Ferdinand, King of the Romans to persuade them to lend their assistance both for the reopening of the Council and for the attendance of as many bishops as possible. ==Cardinal, 1561-95==

in Hohenems. Cardinal Hohenems is the first on the left; his cousin Charles Borromeo is on the right. His uncle Pope Pius IV made him a cardinal deacon in the consistory of 26 February 1561. On 10 November 1561 he was appointed legate to the Council of Trent and, on 27 December 1561, governor of Fermo. In February 1566, he received leave to depart from Rome to Konstanz. He was also eager to introduce the Jesuits into the Diocese of Konstanz, and corresponded with the Jesuit General Alfonso Borgia on the subject, though the project was long in bearing fruit. He returned to Rome to participate in the papal conclave of 1572 that elected Pope Gregory XIII. In 1568, Marco Sittico bought a property in Rome that he immediately set about rebuilding as the Palazzo Altemps, to designs by Martino Longhi the Elder; he also built the Villa Mondragone at Frascati. He assembled a formidable collection of Roman antiquities and sculptures. He opted for the titular church of Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri on 3 October 1577, for the titular church of San Pietro in Vincoli on 3 October 1578, for San Clemente on 17 August 1579 and for Santa Maria in Trastevere on 5 December 1580. Sometime before 31 July 1589 he resigned the government of the Diocese of Konstanz. Because of illness, he resigned as legate in Avignon on 4 June 1590. He subsequently participated in the papal conclave of September 1590 that elected Pope Urban VII; the papal conclave of October–December 1590 that elected Pope Gregory XIV; the papal conclave of 1591 that elected Pope Innocent IX; and the papal conclave of 1592 that elected Pope Clement VIII. In November 1592, he became legate in Viterbo. ==Death and legacy==

The powerful cardinal died in Rome on 15 February 1595. == See also ==