Vitaliano Visconti was born in Milan in 1618, the son of
Count Fabio of the
Genoese noble Bianca Spinola. He was admitted to law at the
University of Bologna. A member of the College of Justice Consultants in Milan from 1644, deciding to embark on an
ecclesiastical career and moved to
Rome where he was honored with the titles of governor of the cities of
Fano,
Spoleto,
Viterbo and
Perugia. In those years he was sent by
Pope Alexander VII in his representation to pay homage to the
Infanta of Spain, the eldest
son of
King Philip IV. Audience of the court of the
Sacred Rota since 1660, he also became a hearer of the causes of the Apostolic Palace and accompanied Cardinal
Flavio Chigi in his later legation to
Paris. Elected
archbishop of Ephesus on 11 August 1664, he received a dispensation for not having received the presbytery and from 16 August of that same year was appointed an
apostolic nuncio in
Spain. He was created
cardinal by Pope
Alexander VII on 15 February 1666 and published by the same Pontiff in the Consistory of 7 March 1667. He was unable to attend the
conclave of 1667 that elected Pope
Clement IX but on 18 March 1669 received the title
bishop of
Saint'Agnese outside the walls. He took part in the conclave of 1669-1670 that elected Pope
Clement X and was transferred to the metropolitan headquarters of
Monreale on 2 June 1670. He died at
Monreale on 7 September 1671. The body was exposed to public veneration and then buried in the same cathedral. ==References==