(26) 1. CIBO, Camillo (1681-1743)

Birth. April 25, 1681, Massa, diocese of Luni-Sarzana. Sixth of the eleven children of Carlo II Cibo, duke of Massa, prince of Carrara, and Teresa Pamphilj, grand-niece of Pope Innocent X. Relative of Pope Innocent VIII. Great-grand-nephew of Pope Innocent X, on his mother's side. Nephew of Cardinal Benedetto Pamphilj, O.S.Io.Hieros. (1681), on his mother's side. Relative of Cardinals Lorenzo Cibo de' Mari (1489); Innocenzo Cibo (1513); and Alderano Cibo (1645). His last name is also listed as Cybo. He went to Rome to enter the ecclesiastical state.

Education. Studied at La Sapienza University, Rome, where he obtained a doctorate in utroque iure, both canon and civil law, on September 13, 1702.

Priesthood. Ordained, July 5, 1705. President of the Apostolic Chamber, December 8, 1705. Cleric of the Apostolic Chamber and president of Archives, August 6, 1707. President delle Acque and delle Ripe. Duke of Ferentillo, December 2, 1715 to 1730. Duke of Ajello and baron of Paduli, December 2, 1715. President della Grascia, April 27, 1717. Auditor general of the Apostolic Chamber, January 29, 1718. He built a resting villa near Castel Gandolfo, which was later acquired by the Apostolic Chamber.

Episcopate. Elected titular patriarch of Constantinople, February 11, 1718. Consecrated, February 24, 1718, church of S. Maria del Popolo, Rome, by Cardinal Fabrizio Paolucci, assisted by Giovanni Cristoforo Battelli, titular archbishop of Amasea, scretary of Briefs to the Princes, and by Prospero Marefoschi, titular bishop of Cirene, uditore Santissimo.. Assistant at the Pontifical Throne, March 2, 1718. Disappointed for not being able to institute reforms in the Apostolic Chamber, he resigned his post and retired to the eremo delle Grazie, near Spoleto, in 1723. Recalled to Rome by Pope Benedict XIII, he was named prefect of the Apostolic Palace, July 6, 1725. He fought with the primary Roman tribunals to maintain intact his civil and criminal jurisdiction over the Palatines; he easily faced Cardinal Coscia, who pretended to intervene in the affair and increase the expenses of the Apostolic Palace. In 1726, he was considered to succeed Cardinal Fabrizio Paolucci as secretary of State, but his manifest opposition to the administrative disorder prevalent at the time led to Cardinal Niccolò Lercari, who was more accomodating, being named.

Cardinalate. Created cardinal priest in the consistory of March 23, 1729; received the red hat and the title of S. Stefano al Monte Celio, March 28, 1729. Participated in the conclave of 1730, which elected Pope Clement XII. Grand prior of the Sovereign Order of St. John of Malta in Rome, October 1730 until June 1731; he resigned preferring a quiet and solitary life and went to live in the eremo di Castellone, near Gaeta. He had strong disagreements with the duke of Massa, his brother, concerning the succession to that title. Opted for the title of S. Maria del Popolo, January 8, 1731. Participated in the conclave of 1740, which elected Pope Benedict XIV. Opted for the title of S. Maria degli Angeli alle Terme, December 20, 1741.

Death. January 12, 1743, at 10:30 a.m., of an attack of podagra, in his small palace at Quattre Fontane, Rome. Exposed in the church of Ss. XII Apostolic, where the capella papalis took place on January 14, 1743; in the afternoon of that same day, he was transferred to his title of S. Maria degli Angeli alle Terme and buried in the underground Cibo chapel, which he had built near the sacristy in 1742; the chapel had a grill that allowed it to be seen by those who went to the grand chapel of the main altar; he placed in the chapel an altar for the celebration of the mass and left sufficient funds for votive lamps which should burn day and night.

Bibliography. Cardella, Lorenzo. Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa. 9 vols. Rome : Stamperia Pagliarini, 1794, VIII, 239-240; Notizie per l'anno bissestile 1752. Rome : Nella Stamperia del Chracas, presso S. Marco al Corso, 1752, p. 122-123; Ritzler, Remigium, and Pirminum Sefrin. Hierarchia Catholica Medii et Recientoris Aevi. Volumen V (1667-1730). Patavii : Typis et Sumptibus Domus Editorialis "Il Messaggero di S. Antonio" apud Basilicam S. Antonii, 1952, pp. 38, 51 and 171; Ritzler, Remigium, and Pirminum Sefrin. Hierarchia Catholica Medii et Recientoris Aevi. Volumen VI (1730-1799). Patavii : Typis et Sumptibus Domus Editorialis "Il Messaggero di S. Antonio" apud Basilicam S. Antonii, 1968, pp. 45 and 46; Sandri, Leopoldo. "Il cardinale Camillo Cybo ed il suo archivio (1681-1743)", in Archivi d'Italia e rassegna internazionale degli archivi, VI (1939), fase. 2, 63-82.

Webgraphy. Biography by Agostino Borromeo, in Italian, Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani - Volume 25 (1981), Treccani; genealogy, F1 G3 H6, Genealogy EU; his engraving and portrait, Araldica Vaticana; his portrait, Araldica Vaticana; his engraving, Bildarchiv Austria. Die Bildplattform der Österreichischen Nationalbibliothek.

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