Agostino Trivulzio (c. 1485–1548) was an Italian Cardinal and papal legate. He was from a noble family in Milan, the eighth child of Giovanni Trivulzio di Borgomanero, a Councillor of the Dukes of Milan, and Angela (or Agnolina, or Anna) Martinengo of Brescia, and was the nephew of Cardinal Gianantonio (or Antonio) Trivulzio (1500–1508). Another uncle, Cardinal Antonio's brother Teodoro, was Governor of La Palice, of Genoa (from 1526), of Milan, and a Marshal of France. Giovanni and Angela had a daughter named Damigella or Domtilla who was famous for her learning. Cardinal Agostino Trivulzio had a nephew named Giovanni, who married Laura Gonzaga.
Biography
Before going to Rome he was Commendatory (Komtur) of the Benedictine Abbey of SS. Pietro and Paolo at Lodi Vecchio, and Abbot Commendatory of the Cistercian house of Aquafredda (Santa Maria Montisfrigidi) on Lake Como. He was later appointed Cardinal Protector of the Cistercian Order.
He was Chamberlain of Honor to Pope Julius II (1503–1513), and then Protonotary Apostolic de numero Participantium, a title he still held when appointed Cardinal. But when Julius II allied himself with Venice and Spain against France in 1511, Trivulzio left the Papal Court and returned to Milan. The election of Pope Leo X (Medici) in 1513, however, changed the political scene, and Trivulzio returned to court.
Cardinal
In Pope Leo X's fifth Consistory for the creation of cardinals, on 1 July 1517, Agostino Trivulzio was one of thirty-one prelates who were created Cardinals. He was named a Cardinal-Deacon, and on 6 July assigned the Deaconry of S. Adriano, which had once been the ancient Roman Senate House.
He was named Administrator of the diocese of Reggio Calabria in the Consistory of 24 August 1520 by Pope Leo X; he resigned in September after only one month in favor of his brother Pietro, who held the diocese for three years. Cardinal Agostino then resumed the Administratorship, which he held until 1529. Obviously this was a family matter, and involved income, not the care of souls.
He was named Bishop of Alessano on 3 June 1521, which he resigned in 1526.
Conclave of 1521–1522
Pope Leo X died on Sunday, 1 December 1521, at the age of 46. The Conclave to elect his successor should have begun in mid-December, but the Cardinals themselves fixed an opening date of 18 December. When it was learned, however, that the Cardinal of Ivrea, Bonifacio Ferrero, had been detained by Spanish troops at Pavia, the decision was taken to postpone the opening of the Conclave until 26 December. This gave all the participants plenty of time for pratticà (politicking). On Sunday the 22nd, the usual morning Congregation of the Cardinals took place at the house of the Dean of the College of Cardinals, Bernardino de Carvajal, but later in the day, a private meeting was held at the house of Cardinal Colonna, at which fourteen cardinals and representatives of four other cardinals participated. Their object was to stop the election of Cardinal Giulio de' Medici, who was the favorite candidate of the Spanish. Among the dissenters were Cardinal Agostino Trivulzio and Cardinal Scaramuccia Trivulzio ("Como"), both members of the French faction. The large number of candidates (papabili) also worked against Medici by dividing the vote among a dozen or more hopefuls. Medici controlled around fifteen votes, and he was able to block any objectionable candidate by denying him the canonically required two-thirds of the votes; but he realized that he himself was not electable. It was not until 9 January 1522, after the tenth ballot had taken place, that a successful election was achieved, once it was revealed that the Emperor Charles V favored his Regent in Spain, Cardinal Adrian Dedel, Bishop of Tortosa.