Pietro, Cardinal Ottoboni, the Cardinal Ottoboni (1667–February 29, 1740), was a member of the noble Venetian family and the grand-nephew of the Venetian Pope Alexander VIII(1689–1691). He is remembered especially as a great patron of music. Location within Italy Venice (Italian: Venezia), the city of canals, is the capital of the region of Veneto and of the province of Venice, 45°26′ N 12°19′ E, population 271,663 (census estimate 2004-01-01). ... Alexander VIII, né Pietro Vito Ottoboni (April 22, 1610 - February 1, 1691), pope from 1689 to 1691, was born of a noble Venetian family, and was the son of Marco Ottoboni, chancellor of the Republic of Venice. ...

Cardinal Ottoboni, one of the great patrons of his generation, was housed in the Palazzo della Cancelleria in Rome, where he supported Arcangelo Corelli, the finest violinist of his generation, at his Monday night concerts called "academies", and where Corelli was introduced to Handel. When he died in 1713, Corelli left his estate, including his valuable pictures, to Cardinal Ottoboni, who distributed the sizable funds among Corelli's relations and erected Corelli's princely tomb in the Pantheon. Among his other protegés was Antonio Vivaldi and Antonio Caldara. He even wrote texts of cantatas for some of them. The young Sicilian architect Giovanni Battista Vaccarini also benefited from his concern. Palazzo della Cancelleria: the 18th century engraving by Giuseppe Vasi exaggerates the depth of the square, where the Corso Vittorio Emanuele now runs. ... Arcangelo Corelli (February 17, 1653 – January 8, 1713) was an Italian violin player and Baroque music composer. ... George Frideric Handel (German Georg Friedrich Händel), (February 23, 1685 – April 14, 1759) was a German Baroque music composer who lived much of his life in England, a leading composer of concerti grossi, operas and oratorios. ... The Pantheon, Rome The Pantheon is a building in Rome which was originally built as a temple to the seven deities of the seven planets in the Roman state religion, but which has been a Christian church since the 7th century AD. It is the best-preserved of all Roman... Antonio Vivaldi Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (March 4, 1678, Venice – July 28, 1741, Vienna), nicknamed Il Prete Rosso, meaning The Red Priest, was an Italian priest and baroque music composer. ... Antonio Caldara (1670 - December 28, 1736) was an Italian Baroque composer. ...

When opera was banned in Rome, performances withdrew to Ottoboni's Cancelleria. His triumphal return to Venice in 1726 was celebrated with musical festivities that included a serenata Andromeda liberata, with arias contributed by various Venetian masters, including Vivaldi. The foyer of Charles Garniers Opéra, Paris, opened 1875 Opera refers to an European art form consisting of a dramatic stage performance set to music. ...

In 1735 he donated his Roman sculptures and other antiquities to the Capitoline Museums. Michelangelos design for Capitoline Hill, now home to the Capitoline Museums. ...

His music library was dispersed after his death, but the so-called "Manchester Concerto Part-books" have survived with sets of separate parts for 95 compositions, mostly concertos; the manuscript scores came into the possession of Charles Jennens, the librettist for Handel’s Messiah. The diverse contents of the concerto collection suggest that Ottoboni’s musicians acquired and performed music from artistic centres elsewhere (notably Venice and Bologna) as well as works composed in Rome.

In his ecclesiastical career, Ottoboni received the clerical tonsure and the minor orders, October 20, 1689 and was created cardinal deacon in the consistory of November 7, 1689 and received the red hat November 14. Cardinal Ottoboni was superintendent general of the affairs of the Apostolic See, and governor of the cities of Fermo and Tivoli, and of the territory of Capranica. He held the office of vice-chancellor of the Holy Roman Church from November 14, 1689 until February 29, 1740. He was cardinal-bishop of Sabina 1725, of Frascati, 1730, of Porto and Santa Rufina, 1734, and vice-dean then dean of the Sacred College of Cardinals (September 3, 1738). Archpriest of the patriarchal Liberian basilica, secretary of the Roman Inquisition, Archpriest of the patriarchal Lateran basilica (from 1730) and Grand prior of Ireland. The Roman Inquisition began in 1542 when Pope Paul III established the Holy Office as the final court of appeal in trials of heresy and served as an important part of the Counter-Reformation. ...

External links

• the Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church
• Paul, Major, "Giuseppe Valentini, Sinfonia in D": the Manchester Concerto Part-books
• Manchester Libraries: Manchester Concerto Part-books
• Musei Capitolini