Raffaele Riario - Riario in The Papal Court

Riario in The Papal Court

In 1484, Riario was engaged in the war which broke out between the Orsini and the Colonna family, trying to secure in vain the life of his friend Lorenzo Oddone Colonna, who was charged of having murdered an Orsini and was executed by Sixtus IV. In 1488, Pope Innocent VIII sent Cardinal Riario as a legate to his maternal uncle Girolamo Riario, at the time governor of Forlì and Imola, who was revolting against the Holy See. Meanwhile, the Cardinal had already commissioned the erection of his palace beside the church of San Lorenzo in Damaso (1486).

It is said that Franceschetto Cybo, the infamous son of Innocent VIII, lost in one single night 15,000 ducats at a card game which took place in Raffaele’s residence. When the Pope asked from the Cardinal to return his son’s money, the latter answered that he was sorry, but he had already used them to finance the construction of his palace.

As cardinal Camerlengo, Riario is usually praised for insuring the order in Rome after the death of Innocent VIII. He was a candidate for the papal tiara in the Conclave of 1492 but he was excluded from the first ballots due to his young age. He finally voted for Rodrigo Borgia (Pope Alexander VI), receiving the lucrative bishopric of Cartagena as a reward for his support.

During Alexander VI’s reign (1492–1503), Riario gained distinction as diplomat and councillor of the papal throne. In 1493, he was sent as legate to Caterina Sforza, Girolamo Riario’s widow, to prevent her from allowing the French troops to pass through Forlì and Imola. Pope Julius II (1503–1513), Riario’s relative but not always his ally, raised him at the Bishopric of Ostia e Veletri, meaning the first hierarchically see in the Papal States.