Albani, Giuseppe

Albani, Giuseppe an Italian cardinal, nephew of Giovanni Francesco, was born at Rome in 1750. He held a place in the sacred college after 1801. Like many other Roman lords, he passed his youth in idleness, preferring music to all other occupations. Narrowly bound to the system of his brotherhood, he allied himself with Austria against France, and his enemies accused him of complicity in the assassination of Basseville. In 1796 he went to Vienna in order to serve the interests of the holy see; but letters addressed to cardinal Cusca, which were intercepted, and put under the eye of the French director, furnished a pretext to the general-in-chief of the French republic for breaking the amnesty and for occupying Rome. He remained a long time in Vienna, and returned to Rome in 1814, where he became first secretary of the pope's briefs and the legate of the pope at Bologna. At the accession of Pius VIII he became secretary of state, a position which he lost at the exaltation of Gregory XVI. He was appointed, in 1831, apostolic commissioner in the four legations for the purpose of establishing order and peace. He entered the regular army, but finally retired from all these offices, and died at Pesaro, Dec. 3, 1839. See Hoefer, Nouv. Biog. Generale, s.v.