Niccolò Coscia was an Italian Roman Catholic cardinal.

He was born at Pietradefusi

Pietradefusi

-History:According to some scholars, Pietradefusi lies on the site of the ancient Fusolae, a town cited by Livy as an allied of Hannibal during the Punic Wars, and which was later destroyed by the Romans....

, near Avellino

Avellino

Avellino is a town and comune, capital of the province of Avellino in the Campania region of southern Italy. It is situated in a plain surrounded by mountains 42 km north-east of Naples and is an important hub on the road from Salerno to Benevento.-History:Before the Roman conquest, the...

. In 1725 he was appointed as Cardinal of Santa Maria in Domnica

Santa Maria in Domnica

Santa Maria in Domnica — also known as Santa Maria alla Navicella — is a basilica church in Rome.-History:The church was built in ancient times, close to the Vigiles 5th cohort's barracks. The church was built no later than the 7th century...

 by Pope Benedict XIII

Pope Benedict XIII

-Footnotes:...

, whose secretary he had been when the future pope was Archbishop of Benevento.

Coscia held the effective government of the Papal States

Papal States

The Papal State, State of the Church, or Pontifical States were among the major historical states of Italy from roughly the 6th century until the Italian peninsula was unified in 1861 by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia .The Papal States comprised territories under...

 during Benedict's reign. He took advantage of his position to commit a long series of financial abuses

Embezzlement

Embezzlement is the act of dishonestly appropriating or secreting assets by one or more individuals to whom such assets have been entrusted....

, causing the ruin of the Papal treasury. According to Montesquieu, "All the money of Rome goes to Benevento... as the Beneventani direct [Benedict's] weakness".

When Benedict died, Coscia fled Rome. In 1731 he was tried, excommunicated and condemned to ten years' imprisonment in Castel Sant'Angelo

Castel Sant'Angelo

The Mausoleum of Hadrian, usually known as the Castel Sant'Angelo, is a towering cylindrical building in Parco Adriano, Rome, Italy. It was initially commissioned by the Roman Emperor Hadrian as a mausoleum for himself and his family...

. However, he managed to have his sentence commuted to a fine. Restored, he took part in the conclave

Papal conclave

A papal conclave is a meeting of the College of Cardinals convened to elect a Bishop of Rome, who then becomes the Pope during a period of vacancy in the papal office. The Pope is considered by Roman Catholics to be the apostolic successor of Saint Peter and earthly head of the Roman Catholic Church...

s of 1730

Papal conclave, 1730

The papal conclave of 5 March to 12 July 1730 elected pope Clement XII as the successor to pope Benedict XIII.- External links :* *...

 and 1740

Papal conclave, 1740

The Papal conclave of 18 February to 17 August 1740, convoked after the death of Pope Clement XII on 6 February 1740, was one of the longest conclaves since the 13th century....

.

He died in Naples in 1755.

Footnotes