Anton Giorgio Clerici

Anton Giorgio Clerici is the small boy on left as a child,

Anton Giorgio Clerici , 4th Marquis of Cavenago ( Milan , 5 November 1715 – Milan , 11 June 1768 ), was an Italian nobleman , soldier and patron of the arts .

Biography

Anton Giorgio Clerici, (also called Giorgio Antonio), was the son of the hereditary marquis Carlo Giorgio and his wife, Countess Maria Archinto, daughter of Count Carlo Archinto .

While still young, he lost first his grandfather and then his father in the war, being looked after by his great-grandfather, Giorgio II Clerici , a very powerful and influential nobleman of his era who was president of the Senate of Milan. At the time of his birth his family was at the height of its social success and he, at the mere age of seven, found himself the owner of an immense fortune, with an annual income of 400,000 lire net.

Upon the death of her husband, his mother Maria Archinto remarried with Prince Antonio Tolomeo Gallio Trivulzio , also a nobleman of great fame and wealth in Milan , who had a considerable influence on the growth of Anton Giorgio.

Having undertaken a military career at a very young age, he was favored by his position and ties of nobility (he was related to the famous Field Marshal of the Empire Eugenio of Savoy through his grandmother, the princess of Masserano, Giovanna Ferrero Fieschi, as well as by common descent from Duke Emanuele Filiberto of Savoy ) and soon became colonel owner of an Austrian regiment which he maintained from 1744 with his own finances and which took part in the Battle of Madonna dell'Olmo that same year ^[1] .

For these actions, he soon became favorable to the Viennese court and in particular to Empress Maria Teresa of Austria who appointed him imperial ambassador to the conclave held in Rome in 1758 following the death of Benedict XIV . This was the era in which Austria had a great influence on the appointment of pontiffs and the role of its ambassadors at the conclaves was precisely that of piloting the name of a candidate who was favorable to the imperial house. Anton Giorgio's entry into Rome consisted of a fabulous and very rich procession which entailed huge expenses for the family fortune, starting from the sumptuous uniform that the marquis wore, with buttons studded with diamonds according to the chronicles of the time.

After these events he was appointed Close Advisor to the Emperor and was therefore created Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece , the highest honor of the Holy Roman Empire and one of the most famous in the world.

In Milan he was enrolled in the city's patriciate in 1739 and dedicated himself to the restoration of the family palace in the heart of the city, furnishing it with rich Austrian-made furniture, as well as works by painters of the most famous masters of the art such as Tintoretto , Guido Reni , Van Dyck , Pordenone , Veronese and other famous artists. His most important work, however, was commissioned in 1741 to Giovanni Battista Tiepolo , whom he asked to fresco the entire vault of the main gallery of the Milanese palace.

The crazy expenses incurred for this palace, however, put Anton Giorgio almost broke, to the point that he was unable to pay all the bills and was forced to appeal to the Senate of Milan to grant him the dissolution of some trusts.

He died in his palace in Milan in 1768 , leaving a greatly squandered estate to his cousin Francesco Maria Clerici, belonging to a secondary branch of the family.

Marriage and children

In 1733 , Anton Giorgio Clerici married the Marchioness Fulvia Visconti, daughter of Annibale Visconti (who was at the time field marshal of the Empire and castellan of the Castello Sforzesco in Milan, as well as commander of the city guard of Milan).

From this marriage he had two daughters:

• Claudia Caterina (d.1822), married Vitaliano Biglia, 5th Marquess of Saronno
• Mary (d. 1757)

Honors

Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece

Ancestry