Gasparo Contarini was an Italian diplomat, cardinal, and Bishop of Belluno. He advocated for dialogue with Protestants during the Reformation. Born in Venice, he served as the Republic's ambassador to Charles V during its war with him. He was the first to explain the time discrepancy in the Magellan–Elcano circumnavigation due to Earth's rotation. He participated in diplomatic efforts and reconciliations, and became a cardinal, even though he was initially a layman. Contarini was a leader in the reform movement within the Roman Catholic Church. He played a role in the papal approval of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). He was also involved in attempts to restore religious unity in Germany.
Portrait of Gasparo Contarini.
Contarini's coat of arms (left) in the Ingeram Codex
His tomb in the church of the Madonna dell'Orto
De republica Venetorum, 1626.
Roman Catholic Diocese of Belluno-Feltre
The Diocese of Belluno-Feltre is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church located in the Veneto, northern Italy, organized in its current form in 1986. From 1197 to 1762, and again from 1818 to 1986, the Diocese of Belluno and the Diocese of Feltre were united under a single bishop, with the name diocese of Belluno e Feltre. The current diocese is a suffragan of the Patriarchate of Venice.
Belluno Cathedral
Co-cathedral Feltre