Onofrio de Santa Croce

Who is Onofrio de Santa Croce?

Onofrio de Santa Croce was a cardinal and bishop of Tricarico within the Kingdom of Naples. He was born at Rome, and died there. In 1467, he was sent as papal legate by Pope Paul II to mediate between the Duchy of Burgundy and the province of Liège in an escalating conflict over the desire of the latter for sovereignty. Onofrio had enjoyed previous successes as a diplomat, and was armed with firsthand knowledge of the situation acquired when he accompanied the legate Paul Ferri to Liége in 1463.

Despite "tireless efforts," Onofrio failed, and in October 1468 Charles the Bold of Burgundy and Louis XI of France began a siege that would end in the destruction of the city of Liège. Onofrio's memoir is considered "one of the most important 'outside' sources" on the war and events leading up to it. In another attempt to explain the circumstances and consequences of the war, he commissioned the Italian humanist poet Angelo Sabino to compose an historical epic, De excidio civitatis Leodiensis. Onofrius died without having regained his good standing at the papal court.

The name Onofrio will also be found as Onufrio.