Philip of Aragon

Philip of Aragon (Spanish: Felipe de Aragón, Italian: Filippo d'Aragona; 1449/50–1488) was the Archbishop of Palermo from 31 January 1477, when he received confirmation of his election from Sixtus IV until he renounced his see in 1485. He was born in the diocese of Pamplona in 1449 or 1450, for he was twenty-seven years old when he was elected archbishop. He was the illegitimate son of Charles, Prince of Viana, and his mistress, Brianda de Vaca. He was thus a grandson of King John II of Aragon and Navarre.

As was common in that time, Philip did not live in Palermo, but delegated his administrative duties to two vicars. The vicars were prevented from taking up their office by the senate of the Kingdom of Sicily because they were not Sicilians. Only after lengthy negotiations did Philip nominate a Sicilian canon to the vicariate. The senate still refused to recognise Philip's appointment as Grand Chancellor of the Realm, because he was not a Sicilian citizen. Likewise, the senate even challenged his archiepiscopal election because of an irregularity in the papal rescript of confirmation. Finally, on 9 January 1479, the viceroy, Juan Ramón Folch de Cardona, invested him with the temporalities of his diocese.

In 1481, Philip acquired the abbey of San Giovanni degli Eremiti and the priory of Santissima Trinità di Delia for the diocese. He also acquired the fiefs of Geracello and Sattabene along with other lands in the Val di Mazara for the church. After all the trouble of getting himself installed in his see, he renounced it in 1485 in order to become the Grand Master of the Order of Montesa. He returned to Spain, where he died taking part in the War of Granada in 1488.

References

• Aragona, Filippo d' Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani, Volume 3 (1961).