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Alessandro Damasceni Peretti di Montalto (1571 – 2 June 1623) was an ItalianCatholicCardinal Bishop. He received the title from his great-uncle Felice Piergentile after the latter was electedPope Sixtus V on 24 April 1585, in the consistory on 13 May, and was installed asCardinal Deacon ofSan Girolamo dei Croati on 14 June 1585; the cardinal was then fourteen years old. The Republic ofVenice inscribed him in theLibro d'Oro as apatrician of Venice that same year. Though he was made the permanent governor ofFermo the following year, and was often the papal legate inBologna, he was not made a bishop until 1620, when he becameCardinal-Bishop of Albano. He served also asVice-Chancellor of the Holy Roman Church (1589–1623) and Cardinal Protector of theKingdom of Poland (named on 19 September 1589 by KingSigismund III) and of the several religious orders.
Alessandro Peretti was born atMontalto delle Marche, the son of Fabio Damasceni and Maria Felice Mignucci Peretti, who was a niece of the pope on her mother's side. Like his great-uncle before him, Alessandro Peretti was also known as Cardinal di Montalto. His primary works as a great patron were theVilla Lante at Bagnaia, where he contributed to the gardens acasino matching the earlier one, and the church (though not the facade) ofSant'Andrea della Valle in Rome, (begun in 1591), whereCarlo Maderno constructed at the Cardinal's personal expense the second-largest dome in Rome, 1608 to 1621.
As a cardinal, Peretti lived an extravagant lifestyle in which he indulged his taste for music and lavish theatrical productions staged in his residence, the Cancelleria palace. He retained several musicians in his service and encouraged the art of monody or solo song.
Hisportrait bust byGian Lorenzo Bernini is at theHamburg Kunsthalle. Surviving books from Cardinal Alessandro's library reflect pride in his relationship to the Pope through elaborate armorials and his perfect taste.
Cardinal Montalto was in turn the uncle of CardinalFrancesco Peretti di Montalto (1597‑1655), raised to the purple in 1641.
