Alessandro Sforza (cardinal)

Alessandro Sforza (1534–1581) was an Italian Roman Catholic bishop and cardinal.

A member of the House of Sforza, Alessandro Sforza was born in Rome in 1534, the son of Bosio II Sforza, count of Santa Fiora e Cotignola, and his wife Costanza Farnese, who was the natural and legitimized daughter of Pope Paul III. His brother Guido Ascanio Sforza di Santa Fiora also became a cardinal. He was the uncle of Cardinal Francesco Sforza.

He gained the academic title of Magister. Early in his ecclesiastical career, he became a papal chaplain. He became a scriptor of apostolic letters. On January 12, 1554, he became a cleric of the Apostolic Camera. He became a canon of St. Peter's Basilica on April 18, 1554. He was involved in a minor scandal after he made French vessels travel from Civitavecchia to Gaeta that caused Pope Paul IV deprive him of his charges and benefits. After the vessels were returned and some cardinals intervened, the pope restored him to his former offices on October 8, 1557.

On April 26, 1560, he was elected Bishop of Parma. He was named praefectus annonae on July 1, 1560. In 1562-63, he was a participant in the Council of Trent.

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