List of Famous people born in Emilia-Romagna, Italy

Giulio Maria della Somaglia was an Italian cardinal. He was — at least in his later life — a staunch zelante cardinal who, as Secretary of State under Pope Leo XII, helped enforce an authoritarian regime in the crumbling Papal States.

Alessandro Riario (1543–1585) was an Italian Roman Catholic bishop and cardinal.

Gerardo Bianchi was an Italian churchman and papal diplomat, an important figure of the War of the Sicilian Vespers.

Giovanni Arcimboldi was an Italian Roman Catholic bishop and cardinal.

Girolamo Dandini was an Italian cardinal and the first to serve as Cardinal Secretary of State in the Roman Curia. By the time of Pope Innocent X (1644–1655), the secretary of state was always a cardinal, and Pope Innocent XII (1691–1700) abolished the office of cardinal nephew in 1692.

Lorenzo Maria Petronio Gibelli was an Italian composer, singer, and singing teacher. Also known as "Gibellone", he was born in Bologna and studied music there under Giovanni Battista Martini. He was elected to the Accademia Filarmonica di Bologna in 1741 and made a "Principe" (Prince) of the academy in 1753. He served as maestro di cappella of several churches in Bologna, most notably the Chiesa del Santissimo Salvatore. He had only a modest career as an opera singer, despite having a voice of an extraordinarily wide vocal range from bass to the lower tenor notes. However, he became highly regarded as a voice teacher. Amongst his pupils were the castrato singers Girolamo Crescentini and Francesco Roncaglia and the tenor Matteo Babbini. His compositions include five operas, five oratorios, and over 400 pieces of sacred music.

Francesco Sacrati was an Italian composer of the Baroque era, who played an important role in the early history of opera. He wrote for the Teatro Novissimo in Venice as well as touring his operas throughout Italy. His most famous piece is La finta pazza, said to be the first opera ever performed in France. The manuscript of this work was long thought to be lost but a touring edition of the manuscript was discovered by musicologist Lorenzo Bianconi in 1984. Some of the music bears striking similarities to the score of Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea, prompting scholars to speculate that Sacrati had a part in composing the surviving version of that opera. The United States premiere of La finta pazza, and first performance outside Europe, occurred in April 2010 at Yale University.