 When Clement VII was imprisoned in the Castel S. Angelo by the forces of Charles V, Gambara was sent to France to beg assistance from King Francis I in obtaining the Pope's release.He was named papal Governor of Bologna after the sack of Rome, and continued to serve in that office after being appointed Bishop of Tortona by Pope Clement VII.During his years as Bishop of Tortona, he participated in the Coronation of Charles V as Emperor in Bologna in 1532, and was absent as papal legate or nuncio in Germany (1532).