 When he was recalled to Rome and made cardinal in the consistory of 14 January 1664, with the "titulus" of S. Anastasia, he brought with him the auditor of the papal legation at the court of Madrid, the antiquarian Raffaello Fabretti, who took advantage of Bonelli's leisurely return through the south of France to extend his knowledge of Roman antiquities.Bonelli died on 27 August 1676.His tomb by Carlo Rainaldi in Santa Maria sopra Minerva, Rome has not been admired by art historians.