 He studied at the Collegio di San Carlo in Modena during 1732–1738, but returned to the University of Ferrara to study under Domenico Borsetti and Ippolito Gratiadei.He then moved to Rome and entered positions of leadership within the Vatican hierarchy by the mid 1740s, serving as Auditor of the Camerlengo from 1748 to 1759.He became auditor of the Sacred Roman Rota in 1759; later, became its dean.