[2] In December 1623 he was appointed papal nuncio to the court of France, in preparation for which he was ordained titular archbishop of Tamiathis.

In 1632 he purchased what is now called the Palazzo Spada in the rione Regola, facing Piazza Capo di Ferro with a garden looking over the Tiber, and commissioned Francesco Borromini to modify it for him in a more Baroque style, to house his growing collections.

[2] During the First War of Castro he served as plenipotentiary of Pope Urban VIII; sent to negotiate a truce with the Duchy of Parma, together with his brother Virgilio.

[3] Spada was furious and later published a manifesto detailing his version of events which, according to contemporary John Bargrave, many accepted to be the truth.

[citation needed] Spada was the patron of Martha Marchina, an Italian soapmaker who wrote poetry in Latin, for ten years.

[4] Spada was largely responsible for the publication of Musa Posthuma, a collection of Marchina's poetry, though it was first published after his death in 1662.