Before the council convened, Napoleon dispatched three prelates—Louis-Mathias de Barral, Jean-Baptiste Duvoisin, and Charles Mannay—along with Stefano Bonsignore to Savona to negotiate with Pope Pius VII.

[1] Despite pressure from this delegation, the Pope refused to consider the "note" they drafted as a formal agreement, viewing it instead as a proposal for discussion.

After their departure, Pius VII formally rejected two clauses of the note, declaring, "Fortunately, we have signed nothing.

These discussions were prolonged, as Italian bishops resisted incorporating Gallican doctrines from the Declaration of the Clergy of France of 1682.

To de-escalate tensions, Cardinal Étienne Hubert de Cambacérès, Archbishop of Rouen, expressed submission to the Emperor,[6] though with reservations.