Paolo Burali d'Arezzo (1511 – 17 June 1578) was an Italian priest of the Theatine Order, a bishop, and cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church.

[1] The father Paolo was a bureaucrat, who was for a time in the service of King Ferdinand the Catholic, performed some diplomatic duties for Pope Clement VII, and was later a member of the entourage of Prospero Colonna, the Count of Fondi, Generalissimo of the Spanish armies, serving as Segretario Maggiore.

He subsequently became a chamberlain to Pope Clement VII (1521-1534), and served on diplomatic missions to the Emperor Charles V, King François I of France, and Duke Francesco Sforza of Milan.

[2] For about a decade Scipione worked as a lawyer in Naples, earning the nickname "Principe del foro napolitano – Prince of Neapolitan Rights," for his devotion to championing the people against their Spanish overlords while acquiring a reputation for his legal knowledge, professionalism, and honesty.

Scipione undertook many important tasks in this connection, defining the legal relationship between the crown and the nobles, clarifying the rights of the king and those of the pope within the kingdom, and so forth.

In 1555, Paolo d'Arezzo was sent on an embassy to the pope, doubtless in connection with Philip II's assumption of his feudal rights and obligations with regard to the Kingdom of Naples.

He spent many years working on commissions charged with revising the education and discipline of the clergy, serving on diplomatic missions for the Holy See, attending the Council of Trent, at which he played an important role, and as head of the principal Theatine house in Rome.

[9] The obvious popular hostility, combined with persuasive arguments by Paolo and other opponents of the "Holy Office," led to the Crown backing down, at least for the time being.

He was consecrated on 1 August 1568, by Cardinal Scipione Rebiba, titular Patriarch of Constantinople, with Giulio Antonio Santorio, Archbishop of Santa Severina, and Thomas Goldwell, Bishop of Saint Asaph, serving as co-consecrators.

[19] Four years later, on 19 September 1576, Gregory XIII made Paolo the Archbishop of Naples, over the objection (it is said) of Don Luis de Requesens y Zúñiga, the Ambassador of the King of Spain before the Holy See.

As Archbishop of Naples, Paolo implemented numerous reforms, ensuring compliance with the decisions of the Council of Trent, while continuing to clash with the Spanish authorities over the Inquisition and other matters.

A competent scholar,[21] as well as a notable clergyman, Paolo died 17 June 1578 at the age of 67, after only 21 months as Archbishop, with much of his work unfinished, a "mournful loss for all Christendom" in the words of St. Filippo Neri.