Roman Catholic Cardinal. Ronta del Mugello born Silvano Piovanelli was the son of a bricklayer. Entering seminary in Florence, he furthered his studies at the local university, being ordained priest on July 13, 1947 by Cardinal Elia Dalla Costa at the cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, alongside among others, Don Lorenzo Milani, the renowned educator of poor children and advocate of conscientious objection. Piovanelli's first assignment was that of vicar cooperator of Monsignor Giulio Facibeni at the Pieve di Rifredi, founder of the Opera della Divina Provvidenza Madonnina del Grappa. Faculty member and vice-rector of Florence's minor seminary between 1948 and 1961, on his appointment the rectorship of the said seminary was under Enrico Bartoletti, future archbishop of Lucca whose cause for beatification, like that of the afore mentioned Dalla Costa and Facibeni, is presently in process. Named provost of Castelfiorentino in 1960 and chaplain of His Holiness on October 26, 1966, Cardinal Giovanni Benelli named him pro-vicar general in 1979 and eventually vicar general of the archdiocese of Florence in 1982, being elected on May 28 of the latter, auxiliary for the metropolitan see, receiving his episcopal consecration with the titular see of Tubunae in Mauretania from Cardinal Benelli on the following June 24. After the ordinariate of Florence was vacated following the sudden death of Benelli due to a heart attack, Pope John Paul II appointed Piovanelli his successor on March 18, 1983 and in the consistory of May 25, 1985, created him cardinal priest with the title of Santa Maria delle Grazie a Via Trionfale. President of the Conferenza Episcopale Toscana between 1985 and 2001, vice president of the Conferenza Episcopale Italiana from 1990 until 1995 and president of the Federazione Italiana Esercizi Spirituali from 2001 until 2005, the Cardinal retired from the pastoral government of his see on March 21, 2001. Moving to the Pieve di Sant'Andrea a Cercina of Sesto Fiorentino, he lived there until 2015, when ill health forced his recovery at the Convitto Ecclesiastico known as della Calza in the city of Florence, where he passed away at ninety two years of age at 4.20 hrs., a few days after receiving a phone call from Pope Francis, clasping a rosary in his hands.