BEDMAR, ALPHONSO DELLA CUEVA, MARQUIS of (1572-1655), Spanish diplomatist, became ambassador to the re public of Venice in 1607. When Bedmar took up this appointment, Venice had just concluded an alliance with France, Switzerland and the Netherlands, to counterbalance the power of Spain. As sisted by the duke of Ossuna, viceroy of Naples, Bedmar formed a plan to bring the city into the power of Spain. The plot, fixed for Ascension Day, 1618, was discovered and Bedmar left Venice. It has sometimes been suggested that the details of the plot existed only in the minds of the Venetian senators, and that its disclosure was a ruse to get rid of Bedmar, who was certainly intriguing against Venice. In 1622 Bedmar was made a cardinal, and soon afterwards became bishop of Oviedo, a position which he retained until his death, which occurred at Oviedo on Aug. 2, 1655. The authorship of an anonymous work, Squitinio della liberty Veneta, published at Mirandola in 1612, has been attrib uted to him.
See C. V. de Saint-Real, Oeuvres, tome iv. (1745) ; P. J. Grosley, Discussion historique et critique sur la conjuration de Venise (1756) ; P. A. N. B. Daru, Histoire de la republique de Venise (1853) ; A. Baschet, Histoire de la chancellerie secrete a Venise (187o) .