Inquisition, Conversion, and Foreigners in Baroque Rome (Catholic Christendom, 1300-1700) 900442265X, 9789004422650

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Inquisition, Conversion, and Foreigners in Baroque Rome

© koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2020 | doi:10.1163/9789004422667_001

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Catholic Christendom, 1300–1700 Series Editors Giorgio Caravale, Roma Tre University Ralph Keen, University of Illinois at Chicago J. Christopher Warner, Le Moyne College, Syracuse

The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/cac





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Inquisition, Conversion, and Foreigners in Baroque Rome By

Irene Fosi Translated by

Giuseppe Bruno-Chomin

LEIDEN | BOSTON

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The translation of this book has been funded by SEPS – SEGRETARIATO EUROPEO PER LE PUBBLICAZIONI SCIENTIFICHE.

Via Val d’Aposa 7 – 40123 Bologna – Italy [email protected] – www.seps.it This book has been translated thanks to a translation grant awarded by the Dipartimento di Lettere, Arti e Scienze Sociali (DiLASS), Università degli Studi “G, d’Annunzio” di Chieti-Pescara. Volume pubblicato con il contributo del Dipartimento di Lettere, Arti e Scienze Sociali, Università degli Studi “G, d’Annunzio” di Chieti-Pescara. Cover illustration: © Archivio Apostolico Vaticano. Original title: Convertire lo straniero. Forestieri e Inquisizione a Roma in età moderna. Collana: La corte dei papi, 21 (Viella Libreria Editrice). ISBN: 9788883346422 Copyright ©2011 The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available online at http://catalog.loc.gov LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2020000526 Typeface for the Latin, Greek, and Cyrillic scripts: “Brill”. See and download: brill.com/brill-typeface. issn 2468-4279 isbn 978-90-04-42265-0 (hardback) isbn 978-90-04-42266-7 (e-book) Copyright 2020 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands. Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Brill Hes & De Graaf, Brill Nijhoff, Brill Rodopi, Brill Sense, Hotei Publishing, mentis Verlag, Verlag Ferdinand Schöningh and Wilhelm Fink Verlag. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Koninklijke Brill NV provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910, Danvers, MA 01923, USA. Fees are subject to change. This book is printed on acid-free paper and produced in a sustainable manner.

Contents Contents

Contents Introduction. Winds of the North 1 1 Rome, a Patria Comune? 13 1 Rules and Procedures: Defining the Foreigner 13 2 Religious Identity 19 3 Protection, Integration, Exclusion: National Confraternities, Hospices and Colleges 27 4 Conversions and Reconquests: The Venerable English College in the Late Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries 33 2 Not Only Pilgrims: Reception and Conversion 43 1 Conversion and the Holy Years 43 2 Abjuring Heresy and Creating a New Identity 54 3 Clement VIII’s “Womb of Paternal Compassion” 60 4 Rome, a Den of Spies 66 3 Cristoforo Gaspare Fischer: a Goldsmith, his Inheritance and the Inquisition 71 1 Cristoforo “Piscator aurifex in Urbe” 71 2 Between Nuremberg and Rome 76 3 Lengthy Negotiations and Powerful Intermediaries 80 4 Johannes Faber, “One of Italy’s Seven Sages” 85 1 Johannes Faber’s Roman Career 85 2 “Acquiring the Souls of Others” 93 3 Friends and Compatriots 95 4 Echoes of War 100 5 A Dubious Reputation 103 5 Guillaume Reboul: a Troublesome Convert 107 1 A Restless Pamphleteer 107 2 Rivalry and “loathing” 113 3 Between Paris and Rome 118 6 Unsettling Mobility: Foreign Heretics in Italy 124 1 The Inquisitor’s Doubts 124 2 Merchants in the Duchies of Mantua and Savoy 133

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Contents

3 At the Border of the Papal States 139 4 From Leghorn to Florence by Way of Siena 141 5 Naples: a Port City 146 7 Between Intransigence and Tolerance 150 1 Alexander VII: New Conversion Politics 150 2 Difficult Control 156 3 A Cultural Conversion Project 164 4 The Heretic’s Language 173 8 Petitions, Enclosures, Burials 179 1 Petitions and Intermediaries 179 2 Enclosing: the Ospizio Apostolico dei Convertendi 189 3 Burials 200 4 Onward to the Eighteenth Century 208 5 Exiled Princes, Traveling Princes 211 Conclusion 223 Bibliography 227 Index 253

Introduction. from the North Introduction. Winds of Winds the North

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Introduction. Winds of the North From the North blow hostile and menacing winds. These were the words inscribed at the base of a fresco by Pomarancio, in the Vatican’s Tower of the Winds, depicting the northern gales.1 As is well known, Alexander VII (165567) ordered the biblically evocative epigraph2 to be hidden to avoid offending Christina of Sweden (1626-89), a recent convert to Catholicism and guest in the tower apartment, at the outset of her stay in Rome. Yet the pope’s gesture cannot be interpreted only as one of mere courtesy towards Gustav Adolf’s ­daughter. In fact, it is deeply symbolic and indicative of a desire to set aside fear-driven hostility, real or imagined, vis-à-vis a faraway Europe tainted by heresy, the contagion of which was relentlessly spreading and threatening to contaminate the entire Catholic Church, including the seat of its head. Unlike his predecessors and other leading members of the curia, Fabio Chigi was well acquainted with that Europe. During his papacy (1655-1667) there emerged a new political approach of “caresses and courtesy” (carezze e cortesie) towards those arriving in Rome from the North, concurrent with an attempt to facilitate conciliation. From Rome he would seek to establish dialogue between the North and South. But what took place beforehand? And how did the Roman authorities view those who, for different reasons, relocated to the Eternal City, the Papal States, and to other areas of the peninsula, from the northern regions steeped in heresy? The protagonists of the following pages are the foreigners, the ultramontani or oltramontani, “those who hail from beyond the Alps,” as they were often referred to by bishops and inquisitors in their letters to the Holy Office. These were individuals directly and indirectly involved with the Roman confraternities that monitored orthodoxy and operated as intermediaries between faraway social contexts, which were diverse and generally hostile. In the early centuries of the modern age, the oltramontano category was widely ­interpreted by bishops, inquisitors and priests in Rome, throughout Italy, and everywhere inquisitorial surveillance was in force. This category was broad and ambiguous yet always derogatory and synonymous with “heretic” and “enemy.”3 Thus 1 “Ab Aquilone pandetur omne malum.” The fresco, inspired by Egnazio Danti’s Anemografia (Bologna: Giovanni Rossi, 1580), is the work of Nicolò Circignani, known as Pomarancio, who had painted other pieces in the tower’s papal apartment as well. On the significance of this painting cycle, see Nicola Courtright, The Papacy and Art of Reform (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003). 2 Ger. 1, 14. 3 On the term’s semantic evolution, see Heribert Raab, “Zur Geschichte und Bedeutung des Schlagwortes ‘Ultramontani’ im 18. und frühen 19. Jahrhundert,” in Reich und Kirche in der frühen Neuzeit. Ausgewählte Aufsätze (Fribourg: Univesitätverlag, 1989), 461-475. © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2020 | doi:10.1163/9789004422667_002

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there was a need to prove whether the oltramontano foreigner was to be automatically classified as a heretic. And, as we shall see, the methods employed were generally complicated and seldom effective. The world from which these foreigners hailed was treacherous and its boundaries were often undefined and instilled fear. For the Roman Church, these territories had proven difficult to reclaim, marked by heresy, which was regarded as an infection whose irresistible vectors – foreign travelers, merchants, artists, vagabonds and phony pilgrims – were being deviously disseminated. Letters arriving at the Roman Inquisition, from a Europe lacerated by political and religious conflicts – like those sent from the Inquisition to bishops, nuncios and vicars – employed medical terms and metaphors in seeking a surefire defense against enemies who, despite the restrictive papal bulls, had infiltrated society with their wares – mainly books – and detrimental ideas (idee perniciosissime). Between the late-sixteenth and mid-seventeenth centuries, a uniform vision, monolithic and unyielding in its negativity, serves as the backdrop to the letters of those who, in Rome, looked to the world beyond the Alps. The austerity of the institutions, and traditionalism of the Church and States, clashed with a torrent of diverse and elusive individuals who could not be easily governed. This multifaceted reality was in constant flux and shaped by issues arising from the inevitable daily contact with foreigners arriving in Italian cities. Once again, theory and practice were speaking different languages and would only come to be modified and integrated later on, and not without difficulty. Since the Middle Ages, and especially during the papacy of Martin V (141731), the migration, mobility and stable or transient presence of foreigners remained consistent until the eighteenth century, even in Rome. By this time most of the families registered in the parish records, housed at the Archives of the Vicariate of Rome, were of Roman origin. Thus a distinctive characteristic of the city had been upended, one disdainfully emphasized by Marcello Alberini who, following the Sack of Rome, wrote in his Diario that, “the minority of the inhabitants are Roman, for here all foreigners take refuge, as if it were a common world residence.”4 Yet, while the presence of foreigners, from the late Middle Ages to the tragic events of 1527, has been considered with respect to business and economy, less attention has been paid to their presence in the second half of the sixteenth century. The immigration and assimilation of people from other parts of the peninsula, attracted to the city, curia, court and 4 This statement, repeatedly cited by those who study the presence of foreigners in Rome during the sixteenth century, is found in the introduction of Anna Esposito’s essay, “I ‘forenses’ a Roma nell’età del Rinascimento: aspetti e problemi di una presenza ‘atipica’,” in Dentro la città. Stranieri e realtà urbane nell’Europa dei secoli XII-XVI, ed. Gabriella Rossetti (Naples: GISEM, 1989), 177-190.

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prospect of employment, has instead been studied in a more detailed manner. We know very little about “those who hail from beyond the mountains,” as if the Sack of Rome (1527) had caused a decisive split between the Eternal City and the rest of Europe. In many studies on the presence of foreigners in Rome, during the Middle Ages and Modern Era, the oltramontani continue to appear nebulously linked by a common denominator. As such, their places of origin, religious affiliations, employment and integration into the “nations” scattered throughout Roman society are disregarded. The dramatic events of 1527 altered the demography of many foreign communities causing artists, artisans and scholars to flee to other Italian States. Very soon thereafter, those suspected of heresy would also escape the city and seek refuge in Northern Europe. In the second half of the sixteenth century religious identity, characterized by a strong denominational resolve, became a crucial factor in determining a foreigner’s status. Those who failed to recognize the spiritual authority of the Roman Church were singled out as enemies. Yet it is difficult to quantitatively prove if, after the Reformation, there was a rupture in the migration of oltramontani to Rome. It is also difficult to determine how their presence in the Church’s capital was negotiated and whether the tradition of studying in the peninsula’s well-known universities truly fell out of favor. Students, merchants, artists, men of science and letters, and “curious” individuals – an ambiguous category negatively perceived by the authorities5 – would flock to the abhorrent seat of the papists, to the Babylon, whose image was widespread in antiCatholic propaganda.6 But before the Grand Tour became a key component in the education of young nobles, princes, wealthy merchants and aspiring artists, how many foreigners came to Rome, either to visit or live permanently?7 What level of social integration was achieved and what bonds were formed with compatriots already present in the city and curia? To come to Rome, visit, settle down, work and study, was conversion truly necessary, or was it possible 5 See Justin Stagl, A History of Curiosity: The Theory of Travel 1550-1800 (London: Routledge, 2012). 6 Robert W. Scribner, For the Sake of Simple Folk: Popular Propaganda for the German Reformation (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1994); Adam Morton. ‘Punir le pape: honte, satire et action performative dans la polémique anticatholique anglaise au temps de la Réforme’ in Usages et stratégies polémiques en Europe au temps de l’humanisme du XIV au milieu du XVII siècle, Marie Bouhaïk-Gironès, Tatiana Baranova & Nahalie Szcech eds.  (Berne: Peter Lang, 2016, 105-121.). 7 Bibliography on the topic of travel is abundant. For the European context, see the essays in Grand Tour. Adeliges Reisen und europäische Kultur vom 14. bis zum 18. Jahrhundert, ed. Werner Paravicini and Rainer Babel (Ostfinldern: Thorbecke, 2005); Gerrit Verhoeven, Europe within the Reach. Netherlandish travellers on the Grand Tour and Beyond (1585-1750) (Boston-Leiden: Brill, 2015); Beyond the Grand Tour. Northern Metropolises and the Early Modern Travel Behaviour, ed. Sarah Goldsmith, Rosemary Sweet, Gerrit Verhoeven (New York-London: Routledge 2017), especially the introduction and the updated bibliography.

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to maintain one’s own religion through the prudent practice of Nicodemism? What was the rapport between these foreign “heretics” and the general population? How important were local relations, friendships, family and work in enabling assimilation, or in persecuting heretics and reporting them to the Inquisition? Did the average person perceive dogmatic differences or did they, with perhaps ignorance and indifference, form relationships with foreign “heretics” solely on the basis of their behavior and personality? And was conversion, whether willingly undertaken or forced, successful in integrating foreigners into the host society, or did their condition always remain liminal and precarious? Many papal regulations were aimed at isolating heretics in Rome and the peninsula. Italians were forbidden from traveling to regions infected by heresy and from engaging with the inhabitants of such territories. But were these regulations actually heeded? More importantly, were the central and peripheral systems of control capable of verifying a foreigner’s identity and religious affiliation if they were considered suspicious? There are many questions and not all can be adequately answered by the historical sources alone. The papal politics of “ecclesiastic policing” would have undoubtedly led to the practice of Nicodemism: to superficially assimilate, camouflage, avoid scandal, feign professing the Catholic faith, and be accepted in Rome, while the Inquisition was in full force.8 In the past few years, the topic of conversion has stimulated thoughts on the individual and collective significance of changing religious faith, assuming new identities, and the dualism and plurality of religion as essential elements in the history of most modern European States.9 Integration and otherness, 8 9

Peter Schmidt, “L’inquisizione e gli stranieri,” in L’Inquisizione e gli storici: un cantiere aperto (Rome: Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, 2000), 365-372. Among the studies on this topic, see La Tolérance, ed. Guy Saupin (Rennes: Presses Universitaires de Rennes, 1999); Friedrich Niewöhner, Konversionen im Mittelalter und in der Frühneuzeit (Georg Olms, 1999); Union-Konversion-Toleranz. Dimensionen der ­Annäherung zwischen den christlichen Konfessionen im 17. und 18. Jahrhundert, ed. Heinz D ­ uchhardt and Gerhard May (Mainz: von Zabern, 2000). For a sociological, anthropological and psychological perspective, see Religiöse Konversion. Systematische und fallorientierte Studien in soziologischer Perspektive, ed. Hubert Knoblau, Volkard Krech, Monika Wohlrab-Sahr (Konstanz: UVK, 1998); Themenschwerpunkt; Konversionen ed. Ute Luig (Köln: Böhlau, 2007); La conversion religieuse. Analyse psicologiques; Religiöse Konversion, ed. Pierre-Yves Brandt and Claude-Alexandre Fournier (Geneva: Labor et Fides, 2009); Duane Corpis, The Geography of Religious Conversion. Crossing the Boundaries of Belief in Southern Germany. 1648-1800 (Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, New York University, 2001); Inter­konfessionalitätTranskonfessionalität-binnenkonfessionelle Pluralität. Neue Forschungen zur Konfessiona­ lisierungsthese, ed. Kaspar von Greyerz, Manfred Jakubowski-Tiessen, Thomas Kaufmann and Hartmut Lehmann (Gütersloh: Gütersloher Verlagshaus, 2003). An ample critical treat­ment of the recent historiographical positions on the topic of conversion in the

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social and religious marginalization, and political propaganda were central points of reflection with regard to phenomena no longer reducible to a mere matter of religion or denomination. The extensive and thorough attention that German historiography has recently given to the topic of conversion emerges in response to the categories of confessionalization and conditioning, which have long dominated, ratified, and perhaps even blurred, the multi­ faceted r­ eality of the religious experience: contacts, interdenominational relations and exchanges. Unlike transitions between the larger monotheistic religions, conversions to Catholicism, by those who followed in the footsteps of sixteenth century reformers, occurred during a precise period, mainly the ­sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and within specific geographic locations, namely Northern and Southern Europe.10 This brought into both conflict and

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modern age can be found in the essay by Kim Siebenhüner, “Glaubenswechsel,” in der Frühen Neuzeit. Chancen und Tendenzen einer historischen Konversionsforschung,” Zeitschrift für Historische Forschung 34 (2007): 243-272; ead., “Conversion, Mobilit and the Roman Inquisition in Italy around 1600,” Past & Present 200 (2008): 5-35; for an overall analysis of the issue, see Konversion und Konfession in der Frühen Neuzeit, ed. Ute LotzHeumann, Jan F. Mißfelder and Matthias Pohlig (Gütersloh: Gütersloher Verlagshaus, 2007); on the perception of denominational boundaries: Keith P. Luria, Sacred Boundaries: Religious Coexistence and Conflict in Early Modern France (Washington, DC: The Catholic University of America Press, 2005); Benjamin J. Kaplan, Divided by Faith: Religious Conflict and the Practice of Toleration in Early Modern Europe (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2007). On stories of conversion, Bernd Ulmer, “Konversionserzählungen als rekonstruktive Gattung. Erzälische Mittel und Strategien bei der Rekonstruktion eines Bekehrungserlebnisses,” Zeitschrift für Soziologie 14, no.1 (1998): 19-133. Irene Fosi, “Conversion and Autobiography: Telling Tales before the Roman Inquisition,” Journal of Early Modern History 17 (2013): 437-456; and also Ines Peper, Konversionen in Umkreis des Wiener Hofes um 1700 (Wien-München: Oldenburg-Böhlau, 2010), and the bibliography cited (pp. 253280); La conversion religieuse. Analyse psychologiques, anthropologiques et soiologiques, ed. Pierre-Yves Brandt and Claude-Alexandre Fournier (Geneva: Labor et Fides, 2009); Adelisa Malena, “Introduzione”, in “Racconti di conversione e relazioni di genere in età moderna”, in “Conversioni”, ed. Giulia Calvi and Adelisa Malena, Genesis, special issue VI (2007): 5-12; Les modes de la conversion confessionelle à l’Époque moderne. Autobiographie, altérité et construction des identités religieuses, ed. Maria-Cristina Pitassi and ­Daniela Solfaroli Camillocci (Florence: Olschki, 2010) and in particular the introduction by Solfaroli Camillocci, pp. VII-XXVIII; Peter A. Mazur, Conversion to Catholicism in Early Modern Italy (New York-London: Routledge, 2016); Conversions. Gender and religious change in early modern Europe, ed. Simon Ditchfield and Helen Smith (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2017). Konversionen zum Katholizismus in der Frühen Neuzeit: Europäische und globale Perspektiven, ed. Wolfgang Behringer, Eric-Oliver Mader, Justus Nipperdey (Münster: Lit Verlag, 2019). Dedicated to these particular topics are Conversioni nel Mediterraneo, ed. Anna Foa, ­Lucetta Scaraffia, monographic issue of “Dimensioni e problemi della ricerca storica,” 2 (1996) and the monographic section “Conversions religieuses” in Annales HSS 54 (1999): 805-944.

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contact worlds, cultures, and sensitivities that were not only religious or ­denominational but once united and now enemies torn apart. The rapport with foreign heretics stemmed from religious tensions that gave rise to the creation and circulation of topoi, prejudices and suppositions which became part of the collective consciousness of the countries of those who decided to abandon their faith. Yet, in time, religious conversions also fostered explicit and implicit cultural integration, exchange, contamination, and dialogue, progressing from a kind of pragmatic willingness to rub along to tolerance and occasionally to intolerance.11 The conversion of foreigners from European countries infected by heresy – Germans, Flemings, Englishmen and French Huguenots – which had proven to be politically and propagandistically effective in seventeenth and eighteenth century Rome, could not typically rely on baptism as the solemn and sacramental moment of the religious transition.12 This was a life-altering event which provided the baptized person with a new name, as in the case of Jews and Muslims. Heretics who converted were treated like prodigal sons and lovingly welcomed and nourished in the home of their father, the sole guardian of the true faith. The following pages are dedicated to the discussion of the closely related themes of foreign heretics and conversion. Members of this diverse group included merchants, anonymous or “ambiguous” travelers deemed marginal and dangerous, scientists, nobles, and even princes, to name a few of the many figures that appear in the historical sources. In Rome of the late-sixteenth to eighteenth centuries the conversion of foreigners emerges as both a concrete and adaptable element, decisive and ancillary, subject to, and conditioned by, the surrounding political context. And it was influenced not only by Roman politics but also by those of Europe, as well as by the views each pontiff held regarding heresy and the upholding of order in the city. Throughout this broad 11

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Kenneth Mills and Anthony Grafton insist upon the concept of cultural contamination resulting from conversions and maintain that full conversion is not possible; see Kenneth Mills and Anthony Grafton, “Introduction,” Conversion: Old Worlds and New (New York: University of Rochester Press, 2003), IX-XVII. On occasion, a second baptism could be performed if doubts were raised regarding the “correctness” of the sacramental formulas recited by the “heretic” minister or the water used. ACDF, SO, St.St. M 6-r, for example, contains many instances of secondary baptisms also in the case of Protestant conversions between 1613 and 1765. On the topic, see the essays in Administrer les sacrements en Europe et au nouveau monde: la curie romaine et les Dubia circa Sacramenta, ed. by Paolo Broggio, Charlotte Castenau-L’Estoile, Giovanni Pizzorusso, “Mélanges de l’École française de Rome. Italie et Méditerranée” 121 (2009): 5-217; Politiche sacramentali tra Vecchi e Nuovi Mondi ed. by Maria Teresa Fattori, special issue “Cristianesimo nella storia” 31 (2010).

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period of time, papal politics were marked by oscillations between repression and receptivity, persuasion and condemnation. The array of historical sources that enabled the undertaking of this research has been enriched by the opening of the central archive of the Roman Holy Office. This has led to a deeper consideration of aspects related to the presence of oltramontani heretics in Rome between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries. It has permitted a study of the Inquisition’s repressive power and of the control it wielded over foreigners suspected of disseminating reformed doctrines among the Roman population. Indeed, this was an offense no less grave than referring to official ceremonies as superstitious and deriding the rites and clergy of the Catholic Church. Thanks to the records of the Tribunal of the Roman Inquisition it is possible to trace its repressive actions, the progressive moderation of its persecutory program, and the related reactions and contradictions. The inability to prevent foreigners from coming to Rome, and to avoid contact with them, gave rise to suspicion and a missionary-like approach, not limited to the Holy Years, aimed at changing a heretic’s life, religion, mentality and culture – all of the elements which made up their identity. The wealth of sources – decrees, correspondence, memorials, vows, petitions, papal bulls, constitutions and fragmented traces of seventeenth century congregations – provides a “Roman” and central perspective of the continuous exchange, contrasts, and often conflicts that occurred within the local communities. The timespan considered here, 1580-1750, was chosen for several reasons. From the beginning of the seventeenth century, and especially during the pontificate of Clement VIII (1592-1605), the Roman congregations, the papal court, and some religious orders understood that conversion was often a means of eluding the repressive inquisitorial and parochial system. It was tantamount to an act of camouflage in order to survive in Rome and in territories controlled by the Tribunal of the Inquisition. In the Eternal City of the seventeenth century there developed a need to completely transform those who had abandoned their error. It was therefore necessary to adopt a persuasive strategy requiring tireless and meticulous work by trained individuals armed with the proper tools: a knowledge of the language, culture, errors and negative imagery that had influenced and distorted the perception of Italy, Rome and the Papacy. But these tools, and languages in particular, were neither easily acquired nor adequately employed. The conversion strategy in Rome mirrored post-Tridentine dogmatic concepts and was directly linked to the larger program which, from the end of the sixteenth century, focused on reconquering European territories that had fallen into heretic hands. In 1568, during the ­papacy of Pius V (1566-1572), a congregation called the Congregatio germanica

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was established “on the manner of reducing ultramontani heretics.” Active in this congregation were high-ranking members of the Society of Jesus, like Peter Canisius, and cardinals who had direct knowledge of the religious discords the Reformation had caused in the territories of the Holy Roman Empire. However, another problem continued to weigh upon the Roman authorities. Converts could not become impoverished and should not begin their new life while longing for that which they had left behind. They should not curse the unfulfilled promises of those who had persuaded them to change their faith, only to abandon them “naked and hungry” (nudus et famelicus) to be mocked by their former coreligionists. Those who embraced the Catholic faith often left their homeland, property and possessions for an uncertain future in a foreign land. Moreover, they might even be persecuted or despised if ever they chose to return to their place of origin, though this was more common in the case of nobles who owned property and were prominent and respected members of their societies. Their destitution consequent of their conversion would have proven scandalous for everyone, Catholics and “heretics” alike. Thus financially looking after the converts did not simply mean ensuring that an already sizeable number of mendicants did not continue to grow. Rather, it meant avoiding the dishonor that the impoverishment of neo-Catholics would have inevitably brought upon the Church. During the seventeenth century all of the efforts made in Rome were geared towards this goal and were carried out by members of religious orders – particularly the Oratorians – and institutions like the Holy Office, the Congregation “de Propaganda Fide” and the Congregation de iis qui sponte ad fidem veniunt, (i.e. a congregation for those who voluntarily appear before the authorities to declare their heretical opinions) founded by Giovanni Giovenale Ancina in 1600. These initiatives became institutionalized and better regulated in 1673 with the establishment of the Ospizio dei Convertendi. This institution, which itself represented the end of a lengthy process, emerged during a time when new and effective solutions were being sought for vagrancy and beggary in Rome. It is therefore no surprise that the majority of the Convertendi’s guests were members of the lower classes. The conversion of nobles and princes, if and when it occurred, would be quite different, especially in the late seventeenth century and following. These differing conversion politics, which were particular to Rome and based on social class, are features of a larger picture that bears witness to the progressive drawing apart of the city from the papal court, the latter of which “offered” ceremonies, rituals and spectacles to important visitors, countless foreigners and impoverished residents. In the following century, the Roman model would influence the political approach

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adopted by the Habsburg court for financially assisting Catholic converts.13 The strategies used for heretic foreigners also needed to send a clear message to those living in heresy-infected territories. “Roman” conversions would in fact become a recurring propaganda motif to support the work of nuncios, bishops and the religious orders. And even greater value was given to the conversions of nobles, princes and heretic preachers (predicanti heretici), which symbolized a cultural victory for the Roman Church and its ministers. New converts were surrounded by determined intermediaries operating between Rome and Europe. In some cases, these men had also abandoned their error and embraced the Catholic faith. Often, they entered the papal court, and this was particularly true in the case of noblemen, intellectuals and artists. The Barberini librarian, Lukas Holste, became an inarguable point of reference in Rome for the many Germans who converted to Catholicism between 1627 and 1661, and he maintained contact and relationships with over thirty of them.14 Like Holste and those before him, other religious and lay figures played important roles of communication and mediation between converted heretics, the city and the court. The work of Johannes Faber, the physician and papal herbalist, was similarly important, albeit sometimes controversial. Typical elements of courtly life, such as patronage and client networks, became applicable to the practice of conversion. In the papal city, these aided in propagating the maternal and missionary-like image of the Church on the now multidenominational European scene. However, conversion and the monitoring of foreigners was not limited to Rome but instead permeated all of Europe. On the one hand, this gave rise to polemical and evangelical literature which cultivated a negative image of the Papacy with its coercive tools. On the other, numerous Catholic apologetic works – like news and conversion stories – refashioned the maternal, safe and welcoming qualities of the universal Church, ready to receive all those willing to return to her. These powerful images, through the topos of conversion, were expressed in a deeper and more developed theological elaboration. The papal court rewarded those who turned from heresy with patronage and favors, irrespective of the sincerity of their decision. Some were given positions in the curia along with benefices, stipends and canonries in the 13

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Ines Peper, Konversionen im Umkreis des Wiener Hofes um 1700 (Wien-Müchen: Oldenburg-Böhlau, 2010), 49-84. The author does not however underscore the connection between the institution of the “Konvertitenkasse” (1720) and the Congregation de iis qui sponte ad fidem veniunt, founded by Giovanni Giovenale Ancina in 1600. Markus Völkel, “Individuelle Konversion und die Rolle der “famiglia” Lukas Holstenius (1596-1661) und die deutschen Konvertiten im Umkreis der Kurie’, Quellen und Forschungen aus italienischen Archiven und Bibliotheken 67 (1987): 221-281.

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Empire’s Catholic churches. Others instead found protection at the Imperial and Italian courts. Given the close rapport between the Grand Dukes of Tuscany, the Roman Court, and certain cardinals, the Medici were especially ­inclined to provide aid, which often led to careers in the military. Once beneficiaries of papal compassion, neo-Catholics could easily access all forms of ­sociability available in baroque Roman life: theaters, feasts, ceremonies and aristocratic homes. Alongside the more notorious figures – who often left ­traces of their conversion experiences in diaries, letters, or récits de conversion – there appear anonymous individuals in search of employment, charity, a new identity and a better life. For both, conversion could provide a new life, yet in different ways. How could the Inquisition assist someone seeking a new identity? Could the choice of religion be a decisive step in this direction? In other words, can conversion, with its varied forms and specificities, be considered an element of personal development? Or is this view endorsed, at least in part, by what is found in the various historical sources? The conversion politics that developed in Rome at the beginning of the seventeenth century were a novelty that would evolve, particularly during the papacy of Alexander VII, via cultural and pedagogical tools and new languages. This culminated in an elaborate image of the city, the pope, and the Roman court, which was presented to all of Europe after the Peace of Westphalia (1648) had reduced political tension. During the late-seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the religious and cultural significance of conversion slowly began to change, along with the Roman elite’s awareness of the political value of the “important conversions” of princes, men of science and the Church, and their agency in European history. This will only come to term in the eighteenth century when the celebration and publicizing of important conversions – that of nobles, princes and artists – was replaced by a full understanding of the loss of the political relevance of such returns to the Catholic faith. While conversions continued to be desirable, well received and applauded, they were no longer imposed or obligatory as they had been before. Nonetheless, through the eighteenth century, papal authorities continued to be wary of the increasing number of foreigners arriving in the Eternal City. Any one of them could be carrying the well-known heretical germs, or else begin spreading new En­ lightenment, masonic and atheistic strains. Though attention was on high alert in the institutions that defended orthodoxy, their tools were obsolete and no ­longer capable of halting the flow of foreigners in the salons, theatres and aristocratic courts. In the streets, curiosity and more often indifference were displayed by the general population. Religion will therefore come to be con­ sidered a personal matter, free from political relevance and implications, and difficult to expend in the European political context. The institutions that facilitated the path to conversion, even if their medieval origins were linked to

Introduction. Winds of the North

11

pilgrimages to the Eternal City, will become indispensable and assume an important role in urban baroque Rome. National institutions like Santa Maria dell’Anima for the German nation, the Venerable English College and San Luigi dei Francesi for the French, undergo a transformation during the seventeenth century and become central points and traits d’union between the past and present, and between the new and former homelands of the converts who opted to stay in Rome. They were venues of control, as well as reception, and promoted an education in the new faith. And since they permitted foreigners to communicate in their own language, many conversions were initiated and monitored there, prior to being confirmed by the Holy Office and finally solemnized at St. Peter’s. This book seeks to reconstruct the conversion politics of Rome from the late-fifteenth to the mid-eighteenth centuries as they relate to foreigners arriving from European countries infected by heresy. Particular attention is paid to Germans, Englishmen, Flemings, French Huguenots and the religious orders that monitored orthodoxy. The perspective is a Roman, “urban” and central one that considers the internal changes that took place in the city’s national communities – especially the English and German ones – and their rapport with the compatriot “heretics” who knocked on their doors, either in search of help or simply to visit. The pervasive nature of the nationes that fostered exchanges, integration and relationships, irrespective of religious affiliation, becomes evident within the multiform Roman social context (Chapter 1). Foreigners who reconciled with the Catholic Church were afforded venues of ­reception and a congregation for converts, founded by Clement VIII, while echoes of this program reverberated throughout Reformation Europe (­Chapter 2). Thanks to the extraordinary wealth of historical sources, three exemplary stories of the controversial and taxing conversion experience are herein constructed in great detail. These three accounts are linked to Johannes Faber, a complex figure, highly discussed convert, and powerful liaison between his compatriots, Europe, Rome, the papal court and the German nation and institution (Chapters 3-5). The Inquisition’s concern with the influx of foreigners in Rome and in the peninsula’s main ports and cities, and the arduous task of monitoring and enforcing papal regulations, exploded with violence before the eyes of the Roman congregation, as is made plain in letters sent to the Tribunal of Faith (Chapter 6). Nonetheless, from the mid-seventeenth century, despite fear, suspicion and the inability to maintain control, the Papacy adopted a new political approach for foreign heretics. This was aimed at dispelling intolerance and affirming the Church’s strength, via cultural persuasion, thus drawing foreigners to the magnificence of Rome and the papal court (Chapter 7). The consequences of these politics were diverse, contradictory and delineated by clear social distinctions. In addition to the detention and

12

Introduction. Winds From The North

reeducation of foreign heretics with the founding of the Ospizio dei Convertendi (1673), which mainly served the lower classes, heretics would no longer be buried in dishonorable places. And they would come to be called “NonCatholic Christians” (Signori Cristiani non Cattolici), words which were densely charged with meaning. Meanwhile, beginning in the eighteenth century, nobles, princes – especially Germans – traveling in the fashion of the Grand Tour, or in exile like James Francis Edward Stuart, the so-called ‘Old Pretender’, (son of James II of England, James VII of Scotland, who lived in the Papal States from 1717 until his death in 1766), would surround themselves with h ­ eretic courtiers, artists and servants without arousing scandal, in a city whose general population was largely indifferent. Conversions nevertheless remained invaluable for the Papacy and were made much of in eighteenth-century ­Catholic propaganda, while the Enlightnment and Reformist winds of change, which eventuated in the French Revolution, were blowing ever stronger (Chapter 8). The other figures in these pages, often just names, left traces in the inquisitorial records, or récits de conversion, the documentary limitations of which are well known.15 Yet between the late-sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, there were also recipients and senders of news and correspondence, all of whom narrate the conversion experience, whether freely made or carried out by force. Given the “external” nature of these sources, and the fragmentation of this cultural and religious mosaic, historians cannot always get to the bottom of the matter. Since it is difficult to understand the individual motivations for conversion, one is limited to re-elaborating the setting in which it occurred. One must piece together the remnants of a complex, repressive regime, track its changes over time, and consider the relative doubts, indifference and progress toward initial and ambiguous degrees of tolerance. Acknowledgements I’m very grateful to Giorgio Caravale for agreeing to publish this book in the series Catholic Christendom, 1300-1700: the present edition is therefore fuller and richer than the Italian original (2011). I’m also grateful to the translator Giuseppe Bruno-Chomin, and to Simon Ditchfield and to Ana Paula Lloyd, who very generously read and reviewed the translation, giving precious suggestions and advice. Rome, August 2019 15

On the topic see the observations made by Adelisa Malena, “Introduzione. Racconti di conversione e relazioni di genere, 5-12.

Rome, a Patria Comune?

13

CHAPTER 1

Rome, a Patria Comune? 1

Rules and Procedures: Defining the Foreigner

By the end of the sixteenth century Rome’s population numbered around 100,000 and would remain more or less stable into the following century. This was true even after the plague of 1656-1657 which had instead devastated the cities of Genoa and Naples.1 During the early modern period, the city was the seat of a universal and cosmopolitan court, with a diverse urban demography, comprised of a cluster of nationes that lived simultaneously together yet apart.2 It was a mixed society unified, from the fifteenth century, by the steady presence of the pope, court and curia, and by its political, bureaucratic and artistic developments. One can speak of the Eternal City as a heterogeneous unit that recognized different groups, loyalties and identities. But in the first centuries of the modern age the meaning of these concepts would change, as would the demography of the foreign communities that made up this multiform urban society. Like other European and Italian centers, Rome faced issues arising from the presence of foreigners within her walls. The city would be characterized by her unique monarchy headed by a sovereign exerting both spiritual and temporal power. And, following the break of Christian unity in Europe, even the foreigners’ souls would be taken into account. Origin, language, and religious affiliation would become determining factors in establishing a category that was virtually always all encompassing, yet also fluid and generic. 1 On the topic, see Popolazione e società a roma dal Medioevo all’età contemporanea, ed. Eugenio Sonnino (Rome: Il Calamo, 1998); Eugenio Sonnino, “Cronache della peste a Roma. Notizie dal ghetto e lettere di Girolamo Gastaldi (1656-1657),” in “La Peste a Roma (1656-1657),” ed. Irene Fosi in Roma moderna e contemporanea, 14 no.1/3 (2006): 35-74 2 “Rome was an international city but hardly a melting pot. Even the Italian speaking Florentines were regarded as foreigners and founded their own church. Members of the German community shared a linguistic heritage which distinguished them from the Romans. Many of them knew Latin and I suspect that most of them spoke a crude Italian, but all of them spoke German. They clearly regarded this as their most important trait.” Clifford W. Maas, The German Community in Renaissance Rome 1378-1523 (Rome-Freiburg-Wien: Herder, 1981), 175. As is well known, no direct sources on the population existed until the first decade of the sixteenth century, Anna Esposito, “La città e i suoi abitanti” in Roma nel Rinascimento. Storia dell’antichità a oggi, ed. Antonio Pinelli (Rome-Bari: Laterza, 2001), 3-7. See the chapters dedicated to specific topics in The Companion book of Rome, ed. Pamela Jones, Barbara Wish, Simon Ditchfield (Boston-Leiden: Brill, 2019).

© Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2020 | doi:10.1163/9789004422667_003

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Chapter 1

But who were these foreigners and how was their condition shaped by the extant regulations? As has been observed, “the statutes and their amendments, though quite frequent […] are naturally the primary sources to consult in outlining the regulations that foreigners were required to obey in our cities.”3 Like other city laws of the late medieval and early modern Italy, the Roman statutes of 1580 “negatively” regarded the foreigner vis-à-vis the civis and, in this particular case, the civis romanus. These statutes would remain in force until the eighteenth century. Those who study this topic have found the legal definition of the foreigner to be lacking and often contradictory. It has become clear that, in the case of the Middle Ages, the juridical status of the forenses is based on citizenship, or on activity. The same holds true for the early modern period. In urban contexts, the foreigner’s station is conditioned by a “national” or professional category (e.g. mercatores), which consequently determines the foreigners’ legal status.4 An analysis of the statutes of Italian cities, from the late Middle Ages on, reveals a dual and contradictory definition of foreigners in comparison to members of the host society. On the one hand, the factors that excluded them on the basis of juridical incapacity become ratified and, on the other, regulations are established which become applicable to all residents. This legislation would favor the assimilation, monitoring and disciplining of those coming from outside, while attempting to oversee and control their r­ elationships and behavior.5 But within the varied urban contexts, work, sociability, solidarity and conflicts, though governed by codified rules, could be managed differently, were difficult to sanction, and subject to change based on external factors. The historiography on the presence of foreigners in Italian cities has long been more focused on the late Middle Ages and emphasized the economic and cultural consequences it had upon the different local contexts. Only recently study has been broadened to consider the wider spectrum of factors related to – and it does not seem hasty to reveal – issues arising from contemporaneous concerns. But let us return to the past and to the early modern age. The “negative” classification of foreigners has inspired research and reflection on the topic of citizenship, the philosophical and political definition of civitas, and the privileges and obligations associated with the civis status. Yet, with respect 3 Mario Ascheri, “Lo straniero nella legislazione statuaria e nella letteratura giuridica del TreQuattrocento: un primo approccio,” in Forestieri e stranieri nelle città basso-medievali (Florence: Salimbeni, 1988), 8. 4 Ibidem, 12. 5 Simona Feci, “Cambiare città, cambiare norme, cambiare le norme. Circolazione di uomini e donne e trasformazione delle regole in antico regime” in L’Italia delle migrazioni interne, ed. Angiolina Arru, Franco Ramella (Rome: Donzelli, 2003), 3-31.

Rome, a Patria Comune?

15

to the modern age, there soon emerged a conceptual and normative fluidity which has contributed to the “bewilderment” of historians who are often deceived in their attempt to study the past through modern categories. These complications frequently have resulted in an inconsistent and contradictory definition, linked to specific contexts, of the concept of citizenship and the procedures used by the institutions that assumed the right to grant it.6 From the late-sixteenth century there was a strong continuity of Roman Law in the Eternal City, reinforced by universal Catholic symbols and values. Citizenship, and the granting thereof, was occasionally used to unite the powers of the city magistrates and papal court, which were often in conflict.7 The 1580 revision of the 1519 statutes introduced numerous impedimenta aimed at limiting the conferral of citizenship and its benefits. This was an attempt, by civil and papal authorities, to exercise control over the foreign population residing in the city.8 And, with this goal in mind, the 1580 statutes established different categories: those born in the city, to a father who was a citizen, were considered cives ex origine and were entitled to rights in the city government. Cives ex privilegio were instead lay folk who, having satisfied the necessary requisites, had requested and obtained citizenship and now enjoyed the same rights as the former. Then there were the forenses, foreign laymen and clerics, who were excluded from all privileges granted to the cives. And lastly came the incolae, lay residents who had lived for centuries in the cities where they conducted their business. The incolae differed from the cives because they remained in the city either for work or by choice. They were free from government duties and obligations yet fell under the jurisdiction of the city magistrates and, like the cives, enjoyed more rights than the forenses. The social status of the incolae allowed for them to request citizenship. However, the Roman 6 As revealed by Simona Cerutti, Robert Descimon and Maarten Prak, “Premessa a Cittadinanze,” Quaderni Storici 89 (1995): 281-286; Simona Cerutti, Étrangers. Étude d’une condition d’incertitude dans une société d’Ancien Régime, (Paris: Bayard 2012). 7 Laurie Nussdorfer, Civic Politics in the Rome of Urban VIII (Princeton: Princeton UP, 1992); the topic is also discussed by Alessandra Camerano, “Senatore e Governatore. Due tribunali a confronto nella Roma del XVI secolo,” Roma moderna e contemporanea 5, no.1 (1997): 41-66. On the general topic of citizenship, see Pietro Costa, Civitas: storia della cittadinanza in Europa, I, Dalla civiltà comunale al Settecento (Rome-Bari: Laterza, 1999); with respect to nobility in Rome, see Elisabetta Mori, “Tot reges in urbe Roma quot cives’, Cittadinanza e nobiltà a Roma tra Cinque e Seicento,” Roma Moderna e Contemporanea 4, no. 2 (1996): 379-401. 8 An overview of the statutory regulations during this lengthy period of time is provided by Paola Pavan, “I fondamenti del potere: la legislazione statuaria del Comune di Roma dal XV secolo alla Restaurazione,” Roma moderna e contemporanea 4, no. 2 (1996): 317-385. On the attempts made by authorities to regulate citizenship, see Angiolina Arru, “Il prezzo della cittadinanza. Strategie di integrazione nella Roma pontificia,” Quaderni Storici 91 (1996): 157-172.

16

Chapter 1

statutes required them to possess “things” (roba), namely property and a residence, elements that would permit for them to be monitored and thus subject to the rules of conventional society.9 How aware were foreigners of their status and the restraints imposed upon them by the regulations? Even in the statutes of 1580 foreigners are “pejoratively” profiled as irregular residents who did not own property in the city. Consequently, this definition could automatically lead to their being viewed as marginal and dangerous.10 And this designation might even seem restrictive if limited only to the statutory law. But if we use the parameter of “modernity” to evaluate features of the civis and foreigner’s identities as opposites, we come to recognize the inherent “non-modernity.” In reality, the methods of social integration were restricted and only accessible through legal means. Attempts to understand the desire to integrate into a new city and sever ties with one’s homeland solely on the basis of citizenship requests presented to the Capitoline magistracies can also be misleading. These documents merely highlight the desire, and manner, of integration into the upper ranks of the diverse world of foreigners. For many, Rome was a pit stop on a migratory route that neither anticipated nor required the severing of ties with one’s place of origin. The connection to one’s “homeland” was always defended as an element of identity used to reinforce familial, economic and political strategies via networks which extended across two realities: that of one’s origin and that of one’s adopted homeland. The complexity of the legal concept of citizenship is made clear in the requests presented to the Capitoline magistracies, on both theoretical and practical levels. In the early modern age, and even in the Papal States, prior to acquiring citizenship it was necessary to have already lived like a citizen. The various categories aided in differentiating the new cives from residents who were devoid of privileges and from cives optimo iure.11 Yet citizenship was only one of many aspects of integration in Rome, and into other urban contexts, and, in many cases, it was not the most important. 9 10

11

Statuta Almae Urbis authoritate Gregorii XIII…cum glossis D.L. Galganetti, ex Typographia Reverendae Camerae Apostolicae, 1611, lib. I, Chap. II, Coll. 6-7. Marino Berengo has affirmed that, “in order to define foreigners within a society one must see if, on the one hand, he is the object of a specific regulation that permits for him certain faculties and delineates or else sanctions the extent of his rights; on the other, if he himself reclaims his origins and unassimilated manner of living.” Marino Berengo, L’Europa delle città. Il volto della società urbana europea tra Medioevo ed Età moderna (Turin: Einaudi, 1999), 560. Simona Feci, “Cambiare città, cambiare norme, cambiare le norme. Circolazione di uomini e donne e trasformazione delle regole in antico regime,” in L’Italia delle migrazioni interne, 12-14.

Rome, a Patria Comune?

17

But who were the foreigners in Rome? Though it may seem redundant, the strict legal statutes classified all non-Romans as foreigners. These were in­ dividuals from other parts of the Papal States, other States in the peninsula, from Europe or from the shores of the Mediterranean. Other factors naturally aided in defining the differences between foreigners: their social class, profession (or lack of employment), possession of property, behavior (which could po­tentially be dangerous), connections and relations with individuals and ­institutions in the city, as well as their religious identity. Parallel to the sixteenth-century legal definition, there emerged a uniform image of a context which was both broad and generic, ambiguous and all inclusive. It was a reality that interpreted differences in identity through language, customs and, after the Reformation, by religious affiliation. In addition to, and often in contrast with, the legal definition is the general population’s perception of the foreigner in the host society. However, it remains to be verified if this was in accord with the regulations, or if there was a deviation between theory and practice. In short, it must be determined if there were paths of exclusion/inclusion influenced by factors other than those related to the regulations. Whereas the statutes only provide a static legislative framework, the plethora of sources evoke further questions, and better assist us in understanding the presence of foreigners, and not only at a quantitative level. Legal documents are particularly revealing, especially those of the Tribunal of the Governor, which was the main body with criminal jurisdiction in both the District and in Rome. The Tribunal of the Senator was responsible for the civil and criminal cases of residents (incolae) and Roman citizens (cives). The civil matters of clerics and members of the curia were instead brought before the Auditor Camerae.12 Documents containing the depositions of those who fell into the hands of justice are both rich and captivating. And many foreigners indeed came before the authorities as clearly indicated by the requests for pardons or the reduction of fines. These sources, though mediated by court praxis, legal rhetoric, judges and notarial transcription, nonetheless depict a reality influenced by the presence of foreigners, their activities and the precarity of many of their lives, always teetering on the edge between law and transgression, lawful and illegal. Their presence, in the urban setting, is also evident in places of reception – hospitals, charity institutions, convents and churches – as well as 12

On the operation and purview of this Tribunal, see Irene Fosi, Papal Justice. Subjects and Courts in the Papal State, 1500-1700, trans. Thomas V. Cohen (Washington, DC: The Catholic University of America Press, 2011), 23-46; Andrea Cicerchia, Giuristi al servizio del papa. Il Tribunale dell’Auditor Camerae nella giustizia pontificia di età moderna (Vatican City: Archivio Apostolico Vaticano, 2016).

18

Chapter 1

in private homes and places of lodging.13 Yet in the legal documents and interrogations of the Roman civil and criminal tribunals there is frequent confusion regarding status and identity, both on the part of legal bodies and the foreigners themselves. For legal authorities, their condition was often considered an aggravating factor in crimes and marginalizing qualities were consequently ascribed to foreigners. It was their clothing and style, “he was dressed in ­‘Spanish fashion’ or ‘in French fashion’.” Their clothes, as affirmed by court ­witnesses, were often dirty, tattered and immediately revealed their “ambiguous” condition. Their demeanor and language, oftentimes incomprehensible, branded the foreigner as “other” and therefore dangerous in the eyes of the law. This was a common way of identifying accused members of the lower classes, like artisans, seasonal workers and artists, even for the demimonde which gravitated around the courts of cardinals and nobles. But the legal sources give rise to another question: what language did foreigners use to make themselves understood, avoid further incrimination and defend themselves from judges seeking a full confession and definitive proof of a crime? The legal proceedings are of little help since they are filtered through notarial jargon that re-elaborates and reproduces the testimonies made during trials. And since linguistic capabilities undoubtedly varied, one can imagine that individuals confronted with a language barrier resorted to gestures and improvisations, which could have invariably led to exclusion, and often condemnation. In addition to the criminal and civil documents there are equally informative parochial records, as well as other sources, related to the extensive jurisdiction of the Cardinal Vicar and his tribunal.14 These aid in understanding family structures, marriage strategies (occasionally involving endogamy), and the spatial dislocation of the community and of foreign families within the urban landscape.15 Until now, the vast number of notarial documents had

13 14

15

Also useful is the wealth of information provided by Mario Romani, Pellegrini e viaggiatori nell’economia di Roma dal 14 al 17 secolo (Milan: Vita e Pensiero, 1948). On the topic, see the essays in Popolazione e società a Roma. On the marriage strategies of foreigners in Rome, see Domenico Rocciolo, “Roma patria di tutti. I matrimoni degli immigrati fra identità cittadina e identità sociale (secc. XVI-XIX),” Annali del Dipartimento di Storia 4 (2008): 61-94; Benedetta Albani, “Sposarsi a Roma dopo il Concilio di Trento. Matrimonio e comunità forestiere attraverso le ‘posizioni matrimoniali’ dell’inizio del XVII secolo,” in Venire a Roma, restare a Roma. Forestieri e stranieri fra Quattro e Settecento ed. Alessandro Serra and Sara Cabibbo (Rome: Roma3 Press, 2017), 57-81. Particularly, see La città italiana e i luoghi degli stranieri, secoli XIV-XVIII, ed. Donatella Calabi and Paola Lanaro (Rome: Laterza, 1998) and Les étrangers dans la ville: minorités et espace urbain à l’époque moderne, ed. Jacques Bottin and Donatella Calabi (Paris: Maison Sciences de l’Homme, 1999).

Rome, a Patria Comune?

19

only allowed for narrowly focused research16 and discouraged a collaborative and wider ranging examination. Many sources remain to be investigated, including those on the presence of foreigners in Roman hospitals, healthcare centers, social venues, crossing points, but also in meeting places where contact was made with the host city, and where information was exchanged. Further research can also be done on the role of the cardinals’ courts, or on enrollment in the papal militia.17 Both will become long term or temporary solutions for many who abjured their heresy and decided to stay in Rome. Yet what remains above all to be investigated – and herein lie many difficulties – is the opaque and transient world of the travelers. These individuals seldom left traces except in their interaction with the numerous repressive and charitable institutions scattered throughout the early modern Roman scene. In this authoritarian yet multiform and complex context, what value did religious identity have for those who came to Rome, either to remain indefinitely or traverse on their way to other destinations? To live free of fear in the pope’s city, was conversion necessary, as prescribed by the strict papal constitutions and bulls, and used as propaganda by the widespread literature that discouraged travel to Italy, Rome and the Papal States? 2

Religious Identity

Beginning in the mid-sixteenth century, the religious identity of foreigners was also taken into consideration in Rome and in other Catholic States. Protection was needed from heretics and enemies of the true faith, and their entrance into Catholic territories was obstructed by papal constitutions and bulls. If the “bad plant” (la mala pianta) had managed to enter, the faithful were called upon to report its presence to the appropriate authorities: confessors, inquisitors and diocesans. Since they were baptized, and therefore under the Church’s jurisdiction, the Inquisition could assault heretics with a latae sententiae excommunication. Thus it was necessary for them to either distance themselves 16 17

On the topic, see Renata Ago, Alessandra Camerano, Marina D’Amelia, Emanuela Parisi, “I trenta notai capitolini: schedatura dei protocolli del 1645,” in Popolazione e società a Roma, 373-397. An examination of this sixteenth-century source has been undertaken by Pierre Hurtubise, “La presence des ‘étrangers’ à la cour de Rome dans la première moitié due XVI siècle,” in Forestieri e stranieri nelle città basso-medievali, 57-80, now in id., Tous le Chemins mènent à Rome. Arts de vivre et de réussir à la cour pontificale au XVIe siècle (Ottawa: Les presses de l’Université de Ottawa, 2009), 21-54. For an overview of the papal military system, see Giampiero Brunelli, Soldati del papa: politica militare e nobiltà nello Stato della Chiesa, 1560-1644 (Rome: Carocci, 2003).

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Chapter 1

or abjure their heresy. If they chose to live in error and remain in Catholic territories, they could expect to be detained by the inquisitorial tribunals. These principles were enshrined in Canon Law, contra haereses, which was validated and reaffirmed in 1568 by Pius V’s bull In Coena Domini and later evoked in Gregory XV’s constitution Romani Pontificis of 2 July 1622.18 Italians were forbidden from traveling to heresy infected regions and from maintaining relations of any kind with the inhabitants of such territories.19 The strict papal regulations became part of the inquisitorial arsenal and subsequent treatise writing, and were commented upon by Cesare Carena. He indicated, in a somewhat polemical tone, that thanks to some sovereigns having granted privileges, there were now innumerable heretic merchants and supporters in the peninsula. The border that was intended to be a protective barrier against the infection of heresy could only be crossed by those willing to convert. But in reality, by the seventeenth century, it was possible to retain one’s faith, in Rome and many Italian States, without fear of causing scandal. And scandal was, at any rate, short lived, variable and subject to compromise, political trends and religious conflicts.20 What took place in the pope’s city? The statutes clearly required that heretics be cast out and that their property be sequestered.21 The city law followed 18

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This evoked Clement VIII’s bull aimed “against heretics and their advocates residing, under any pretext, in the Italian territory and nearby islands” and, though frequently disregarded, reaffirmed, “moreover, we attentively resolve and decree to prevent the presence of heretics in the Italian territory, or nearby islands, whether for business or trade, or under any other pretext, or be granted permission to therein maintain a house or property, or reside or stay, so as to prohibit a further influx.” Thus the supporters of heretics within the peninsula were threatened with the same penalty in forma iuris notwithstanding ignorantia legis, as it was obligatory to publicly display the bull: Bullarum, XII, 708709. The bull fostered a correspondence, full of doubt and worries, between local inquisitors and the Holy Office, see infra, chapter 6, pp. 124-149. On this topic see Rita Mazzei, “Itinera Mercatorum”: circolazione di uomini e beni nell’Europa centro-orientale 1550-1650 (Lucca: Pacini-Fazzi, 1999). “Because sometimes these heretics come to Christian lands for reasons of trade, and this is permitted by sovereigns, and was as such, for a time, between our most powerful Spanish King and the King of England, so long as there is no threat to the Religion and Faith, unless there arose scandals, and, as per the law, then there is reason for them to be punished.” Cesare Carena, Tractatus de officio S.me Inquisitionis et modo procedendi in causis Fidei in tres partes divisus…, p. 2 tit. XVII, 6, (Bononiae: Typis Iacobi Monti, 1668), 223-224. He further added that whenever there was a scandal, the inquisitors needed to punish those involved, not for the heresy, but for the scandal itself, and they could proceed in this way if the permission to remain in the Catholic territory was not recognized by the pope or if they fell into the hands of the court prior to the granting of said permission. “Therefore, following the old constitution, we establish, with respect to heretics, those who believe them, welcome them, their supporters and defenders, whose property was

Rome, a Patria Comune?

21

the universal, papal one and reaffirmed a regulation that could be violated, and indeed often was. Foreigners arriving in Europe were attracted to the papal court, the potential to make money, learn a trade or make a fortune. But among them were also travelers and false pilgrims whose views had been distorted by anti-Roman propaganda. They were prepared to deride and denigrate all that took place in the pope’s city and disparage the traditions and customs of its residents. The papacy’s approach of ecclesiastical policing (polizia ecclesiastica) gave a forceful thrust in the direction of Nicodemism: the ability to superficially assimilate, camouflage, avoid scandal, feign professing the Catholic faith, and be accepted in Rome, even with the Inquisition in full swing.22 But were the central and secondary monitoring systems truly capable of verifying the identity and religion of foreigners suspected of heresy? It was not possible to impede travelers, students and merchants from entering the Eternal City and its numerous hotels, pubs and inns. Nevertheless, the Cardinal Vicar’s edicts were regularly repeated to “hosts, hoteliers, pub owners and others,” who benefited from the presence of foreigners and seasonal workers. With the nearing of each Holy Year, there was a tightening of control, but the prospect of making money impeded their cooperation, and not only in this one instance. The edicts ordered that neither women nor prostitutes be admitted to the inns. They also prohibited gambling, the display of lustful imagery and, in the event that a guest should fall ill, they obligated hoteliers to see that he confesses on at least the third day of his infirmity, even earlier if necessary, and report the said person to the parish priest, so that he might hear his confession and administer the other needed sacraments, under the penalty of one hundred scudi, and any other penalty deemed appropriate, as above, which shall be rigorously enforced.23

22

23

confiscated, are constantly warned of their activity, and every Senator, at the beginning of his term, officially warns of them, and makes public their activity and, moreover, affirms that they are enemies of the public and, as such, are to be hit with legal sanctions.” Statuta Almae Urbis, lib. I, chap. 2, p. 6. For a detailed description of the theoretical basis for the crime of heresy, see Francesco Beretta, Galilée devant le Tribunal de l’Inquisition. Une relecture des sources (Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, Université Fribourg, 1998, 93-162 and Peter Schmidt, “L’Inquisizione e gli stranieri,” in L’inquisizione e gli storici: un cantiere aperto (Rome: Bardi, 2000), 365-372; Peter Schmidt, “Fernhandel und Römische Inquisition,” Interkulturelles Management” im konfessionellen Zeitalter”, in Inquisition, Index, Zensur. Wissenkultur der Neuzeit im Widerstreit (Paderborn: Schöning, 2001), 105-120. ASVR, Bannimenta, 1619-1628, cc. 137v-138r.

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The role of parish priests became important, as reaffirmed by the Council of Trent, but was often disregarded due to the priests’ own lack of understanding. Indeed, they were repeatedly admonished by the vicarial authorities, especially in the neo-Tridentine climate of the mid-seventeenth century and were instructed to expose the “true” religious identity of those who had, until now, succeeded in hiding their heresy. This they were to accomplish by deciphering words, gestures and objects, even by means of violence.24 Parish priests would often provide the Vicar with lists of hotels and inns within their jurisdiction.25 The unreliability of innkeepers and hoteliers, who were prepared to justify the presence of foreigners in their establishments, caused Roman authorities to oblige proprietors to display the edicts in their rooms and explain their content to their patrons.26 The continual reprimands, by the Vicar and the Inquisition, serve as proof that this added imposition was not only disregarded but made the object of derision and scorn. Hotels were not, however, the only places in which ultramontani foreigners found lodging. Many families, single women, especially widows, and artisans rented rooms to foreigners. Private homes were much safer than hotels, which were transient venues and under the observation of inquisitorial spies. But homes could also become dangerous venues wherein infected concepts and ideas could be spread and transmitted to other “lodgers” and even to homeowners. These were simple folk, willing to talk and perhaps even accept assertions made by a refined, or seemingly erudite, foreigner. Their statements might even be supported by the authority of illegal books that had managed to slip through the luggage inspections. When, in 1682, they were again admonished by the Vicar for conducting inadequate inspections, some priests informed that, “after a diligent search of the parish to uncover heretic persons therein residing” they were satisfied to report that “thanks to the grace of God they found no indication of pestiferous seeds.”27 The Cardinal Vicar’s spirited call to investigate the presence of heretics came in response to the impossibility of monitoring foreigners, as well as the negligence of the parish priests. As we shall see, the new reception strategies, 24 25

26 27

On the topic, see Chapter 8. On 19 January 1628, for instance, Cardinal Millini ordered the pastors of S. Salvatore alle Coppelle, S. Lorenzo in Lucina, S. Celso e Giuliano, S. Giovanni dei Fiorentini, Madonna dell’Orto, S. Apollinare, Orfanelli, S. Maria del Popolo, S. Nicola degli Incoronati, and S. Maria in Trastevere to provide information on all of the inns located in their respective parishes, or else they would be fined 500 scudi in favor of the Apostolic Chamber. ASVR, Bannimenta 1674-1680, c. 12rv (15 December 1674). ASVR, Eretici, esorcisti, romiti e scuole di Roma, vol. 41 (1677-1704), 1r. Such as the priest of S. Maria della Pace.

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23

in the second half of the seventeenth century, included control procedures and inept policing solutions. This was bolstered by the Tribunal of the Inquisition’s demand to monitor the salons and houses for fear that “pestilent” books and irreverent, libertine and irreligious deliberations were being imported to Rome by the increasing number of foreigners. Some priests obeyed the Vicar’s requests and reported the presence of heretics at the inns and in the homes of families in their parish.28 The pastor of the parish of S. Celso and Giuliano, for instance, reported to the Holy Office the presence of a “button maker” (bottonaro) among the renters in a house: “Giorgio Gratio from Strasbourg, who states he does not believe in the authority of the pope and priests, along with many other heretical errors.” Conversely, in the parish of S. Salvatore, no reports appear to have been made for “Johannes Haj, a Calvinist tailor who lives in some rooms rented to Mister Gio. Coppon, a German, in the pastor’s house.”29 Scandals were caused less by religious affiliation than by the behavior of foreigners and a lack of collaboration between authorities who turned a blind eye to incendiary transgressions. In a late seventeenth century memorial, it was revealed that, “a Lutheran gentleman, by the name of Vinnigh, openly keeps a prostitute in his house near S. Giacomo degli Incurabili. He obtained permission from the Governor to ride in his carriage in the company of the prostitute, which is the cause of much scandal.”30 In the parish of S. Lorenzo in Damasco, “Federico Valdiman, a 34-year-old German heretic painter, has resided in an apartment in the home of Giuseppe Sangermano, the bookseller near Pasquino, adjacent to the Church of the Agonizzanti, from 1697 to the present day. He does not speak to Catholics, nor has he caused any scandals, but minds his own business.” In the opinion of the pastor, Friedrich Walldmann, he was an object lesson of how to live without converting and avoid scandal. And he was pleased to add that “he had done his due diligence and found no other heretic nor infidel in this parish.”31 The Vicar also received a list “of the Lutherans who were found in the parish of S. Lorenzo in Lucina.” Some had been living in the private homes of foreigners who were longtime residents of Rome, like the tailor Abramo Clut, who hosted two German gentlemen and their servants. Similarly, in the house of “Signor Carlo Bruni, a tailor next to the palazzo di Gaetani alli Condotti,” there lived two young Englishmen and a Scotsman with 28 29 30 31

Ibidem, cc. 18r-26v. Ibidem, c. 21r and 22r. ACDF, SO, St. St. M-4a, c. 575r. Ibidem, c. 27r. F. Walldmann was perhaps a member of the well-known family of Tirolese painters. Ulrich Thieme and Felix Becker, Allgemeines Lexicon der bildenden Künstler 35 (Leipzig: Seemann, 1942), 72-74.

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their servant and the now ever-present figure of the Hofmeister.32 On the part of ecclesiastical authorities there was an awareness of difficulty and of an inability to manage the complex situation, given the impossibility of impeding the increasing number of foreigners coming to Rome. Documents like the stati delle anime show artists from Northern Europe – Flemish, German and even French – living in inns (camere locande) or in houses of those coming from the same countries.33 Many of them were Protestant, “heretics”, as underlined in the register by the parish priests. As we know, some Dutch painters in 1623 had given rise to the famous Schildersbent (band of painters) which defined itself in open contrast with the official Roman guild of artists: the Accademia di San Luca. In the Schildersbent, whose members called themselves Bentvueghels (a band of birds), the Flemish language was used and the entrance to it was marked by a rite of initiation, which involved the adoration of Bacchus accompanied by full blown orgies. This ‘brotherhood’ was an explicit provocation to the control of orthodoxy in the center of Roman Catholicism. Although protests were raised against it and its practices, it continued to exist and to represent one of the many, often contrasting, cultural expressions which formed the scene that was Baroque Rome.34 But sometimes the unorthodox existence of an individual artist caught the attention of the Roman authorities and the custodians of orthodoxy and order. The inquisitors noted their presence and were vigilant in avoiding scandals, and not only those of orthodoxy, but also relating to ethics, morality and disorderly conduct in general. For decades their authority was subject to pressure and criticism emanating from the legal côté and from within the ecclesiastic hierarchy itself. Divergent opinions emerged during the trials of foreign artists who, due to their disorderly lifestyle and corrosive ideas, were viewed with suspicion by inquisitorial authorities. Below is one example among many. Giovanni Entlingher, a twenty-nine-year old from Brno and Catholic resident of Rome for two years, “trained in the art of painting,” was arrested by the 32 33

34

ACDF, SO, St. St. M 4-a, c. 25v. On the figure of the Hofmeister, see Elisabeth Garms Cornides, “Hofmeister auf Grand Tour,” in Grand Tour., 255-274. Alla ricerca di “Ghiongrat”. Studi sui libri parrocchiali romani (1600-1630), ed. Rossella Vodret (Rome: l’Erma di Bretschneider, 2011); Laura Bartoni, Le vie degli artisti: residenze e botteghe nella Roma barocca dai registri di Sant’Andrea delle Fratte, 1650-1699 (Roma: Edizioni Nuova Cultura, 2012). Cécile Michaud, Johan Heinrich Schönfeld: un peintre allemand du XVII e siècle en Italie (München: Martin Meidenbauer, 2006); Annike Lemoine, Sotto gli auspici di Bacco. La Roma dei bassifondi, da Caravaggio ai Bentvueghels, in I bassifondi del Barocco. La Roma del vizio e della miseria, Catalogo della mostra ed. Francesca Cappelletti-Annike Lemoine (Città di Castello: Officina Libraria, 2014), 146-147; Dalma Frascarelli, L’arte del dissenso. Pittura e libertinismi nell’Italia del Seicento (Turin: Einaudi, 2016).

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25

Holy Office after being denounced by three individuals: Domenico Auligech, a German sculpture student, Carlo Herant, a Bohemian student of civil law, and Bernardo Scilaneck, a Moravian cleric and student of theology. No fewer than nine witnesses, many of whom were German, testified before the court. According to some of the testimonies, he had been accused of many grave “propositions, some blasphemous and heretical, others scandalous and offensive to pious ears.”35 He was reported to have said that “the mass is the witchery of friars and priests and that, if he could, he would kill them all, including the pope.” And he refuted transubstantiation, “since it is not possible for God, who is so great, to conceal Himself in such a tiny thing […] and [He] cannot descend to Earth, from Heaven, at the command of a priest.” He negated the forgiveness of sins and that the Scriptures were inspired by God, and he instead affirmed that “the evangelists and prophets were men like our priests […], that miracles are an invention of the pope, priests and friars to deceive the simple minded.” In the painter’s view, everyone could be saved by their faith, “­whether Gentile, Calvinist or Lutheran, provided he satisfies his obligations.” He further claimed that “the current wars are not a punishment by God and that he would have enjoyed seeing this happen to the scum of Rome.” In the presence of a Lutheran, he is believed to have said that, “if he wanted to become Catholic, I would dissuade and impede him.” It was a common opinion, among his acquaintances and compatriots, that the artist – better known as an engraver – was “essentially a deist or pure materialist and scorner of sacred things.” In fact, he was accused of saying “that religion was created to impede men, that nature has taught us enough, that he acknowledged a God as its creator and there remains only nature, that he believed nothing taught by the Roman Church, that the doctrines are the invention of friars and priests, that he believed in one God, and nature, and considered all else to be fables.” Interrogated as to whether these blasphemous assertions were true, he cried and responded that they were the result of his ignorance. His childhood had been difficult, and he had contact with heretics in his homeland, whose honesty and charity he had appreciated. Then, having befallen misfortune and become “depressed,” he came to Rome. He developed an interest in and compassion for Lutherans who, in his homeland of Brina [Brno] lived among the Catholics, for he saw them to be honest and charitable […]. Then, as he suffered various misfortunes and ill treatment, particularly here in Rome, resulting in feelings of depression and despair, he became all the more convinced that heretics 35

ACDF, SO, St. St. UV 63, cc. 241-256.

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were better and that one lived better among them than with Catholics. And this was the result of his weakness and lack of education and not due to the influence of others or from reading books.36 He also claimed to have heard others say that “Moses, Jesus Christ and Mohammed are three imposters,”37 but he “had always believed Jesus Christ to be good and holy.” His hostility towards the friars came from his having worked for the friars of St. Isidore, “by whom […] he had been fired and given nothing,” and denied the rest of the statement.38 His declarations would not have seemed novel to the inquisitors and were similar to those regularly made by unrepentant blasphemers, heretics and nonbelievers brought before the Inquisition. The Moravian painter was defended by a “criminal lawyer” (avvocato dei rei) and, “considering the underlying ignorance of the accused in matters of faith,” and his compliance, he was deemed worthy of clemency. But the counselors indicated that, even if the circumstances were true, his punishment should be neither too mild, nor his time in prison too brief, as this would undermine his required reeducation. It was further observed that the accused is not merely guilty of making heretical statements in a moment of illness or despair, but of making errors against the principal points of the Holy Religion […]. He had circulated these errors in many places, at different times, in the presence of various people, Italians and others born in countries of mixed religion, which can only cause great scandal and the spiritual ruin of his companions. Thus, it is better to educate and establish his manifest remorse to serve as an example to those

36 37

38

ACDF, SO, St. St. UV 63, c. 247rv. On the complex history of the treatise and its circulation in Europe, see Tre impostori: Mosè, Gesù, Maometto, ed. Germana Ernst (Naples: La Scuola Pitagorica, 2009); Silvia Berti, “L’Esprit de Spinoza: ses orignes et sa première édition dans leur contexte spinozien” in Heterodoxy, Spinozism and Free Thought in Early-Eighteenth-Century, ed. Silvia Berti, Francoise Charles-Daubert and Richard H. Popkin (Dortrecht-Boston-London: Kluwer, 1996); Georges Minois, Le traité des trois imposteurs: histoire d’un livre blasphématoire qui n’existait pas (Paris: A. Michel, 2008). The church of Saint Isidore was founded in 1622 in honor of the canonization of Isidore of Madrid and was entrusted to the barefoot Spanish Franciscans. The annexed College, founded in 1625 by Luke Wadding for the Irish Franciscans, represented a haven and place of education for the Irish seeking refuge in Rome due to religious persecution. Gregory Cleary, Father Luke Wadding and St. Isidore’s College Rome (Rome: s.e., 1925); Clare Lois Carroll, Exiles in a Global City. The Irish and Early modern Rome, 1609-1783 (Leiden-Boston: Brill, 2018).

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27

he scandalized, and they ought to be made aware of his detention in the prisons of the Holy Office.39 The tribunal decided upon a de formali abjuration, condemned him to three years in prison, obligated him to wear a “tunic” (abitello) and engage in salutary penance and catechism throughout his prison sentence. Before Easter of 1763, pope Clement XIII (1758-1769) expressed his desire for the Congregation to reduce the prisoner’s sentence in light of the progress the painter had made in his study of the Catholic doctrine. The statements he had made came from confusion, discomfort and sadness, which would have caused him to leave Rome and return to his country of origin. But this sentiment was also a consequence of the cultural climate that had developed in Rome and had been fostered over time by censorship and bans, suppression and threats, atheist ideologies, skepticism and indifference, all of which proved difficult to c­ontain. 3

Protection, Integration, Exclusion: National Confraternities, Hospices and Colleges

In Roman society foreigners could assimilate, and advance socially, often irrespective of their origin and religious affiliation. The local demography, the duality of the court and curia, and of the city and municipality, guaranteed different paths of integration for those who came to Rome. Such was the case for the temporary, seasonal and permanent immigration of those arriving from neighboring areas, other Italian States, or countries beyond the Alps. But throughout the early modern period transient foreigners were considered difficult to control. They would become an easy target for the Roman authorities charged with maintaining public decorum which, in the late sixteenth century, would become all the more consonant with moral order and religious orthodoxy. Papal authorities would seek to control and discipline pilgrims whose ambiguous status led to their being negatively viewed and feared, and not only during the Holy Years. This would be accomplished through well-regulated institutions and entities of charity and devotion, like confraternities. The city of Rome was made up of numerous nationes and divided by “­borders” (frontiere), which made it difficult to maintain public order. This was ­particularly problematic given the immunity accorded to holy sites and ­embassies. Borders served to exclude and separate but also to safeguard and defend from within. Foreigners needed to cross these “borders” in order to 39

ACDF, SO, St. St. 63, 254.

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integrate, assimilate and protect themselves. And these were not only physical and geographical spaces but also “social concepts’ (concetti sociali). The path for navigating social networks and overcoming linguistic difficulties was not always clear cut and predictable.40 In the Middle Ages and in early modern society, the individual was considered, above all, to be a member of a community and of a specific and controllable milieu. Society sought to regulate, discipline and comprehend the individual in order to accept him. Entry into a community, or simply the interaction of newly arrived immigrants with compatriots already established in Roman society, could therefore prove to be essential. Since the Middle Ages the nations and their institutions – churches, confraternities and hospitals – had welcomed pilgrims and travelers arriving in Rome. Included within their “body” (corpo)41 were permanent residents of the city: clerics, artisans and merchants working for the curia. These high-profile figures were generally entrusted with the running of confraternities and hospitals. As such, their role became important in facilitating the entry of newly arrived foreigners into the city, the nation and even the curia. The world of the confraternities revolved around the continuous circulation and exchange of people, knowledge and experiences. A shared identity provided stability and security and lessened the negative qualities often associated with the condition of immigrants. Consequently, the general population’s perception of the immigrants would change. Foreigners would no longer be viewed as eccentric and liminal figures, teetering between marginalization and integration, transgression and law. They would instead be considered members of a social group, subject to specific rules, legitimized by rites and ceremonies, and thus occupy a clear space within the urban framework. In this way, they could be monitored by the city and papal authorities who were all the more concerned with protecting the city from dangerous infiltrations. The national communities made no social distinctions and accepted members of the lower classes. Errand boys, servants, 40

41

On the immunity of embassies, see La città italiana e i luoghi degli stranieri. For recent studies on the nations and their respective spaces, see Matteo Sanfilippo, “Il controllo politico e religioso sulle comunità straniere a Roma e nella penisola,” in Ad Ultimos usque terrarum terminos in fede propaganda. Roma fra promozione e difesa della fede in età moderna, ed. Massimiliano Ghilardi, Gaetano Sabatini, Matteo Sanfilippo and Donatella Strangio (Viterbo: Sette Città, 2014), 85-110; Identità e rappresentazione. Le chiese nazionali a Roma, 1450-1650, ed. Alexander Koller and Susanne Kubersky-Piredda (Rome: Campisano, 2015); Chiese e nationes a Roma: dalla Scandinavia ai Balcani. Secoli XV-XVIII, ed. Antal Molnár, Giovanni Pizzorusso and Matteo Sanfilippo (Rome: Viella, 2017). On the topic, see Corpi, “fraternità.” mestieri nella storia della società europea, ed. Danilo Zardin (Rome: Bulzoni, 1998).

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artisans and artists were able to meet higher ranking members of the nations by participating in religious events and charity activities, regulated by the statutes and run by the confraternity’s members.42 The national institutions, with their churches, confraternities and hospices for pilgrims and the ill, had been present in the urban scene since the Middle Ages. Beginning in the seventeenth century and during the Counter-Reformation, their architectural appearance and location were symbolic for the conversion of the foreigners who frequented them. They were a visible beacon of the true faith, a place of reception and protection, and a safe conduit for a new life in the host society. The churches and national hospices – like Santa Maria dell’Anima, San Luigi dei Francesi and the Venerable English College – are portrayed as symbolic venues of conversion and defense of the Roman faith and were frequently exalted by a motivated artistic clientele. But they were not overly concerned with religious identity. English, German, Flemish and French Huguenot “heretics” were integral members of nations wherein one’s profession, origin, knowledge, family ties and other “lay” values were more important than religious affiliation and deemed essential in the society of the Italian ancien régime. National and professional channels were not the only ones that enabled newly arrived foreigners to establish relationship networks in Rome. Others included the neighborhood and shared living spaces, hotels, taverns and locations of power, especially the homes of ambassadors, important Europeans, nobles and cardinals. These venues were granted immunity, were havens from Roman law, and undoubtedly afforded new arrivals the opportunity to ­establish stable relationships. But this by no means detracted from the ­powerful network of assistance provided by the national confraternities, which was more significant than that of the professional networks. Indeed, the 42

Studies of the Roman confraternities, of their denominational and charitable activities but also of their political physiognomy and the economic function of the city makeup are elaborated in important contributions. Still noteworthy are “Le confraternite romane: esperienza religiosa, società, committenza artistica,” ed. Luigi Fiorani in Ricerche per la storia religiosa di Roma 5 (1984); “Storiografia e archivi delle confraternite romane,” ed. Luigi Fiorani Ricerche per la storia religiosa di Roma 6 (1985); Christopher F. Black, Italian Confraternities in Sixteenth Century (Cambridge: Cambridge University press, 1989). For a general discussion, see Luigi Fiorani, “‘Charità et pietate.’ Confraternite e gruppi devoti nella città rinascimentale e barocca” in Storia d’Italia, Annali, 16, Roma città del papa: vita civile e religiosa dal giubileo di Bonifacio VIII al giubileo di papa Wojtyla, ed. Luigi Fiorani and Adriano Prosperi (Turin: Einaudi 2000), 431-476 and in the bibliography indicated therein; Confraternities and the Visual Arts in Renaissance Italy: Ritual, Spectacle, Image, ed. Barbara Wisch and Diane Cole Ahl (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000).

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confraternities were points of reference, and not simply pit stops, on the path to full immersion into the social and professional framework of the pope’s city.43 For those arriving in Rome from Italian States that were “obedient” to the Church of Rome and her pontiff, national communities were not the only channel through which to enter the host city; the same could not, however, be said for those hailing from beyond the Alps. Language, customs and letters of recommendation – for those capable of procuring them – aided communication between the city and ultramontano foreigners. Yet, for a great many, Rome was an “interim” city and a mere stopover on a migratory path. If traveling for business or cultural reasons, foreigners might return to their country of origin. Others may have been drifting in order to survive or else were merely “curious.” For those who opted to stay, marriage, which was often endogamous, became decisive in enabling integration and maintaining identity, especially in certain communities.44 Likewise important were language, denomination and worship. Solidarity was expressed in the national confraternities through the concession of dowries, alms, caring for the sick and distribution of meals to pilgrims. The statutes of Santa Maria dell’Anima, Campo Santo Teutonico, and those of the bakers and shoemakers imposed the use of the German language upon their members as well as on the preachers in Rome’s German churches.45 This was a mark of distinction for the colony and was defended as an important element of identity, one that was often negatively perceived from outside. Yet this was also perhaps evidence of the deficient communication and integration of the German colony within Roman society. In fact, in 43

44

45

For a critique of the national confraternities’ favoring the insertion and assimilation of foreigners hailing from Italian States along with a reaffirmation of their role in favoring knowledge and exchange, see Eleonora Canepari, Strategie di inurbamento e forme associative nella Roma del Seicento (Soveria Mannelli: Rubbettino, 2007); Eleonora Canepari, “Occasioni di conoscenza: mobilità, socialità e appartenenze nella Roma moderna,” in Donne e uomini migranti. Storie e geografie tra breve e lunga distanza, ed. Angiolina Arru, Daniela Luigia Caglioti and Franco Ramella (Rome: Donzelli, 2008), 301-322. On the topic, see Irene Fosi and Maria Antonietta Visceglia, “Marriage and Politics at the papal court in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries,” in Marriage in Italy, 1300-1650, ed. Trevor Dean, Kate J.P. Lowe (Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1998), 197-224; Domenico Rocciolo, Roma patria di tutti. I matrimoni degli immigrati fra identità cittadina e identità sociale (secc. XVI-XIX), in Annali del Dipartimento di Storia 4 (2008): 61-94 who underscores the different marriage choices available to foreigners present in Rome. The remarkable number of German shoemakers present in Rome from the Middle Ages had their own brotherhood – The Confraternity of SS. Crispino and Crispiniano – founded in 1439 continued its activities until 1836, when it was incorporated into the Archiconfraternity of S. Maria del Campo Santo Teutonico: Anton De Waal, Der Campo Santo der Deutsche Nation zu Rom (Freiburg: i. Br., Herder, 1896), 180-182.

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various documents it was defined as “scandalous” (scandalosa) due to the notable presence of heretics, particularly among the bakers.46 The records of the confraternities, especially those of the nationes ultramontanae, depict a condition of enclosure, if it can be defined as such, compared to the societies in which they operated. An examination of the records of the confraternity of San Luigi dei Francesi, spanning the late-sixteenth to seventeenth centuries, offers no clues as to what occurred outside of the institution’s walls.47 This lack of information is surprising, given the presence of Roman curia members, scriptores apostolici, nobles, notaries of the Tribunal of the Roman Rota, and members of the local aristocracy among their ranks, including Francesco Contarelli, the brother of Matteo, a noted client of Caravaggio.48 In addition to the national confraternities, there were also legal bodies which defended the rights of the natio. The several consulates, for instance, who represented merchants both in their city of origin and in their new country of residence. Though its jurisdiction was theoretically limited to economic matters, particularly commercial and financial conflicts, it was clearly fundamental in restricting the power exerted by the city magistracies. The integration of foreigners and their families into a national community had a practical function. It nurtured their relationship with the host community while maintaining a connection with their country of origin. But it also could determine the overall perception of foreigners, who were no longer seen as individuals but members of a group. The public’s “mood” (humori) was expressed in pamphlets, notices, slanderous signs, pasquinades and explicit displays of violence that disturbed the peace. These were prosecuted by the Roman courts, were dependent upon a variety of factors, and subject to political, economic and 46

47

48

See Maas who maintains that “the Germans in Rome remained a distinct national linguistic community which was not fully assimilated into the Italian milieu.” Clifford William Maas, The German Community in Renaissance Rome 1378-1523 (Rome-Freiburg-Wien: Herder, 1981), 175. Archives des Pieux Etablissements de Rome et de Lorette, Rome, Liber decretorum, 30, 31, 21 (years 1598-1620). The minutes of the confraternity meetings offer proof of the care given to French pilgrims in the hospital and the distribution of dowries to young women, the majority of whom married compatriots. For a history of the French national institutions in Rome, see Yves Bruley, “Francité et romanité, une brève histoire des fondations religieuses françaises à Rome,” in L’idée de Rome: pouvoirs, représentations, conflicts, ed. Hilaire Multon and Christian Sorrel (Chambéry: Université de Savoie, 2006), 83-93. See Gigliola Fragnito, “Contarelli, Matteo,” in Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani 28 (Rome: Istituto dell’Enciclopedia Italiana, 1983), 68-70; Luigi Spezzaferro, “Caravaggio rifiutato? Il problema della prima versione del ‘San Matteo’,” in Roma nell’anno 1600, numero monografico di Ricerche di Storia dell’Arte 10 (1980): 49-64; La cappella Contarelli in San Luigi dei Francesi: arte e committenza nella Roma di Caravaggio, ed. Natalia Gozzano and Patrizia Tosini (Rome: Gangemi, 2005).

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religious conditions. During the papacy of Julius II, when political relations between Florence and Rome were hostile, Florentine merchants were the object of ridicule. The same would happen to the Germans following the Sack of Rome. During the 1630s, when Urban VIII Barberini (1623-1644) was troubled by Spain’s expansionist agenda in Northern Italy, Spaniards were subjected to a veritable manhunt. And during the quarrel between Alexander VII and Louis XIV over the Affair of the Corsican Guards, the French were viewed with suspicion and even violently attacked in the streets of Rome.49 The desire and opportunity to belong to a community within the new society – like an established natio – and therefore be accepted, and no longer be viewed as a foreigner, was variable throughout the early modern period. This practice was the continuation of a medieval custom destined slowly to be displaced by other factors of integration (or exclusion). For those who came to the city with the intention and hope of staying, integration into a natio could appear, at the beginning, to be a means of obtaining assistance, information and support. During the Middle Ages, hospices were frequented by Northern Europeans who came to Rome to visit the Apostles’ tombs. By the end of the sixteenth century, some hospices had reinvented themselves to attract compatriots, both Catholics and neo-converts, looking to begin a new life or establish relations with people already in the city. There was a need to connect with those who spoke one’s language. It transcended social boundaries and allowed immigrants to tell their own story, speak of their homeland, its cities, the conditions of its residents, its customs and culture, and even the misery caused by wars and political and religious persecution. These were, as they are today, anthropological constants that made the national communities inevitable points of reference for immigrants. This was especially true for those who did not speak, or barely spoke, the language of the host city and had no other connections. And there were quite a number of these institutions in Rome. The oltramontani communities also welcomed and aided heretic compatriots and convinced them to embark upon a path to conversion. They were attentively monitored by curial authorities and considered important tools for exposing potential enemies of the faith. But conversionary zeal did not always foster openness towards compatriots, nor did it disregard religious differences. The activities of the Venerable English College of Rome reveal this complex enterprise of assistance, education and conversion.

49

On the Affair of the Corsicans and the political and diplomatic consequences, see Ludwig von Pastor, The History of the Popes, XVI, 1, 377-393.

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Conversions and Reconquests: the Venerable English College in the Late Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries

The English College founded during the Middle Ages, and intended to be a hospice for pilgrims, was reinstated by Gregory XIII (1572-1585), with the bull of 1 May 1579 Quoniam Divinae Bonitati, as a seminary for preparing priests for the spiritual reconquest of England. The island had fallen into heretic hands; thus the priests would aid English Catholics fleeing persecution after being banned or who converted to the “papist” religion.50 When, in 1558, Elizabeth ascended the throne, a great many of the “pretendant” queen’s subjects, both eminent and unknown, sought refuge in Rome. Some were received by the curia, were granted benefices from cardinals, and rallied to transform the old pilgrims’ hospital into a structure capable of responding to the changing needs of a Christianity now lacerated by religious conflicts. In the spring of 1579, the College was entrusted to the Jesuits and enjoyed the support of Cardinal Giovanni Morone, Protector of England after Reginald Pole’s death in 1558. But it especially benefited, during the papacy of Sixtus V, from the initiatives of Cardinal William Allen, the true defender and spokesperson of the English Catholics and diaspora.51 Allen arrived in Rome on 4 November 1585 and stayed at the College, with a stipend of 19 scudi a month, until he was made cardinal on 7 November 1587.52 At the time, English and Welsh factions were fighting to defend their identity and power within the institution.53 Their 50

51 52 53

The Hospice for “poor, infirm, needy, and wretched persons from England,” named by the SS.ma Trinità and S. Tommaso, was founded in 1632 by an English couple, John and Alice Sheferd. Bibliography on the College is not particularly rich, is fragmented, and, in many cases, apologetic in nature. For an overview, see Michael E. Williams, The Venerable English College, Rome: a History 1579-1979 (Gateshead: Athenaeum Press, 2008); Serena Veneziani, “Viaggiatori, pellegrini e studenti: il Collegio Inglese di Roma tra ‘500 e ‘ 600,” in Viaggiando, viaggiando. Personaggi, paesaggi e storie di viaggio, ed. Francesca De Caprio (Viterbo: Sette Città, 2006), 45-81 which analyzes, from a quantitative point of view, those who stayed in the College based on the book of pilgrims through a comparison of the manuscript and edited version in Henry Foley, Records of the English Province of the Society of Jesus, IV (London: Burns and Oates, 1880), 548-651. Thanks to the courtesy of Stefano Villani I was able to consult the transcription of the first book of pilgrims: AVCAU, Liber 282, which Stefano Villani is preparing for publication with Edward Chaney. On the church, see The Church of the English College in Rome: Its History, its Restoration, ed. Angelo Broggi, Claudio Riotta, Carol M. Richardson, Murphy O’Connor, Sara Marascialli, Nicholas Hudson, Andrew Headon, Eamon Duffy, Judith Champ and Paolo Violini (Rome: Gangemi, 2009), and the bibliography therein. Eamon Duffy, “William Cardinal Allen, 1532-1594”, Recusant History 22 (1995): 265-305. AVCAU, Liber 282, 15. On the occurrences within the College during these years and in particular on the motives behind the factions’ arguments, see Jason A. Nice, “Being ‘British’ in Rome: The

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conflicts subsided during the tenure of Cardinal Camillo Borghese and the College began to enjoy a period of peace. And, thanks to prominent figures like the Jesuit Robert Persons,54 it soon developed into a center for conversion. But it was also a locus of espionage, especially during the years of the Gunpowder Plot, the succession of James I to the English throne, the antipapist polemics, Bellarmine’s incendiary replies to the Oath of Allegiance,55 and the first decades of the eighteenth century, when Rome played host to the Old Pretender and his court.56 In addition to the main goal of reconquering England – by sending priests trained at the College, a network of spies, and disguising the pro-Catholic activities at other English institutions in Europe such as those in Douai, Valladolid and Lisbon – the College became an observation post for the keeping an eye on Englishmen arriving in Rome. It also was well connected with the Holy Office. Its authorities were charged with the task of identifying noble travelers, sailors who landed at Civitavecchia or Naples, and by the end of the seventeenth century the “good-time Charlies” who came to the Eternal City in search of fun or to learn a craft as part of the Grand Tour. We will meet many of these figures, who came to Rome either for brief periods or to begin a new-life. And while some were well-known, others were anonymous. Beginning in December 1580, in conjunction with the educational and missionary efforts for reconquering the island, Rome began to host English immigrants, not all of whom were pilgrims. Though the records of those arriving at

54

55

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Welsh at the English College, 1578-1584,” The Catholic Historical Review 92 (2006) pp. 1-24. I thank S. Ditchfield for having pointed this essay out to me. Robert Persons (or Parsons), (1546-1610): The Dictionary of National Biography, XV (Oxford: Oxford UP, 1968), 411-418; Victor Houliston, sub voce Published online: 23 September 2004. For a general discussion of the religious politics in seventeenth century England, see Michael C. Questier, Conversion Politics and Religion (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996); Conformity and Orthodoxy in the English Church, C. 1560-1660, ed. Peter Lake and Michael Questier (Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 2000); John Coffey, Persecution and Tolerance in Protestant England 1558-1689 (London-New York: Routledge, 2013). On the conversionist enterprise of Robert Persons, see Victor Houliston, Catholic Resistance in Elizabethan England: Robert Persons’s Jesuit Polemic: 1580-1610 (Ashgate, 2017); Stefania Tutino, “The political thought of Robert Persons’s Conference in Continental Context,” The Historical Journal, 52, no.1 (2009): 43-62. Michael Questier, “Loyalty, religion and state power in the early modern England: English Romanism and the Jacobean Oath of Allegiance,” The Historical Journal 40 (1997): 311-329.; Stefania Tutino, Empire of Souls: Robert Bellarmine and the Christian Commonwealth (New York-Oxford: Oxford UP, 2010). On the presence of the Stuart court in Rome, see The Stuart Court in Rome, The Legacy of Exile, ed. Edward T. Corp (London: Ashgate, 2003); Antonello Cesareo, “He lives in princely splendour, patronizing the arts and enteraining lavishly...” Note su Henry Stuart, Cardinale di York, in La Biblioteca del Cardinale Enrico Benedetto Clemens Stuart Duca di York a Frascati 1761-1803, ed. Marco Buonocore (Rome: Gangemi, 2008), 128-147.

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the College during the second half of the seventeenth century are limited they nonetheless offer a panoramic view of the English presence in the city. Several noblemen, for instance, traveling with other gentlemen and servants, left evidence of their stay in the “book of pilgrims.” Among them were members of prominent families, like Thomas Arundell (later first Lord Arundell of Wardour), who was traveling through Rome in 1580 with permission to travel from Elizabeth I and her letter of recommendation for the Emperor Rudolph II, and Anthony Fortescue, who in 1615 was hosted at the College “in via di corte Savella.” Pilgrims, travelers, merchants and vagabonds – each with a unique story – attempted to occupy a space in Roman society. This was facilitated by the active center of compatriots which gathered at the college. In many cases, the length of time that guests were permitted to stay at colleges, hospitals and confraternities was determined by the statutes. And requests were often declined due to a lack of space and perpetually limited resources. The statutes adopted by the hospital, for instance, established that disadvantaged patriots could be hosted for only a period of eight days. “Nobles and the wealthy” could instead be hosted for three.57 Exceptions could, however, be made if one provided a letter from an important figure, or from the cardinal protector, who was a leading figure able to represent the College at the papal court. In some cases, extended stays were granted in order to educate converts post-conversion. At times, these instances were meticulously documented in the records.58 Some travelers could not be accommodated due to a lack of beds, which were always fewer than the number of requests for admittance. Many who knocked on the College’s door were given clothing, shoes and often alms from the rector, which would temporarily remedy their destitution and then they would leave. This was the fate of the majority of the College’s guests who were 57

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AVCAU, Liber 282, 3. On 19 December 1580, the day of Saint Thomas the martyr, it was registered that “The English College took physical possession of the English Hospital, and of its possessions, in accordance with the Bull of His Holiness Gregory XIII, and with it assumed the responsibility of welcoming and supporting the English in the city, who come out of devotion, according to the statutes of the aforesaid hospital, where the poorer guests may stay for a period of 8 days and the wealthy and nobles may stay for three.” In 1637, for instance, it was recorded that, “there arrived two poor young English sailors, Anthony fix Gefferyr, from Cornwall, and Thomas Biggs from Hull, wishing to be instructed in the Catholic faith. They each received three julii and dined a number of times, that is 4 or 5. After having been duly educated they converted to the Catholic faith and alms were bestowed upon them, 4 scudi, as well as an old coat from the college and red cloth. One was given a trunk of clothing and another linen fabric prior to leaving. They were given five julii and departed and were well behaved during their stay in the city.” AVCAU, Ibidem, 120.

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members of the middling sort, comprised of barbers, tailors, watchmakers, unsuccessful merchants, soldiers and sailors. And this was the case for Thomas Burbridge, of the diocese of Canterbury, one of the many pilgrims recorded in the register. In the Autumn of 1585, a priest named Edward Osborne received some money and clothing but was never hosted at the hospice.59 Some travelers stayed longer in Rome and kept in contact with the College, which continued to support them. John Middleton and Ralph Southby, of York, “stayed for 8 days in the city after being at the College and continued to receive alms.”60 Many were admitted to the College to become priests and later be covertly dispatched back to England. Others, having arrived while ill, or having fallen ill in another Roman hospital, died and were buried in the College’s church. But admission to the College was not only denied because of a lack of beds. Sometimes it was impossible to identify travelers, even if they were angli, whereas it was easier to recognize and host nobles and aristocrats who arrived with their servants. However, most were requested to provide letters of recommendation or else know someone already housed at the College. The testimony of a known and trusted individual could guarantee their receiving hospitality and aid. Their clothing, the credibility of their stories, and their language would also play decisive roles in establishing the identity of foreigners who arrived and were received at the College.61 Following the turbulent years of conflict with English Catholics during the reign of James I, there appear fewer names of persecuted Englishmen in the 59 60 61

Ibidem, 14 and 15. It must be remembered that in this institution as in other charitable institutions, pilgrims, the sick and other guests were generally registered according to their respective diocese. Ibidem, 13. See the continental travels of the Irish landowner Henry Piers (1567-1623) and his conversion to the Catholic faith in Rome during the heightened political and confession tensions: Henry Piers’s Continental Travels, 1595-1598, ed. Brian Mac Quarta SJ, vol. 54, Camden 5th Series (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018). As Mac Quarta underlines, “While in Rome, Piers stayed as a lay student in the English College. There under Jesuit guidance, he deepened his knowledge of the Catholic faith, and followed the seminary courses in philosophy. Piers’ account adds vivid detail to our understanding of the febrile world of the Elizabethan Catholic exiles in late sixteenth-century Rome, where spies mingled with seminarians, and an appearance before the Inquisition was normal for many northern Europeans. Piers’s family origins in colonial Ireland made him the focus of animosities in Rome between English and Irish, tensions sharpened by the recent Ulster revolt against the crown. He became friends with Robert Persons, the noted Catholic polemicist and seminary founder; Henry’s sojourn in Spain just after leaving Rome, where he visited English Jesuit colleges in Valladolid and Seville, reflects connections doubtless facilitated by Persons”: .

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records. But they did not entirely disappear during the seventeenth century. During the course of the parliamentary revolution, the College assumed an ostensibly realist position.62 Thus it cannot be excluded that many of the émigrés who came to the continent and to Rome, and passed through the College, were supporters of Charles I. At the Venerable, the travelers’ religion was certainly not taken into much consideration. This was true in the case of famous aristocrats, as well as others, who came to the Eternal City and visited the ­renowned institution. On 30 October 1638, for instance, it was written that “there dined at our College the illustrious Mister N. Cary brother of the Baron of ­Frankeland [Falkland], Doctor Holding of Lancaster, Mister N. Fortescue and Mister Milton, along with his servant, English gentlemen, who were most welcomed.”63 At the time, the poet and later polemicist, John Milton (1608-74) was greatly interested in Italian culture and had stopped in Rome during his Italian sojourn (1638-39) when he also met Galileo while staying in Florence. His stay in the Eternal City and contact with the papal court – with Cardinal Nephew Francesco Barberini, Lukas Holste, and others – is well known and indicative of the multifaceted reality experienced by foreigners, whether permanent residents or merely passing through.64 During the course of the seventeenth century there was an increase in the flow of English travelers to Rome and many who chose to become Catholic headed to the College where they would ultimately abjure their heresy. The possibility to communicate in one’s own language and recount one’s story, without an intermediary, certainly played a key role in this decision. Their conversions would be registered, confirmed at the Holy Office, and then solemnized during a celebratory mass at St. Peter’s. The conversion process would therefore begin at a “national,” individual and personal level to then be made public, formalized, and official. The close connection between the Holy Office and the Congregation de iis qui sponte veniunt ad fidem, founded in 1600,65 is made evident in many of the registrations. These delineate the path of 62 63

64 65

On realist immigration, see Edward Chaney, The Great Tour and the Great Rebellion. Richard Lassel and ‘The Voyage of Italy’ in The Seventeenth Century (Geneva: Slatkine, 1975). “pransi in Collegio nostro Ill.mus D.N. Cary frater Baronis de Frankeland, Doctor Holdingus Lankastrensis, D.N. Fortescuto, et D.nus Miltonus cum famulo nobile angli et excepti laute.” AVCAU, Liber 282, 122. This quotation is also provided by David Masson, The life of John Milton: Narrated in Connection with the Political, Ecclesiastical, and Literary History of His Time, I, (London: Macmillan, 1877), 808, which offers a detailed description of the sojourn in Rome of the English poet and of his contacts with the Barberini court (792819). Milton in Italy: contexts, images and contradictions, Mario di Cesare ed. (Binghampton NY: Medieval & Renaissance Texts and Studies, 2001). See also, Chapter 2, pp. 60-66.

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religious conversion and reveal other significant events, such as illness, abjuration, the dressing of converts in new clothing, provided by the College, and the granting of alms by the cardinal protector, the College rector, members of the curia and the new Congregation.66 Months later, for whoever recorded the event, the conversion would take on the qualities of an exemplary narrative. The College’s purview was expanded during the seventeenth century. Aside from operating as a hospice and venue for training priests, it became a meeting place where one could speak one’s own language and a venue for monitoring social interactions. In the first half of the century, the institution experienced a period of decline, as did its educational and missionary operations. This was especially true after the death of the Jesuit Robert Persons, a pivotal figure in the history of the College resolving the disturbances and proposing solutions to facilitate the reconciliation between the recalcitrant and disaffected students with the priests.67 During the seventeenth century the institution’s generosity and lax policy towards visitors and potential students no doubt made it an appealing place to meet. Those who chose to become Catholic were able to receive charity and hospitality, to begin a path towards conversion and to redefine their identity. The mobility and diversity of the city’s demography is made clear by the variety of the College’s visitors and guests. However, this diversity concerned curial and inquisitorial authorities who were not always in agreement with the College’s rectors. The latter considered the presence of heretic compatriots useful for preparing young missionary students for the “conquering” of England. But inquisitors and members of the curia viewed it as proof of how difficult it was to monitor the institution’s internal operations and to collaborate with the city’s national “islands.” During a visitation of 1645 the rector was cautioned to be more careful when accepting pilgrims, to learn their histories and ascertain their religious identity. This was yet another blatant attempt by the curial authorities to control the confraternities and national hospitals and regulate the flow of foreigners arriving in the city for the Holy Year. The call for greater precision in registering foreigners, aimed at a more exact and manageable selection of guests, led to the redaction of a 66

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In the Autumn of 1642, for instance, it was noted that “Last year, around the end of October, Lord Alexander Brown came to Rome: whose real name is Hart. A nobleman from Suffolk, as he said, who lie in the hospital of St. Jo. Lateran along with the sick where the Catholic Church had reconciled with the Irish Church after an inquisition and abjuration of errors, he was given 6 julios from the college as well as clothing, that is to say, a vest and boots. He ate there often and brought various bottles of wine. And further received from Our Protector and Rector, 40 and 6 from the Bishop’s almoner. And 6 from the Illustrious D. Damascus, prefect of the Congregation, and other illustrious converts. He left around the beginning of May 1642.” AVCAU, Liber 282, 129. Henry Piers’s Continental Travels, 26-28.

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second book of pilgrims housed at the Archive of the Venerable English College.68 This register offers a lively description of the life and activities of Englishmen in Rome between the years 1654 and 1725. These were important years, during which new conversion politics would emerge, beginning with the papacy of Alexander VII. The Grand Tour would become more popular and the control of foreigners would prove to be impractical for the authorities of the faith. Accounts of the conversion of English guests at the College appear as early as the Chigi papacy (1655-67). They outline the procedures for formal, verbal abjuration and also reveal that the act of conversion was fundamental to one’s stay at the College. During the plague many young sailors flocked to Rome seeking aid from the city’s multifaceted charity networks. This was perhaps an attempt to save themselves from the contagion that had already claimed victims in Sardinia. Conversion was necessary and well documented in the case of Gabriel the sonne of Sigmund Wage of Bedfant in the country of Middlesex and Thomas the sonne of George Bielfad of Excester in Devonshire, both mariners here converted in the College and admitted by the Holy Inquisition on fryday the 22 october [1655] as above during the time they were entertained by the College as pilgrims which was for the space of eight days. They had almes from the french priest. They undertook to be gunner in the gallies att Civitavecchia.69 In the following years too, there appear summaries of conversion experiences that took place at the College. “Come to Rome out of great devotion and to our College for the commodity of language to satisfy by obligation to receive the Holy Sacrament.” This was the case for Georg Legat, a twenty-five-year-old born to Catholic parents who was unable to receive all the sacraments. He arrived in Rome in 1658 along with other English converts and left after a short stay. James Eyeron, a twenty-nine-year-old Londoner and slave to the Turks in Constantinople, remained for only eight days after arriving in Civitavecchia. He abjured before the Holy Office and received communion at St. Peter’s, and with the alms of the College rector, the pope and a French priest – who remains anonymous but hosted and aided ailing English pilgrims70 – he returned 68 69 70

AVCAU, Liber 283. Ibidem, 2. Ibidem, 4. On 15 May 1659, it was for instance written that “Richard Blunt of Oxford come to Rome and to our College out of England with an only desire to convert himself to the Catholic faith upon that account he received from the french Preist or by his means two crowns, from the Popes Almonser an hungar.” It was further noted that he remained in the

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to Civitavecchia. With permission granted by Alexander VII, he hoped to have success in the papal navy. Lengthier stays at the College were nearly always dedicated to religious instruction. Accounts of these experiences were later recorded in the book of pilgrims and always emphasized abjuration as the vital moment in a convert’s new life. This occurred within the College’s walls and was then solemnized publicly. On 26 May 1659, for instance, it was written that Samuel Flaune of Leistershire come to Rome with an intention only to bee satisfied concerning our Religion and upon ys account was entertained in the Colledge for the space of 19 days and was converted to the Catholikee Church, confessed first in our Church and afterwards in the Church of St. Peter where hee communicated, received in all partly by popes Almoner, partly by the french priest means 4 crownes, 2 julies.71 For some guests, short biographies were composed after their departure from the College and constituted an exemplum vitae to be re-elaborated and broadcast. Often, they were written long after they had left, as made evident upon examination of the texts (for instance, when referring to the period of time during which the College provided alms to converts, or when narrating the events that occurred after their departure from Rome). On 17 September 1665 an annotation was made for twenty-six-year old Cuthbert Sipson who was by trade an apothecary and partly surgeon, who travelling by sea into the Indies and other forrein countreys, at last from Tangiers homeward bound, the ship was taken by some Holland men of warre; wherein he lost whatere he had gaind by those last voyages toghether with all utensils belonging to his profession the wich he had with him then on board; in lieu whereof God’s name be prayyed, within a few days hee did embrace the holy faith, upon good motives as seemed planely by the many lyes and forgeries concerning the Catholik Religion, hee sawe himself deceivd with whilst yet remaining in his heresie; after his conversion he stayd in town most part of winter, confirming himself against the hereticks deceits meanwhile earning his livelyhood by service now and then donne to the College by practizing his trade. Hee confessed and communicated severall tymes and did non onely receive th’accustomed almes but gott

71

College for 15 or 16 days, “in which he was iuridically absolved from his haeresy.” Ibidem, 5. Ibidem, 6.

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two pistols more by order of the Congregation belonging to the Holy Office, lately instituted for that end of helping Convertits impoverishd by such accidents as these of his before related.72 Entries in the second book of pilgrims show how the “commodity of language” attracted visitors to the College either to embark upon a path of conversion or complete a Catholic education. The possession of a suitable instrument of communication was now deemed essential by all papal bodies and missionary congregations in order to successfully expedite conversions in Rome. Considering the purpose of the city’s numerous national institutions, it was important to have cultured men who knew the language of the ultramontani. This would avoid wasting energy, but most of all it would encourage the conversion of heretics arriving in Rome, and no longer only for the Holy Year celebrations. In the latter decades of the seventeenth century, the role of the Cardinal of Norfolk, Philip Howard (1629-1694), would prove to be significant. In 1679 he was named Protector of England and Scotland. While his work on the architectural restructuring of the College is perhaps better known,73 equally important was his continued support of English Catholics who were flocking to Rome, in droves, after the persecutions of the Popish Plot of 1678. His role as an intermediary between the court, the College and congregations – “de Propaganda Fide” (of which he was a member), the Congregation de iis qui sponte ad fidem veniunt, and especially the Ospizio dei Convertendi– not only guaranteed an adequate flow of alms, but also permitted some English converts to gain access to various English language colleges in Rome.74 Others could enter the service of the papal guards or his own court, or find employment as artisans.75 From 1718, the presence of the Stuart court in Rome attracted a considerable number of Englishmen to the city and College. Initially located (1716-17) in the 72

AVCAU, Liber 283 (17 September 1665), 9. Here is an explicit reference to the Congregation de iis qui sponte ad fidem veniunt, reestablished by Alexander VII for the purposes of administering these functions; see Chapter 7. 73 Williams, The Venerable English College, 65-68; The Church of the English College in Rome., 34-51; Carol M. Richardson, “Edward Pugin and English Catholic Identity: The New Church of the Venerable English College in Rome,” Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, 66 (2007): 340-365. 74 See also, p. 192. 75 In 1679, for instance, it was recorded that “Charles Waymour and Wilhelm of Warftorshire both catholy[c?]es and this later a suffer for his religion in thee persecution in England. They were admitted to thee ordinary Charity,” and after eight days “he was admitted into thee service of his Em. ce Card. Howard, the later into thee Pope Guards.” AVCAU, Liber 283, 32.

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papal enclave of Avignon, before moving onto first Pesaro and then Urbino, the court made the Eternal City its place of exile. Thanks to the exiled court, and papal favors granted to the Old Pretender, James Francis Edward Stuart, travelers, artists, merchants and antique dealers also came to Rome with hope for a better future. And this strengthened the College’s positive outlook towards the dynasty, which it maintained throughout the course of the century.

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CHAPTER 2

Not Only Pilgrims: Reception and Conversion 1

Conversion and the Holy Years

The pages of jubilee chronicles are filled with descriptions of the arrival and conversion of pilgrims in Rome.1 These accounts reveal the stereotypical literary and metahistorical nature of conversion. In early modern Europe, the conversion of foreign travelers from Northern Europe became an important symbolic and propagandistic tool for reinforcing the image of Rome and the Papacy. And the lavish and solemn grandeur of the Eternal City proved to be a vital instrument of propaganda and persuasion. Beginning in the second half of the sixteenth century, and especially around the jubilees of 1575 and 1600, the new Rome, whose urban planning had been redesigned, became efficient in responding to attacks emanating from the reformed world.2 It was precisely this modern Rome that, by virtue of the relics of classical antiquity, defined sacred spaces and granted them profound stability, which was an essential component of sacral power.3 The jubilee writings, while composed by many different authors – such as theologians like Bellarmine, anonymous parish priests, and members of the combative religious orders – clearly reveal the polemic value attributed to the jubilee. Luther’s attack upon the papal bull of 1525,4 and Pier Paolo Vergerio’s 1550 publication of a violent onslaught against the popish “invention” of the jubilee, sparked controversies and polemic battles that would last for centuries. And it would be rekindled during the Holy Years, albeit with a different tone, marked by contemporary political and 1 “There arrived in our Holy Home eleven heretics, perhaps among the foremost, of which there was a heresiarch, and for many days they were welcomed and treated kindly, and having appreciated and contemplated this most holy display, learned much of our Holy Faith, and having abandoned their heresy, confessed and expressed with ardent fervor to benefit from it, thus, embraced by His Holiness, they returned to their countries, claiming to have found Rome to be truly Holy and not as had been said by the vain voices of the enemies of our faith, which, to their confusion and to the glory of the Most Holy Trinity, they wished to publicly bear witness.” BAV, Vat. Lat. 5513, c. 29r. 2 Gérard Labrot, Roma “caput mundi.” L’immagine barocca della città santa (Naples: Electa, 1997). 3 Stability as an element of the sacred is underscored by Alphonse Dupront, Du sacré. Croisades et pèlerinages. Images et langages (Paris: Gallimard, 1987), 90. 4 Martin Luther, Papst Clemens VII. zwei Bullen zum Jubeljahr, mit Luthers Vorrede und An­ merkungen, hg. Otto Reichert, in Luthers Werke, vol. XVIII (Weimar: H. Böhlaus Nach­folger, 1908), 251-269.

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cultural frictions.5 Indulgences were at the very heart of the sixteenth-century polemics and reformers accused the Rome/Babylon of immorality and of being infected by the avarice and corruption of the clergy. Catholics conversely defended indulgences and the salvific value of good works with an historical and theological justification of the legitimacy of papal supremacy and power. Bellarmine’s writing was exemplary, in this sense, not only since it was composed by an exacting theologian, but because it became an inevitable point of reference for subsequent controversistics.6 The publication of the bull of jubilee and the connected symbolic ceremonies were not, however, contained to Rome and instead spread to the reformed world and gave rise to a controversy which was, at different times, exacerbated by pamphlets in the fiery political and religious conflicts engulfing Europe during the first half of the seventeenth century.7 In April of 1617, in Heilbronn, several representatives of the reformed world resolved to celebrate the centennial anniversary of Luther’s ninety-five theses. The event, brazenly labeled a jubilee, would take place on 31 October of that same year.8 The reformed jubilee was a political ploy intended to display a unity that, in reality, did not exist. Rome did not fail to respond. On 12 June 1617, Paul V announced in his bull that there would be held an extraordinary jubilee for all of Christianity, “according to the usual custom of the Church.” He thereby reaffirmed the salvific power wielded by Rome and its shepherd to defend the Church “from the violence and conspiracy of her enemies, to destroy heretics and, along with Catholic sovereigns, to establish peace and religious unity.”9 5 Pier Paolo Vergerio, La declaration du jubile qui doit etre a Rome l’an MDL (Basle: Jacques Estanges, 1550). 6 Roberto Bellarmino, De Indulgentiis et Iubileo (Cologne: A. Hierat, 1599). 7 For an overview see Irene Fosi, ‘Fasto e decadenza degli anni santi,’ in Storia d’Italia, Annali 16, Roma città del Papa, 787-821. The bibliography of the Jubilees has been enhanced by Matteo Sanfilippo, Dal giubileo al centenario. Strategie di comunicazione politico religiosa tra il Trecento e il primo Novecento (Viterbo: Sette Città, 2016). 8 Franz Christoph Khevenhüller, Annalium Ferdinandeorum Achter Theil (Leipzig: Wiedmann, 1722) coll. 1160-1167. On the different celebrations of the first centennial of the Reformation in the imperial territories and the anti-Roman publications, see Ruth Kastner, Geistlicher Rauffhandel Form und Funktion der illustrierten Flugblät- ter zum Reformationsjubiläeum 1617 in ihrem historischen und publizisti-schen Kontext (Frankfurt: am M.-Bern, Lang, 1982), including a list of evangelical publications and responses of the Jesuits (364-388). Also see Jürgen Stillig, Jesuiten, Ketzer und Konvertiten in Niedersachsen. Untersuchungen zum Religions-und Bildungswesen im Hochstift Hildesheim in der Frühen Neuzeit (Hildesheim: Bernward, 1993), 108-114. 9 Jubilei indictio ad divinam opem pro Ecclesiae necessitatibus implorandam in Bullarum, diplomatum XII (Turin: Vecco & S., 1867), 392-395.

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Controversialist publications on the Catholic jubilee tradition did not cease during the seventeenth-century conflicts. Rather, they would be rekindled at the beginning of the eighteenth century, at which point the celebration had begun to wane, or else had been reduced to one of the many solemn events celebrated by the Roman Church. This copious pamphleteering on the part of reformers often decried the Jewish origins of the Christian jubilee and condemned the entire Holy Year ritual and devotional practices – visits to churches, fasting and works of charity – as superstitious.10 Similarly contested was the importance of confession and indulgences, and the works of Robert Bellarmine and Sforza Pallavicino’s Historia del Concilio di Trento (1656-57) were targeted in particular. Many of these writings surfaced in a climate of Pietism and called for a more intimate form of religiosity, free from all external influences. Catholic responses mainly came from the Jesuits, who expeditiously, and on occasion historically, examined both the jubilee tradition and the successful re-Catholicization of territories in the Holy Roman Empire.11 These works emphasized the salvific importance of pilgrimages to Rome, devotional practices in the city, works of charity, and the papal authority of Peter’s one and only heir, possessing the power to unite and dissolve. The decisive moment of the jubilee year was when the pontiff opened the Holy Door, thus initiating all other official celebrations. For those who came to Rome, whether devout pilgrims or inquisitive foreigners, the passage through the door, leading to the “city of forgiveness” (città del perdono), could be influential in beginning a life free from sin and heresy. The ritual opening of the Holy Door, the objects used to pound upon it, the pontiff’s gestures, and the vestments worn during the ceremony, all ostensibly alluded to papal authority. They were indicative of his ability to welcome or exclude those who did not recognize the salvific might of the Church and her shepherd. However, the true Holy Door, as revealed in the pilgrims’ guides, was found within the heart of man, and was to be humbly opened with temperance and contrition. Conversion, a profound change of soul and a desire to return to Mother Church, was the final and most important phase along the path that led to 10

11

Johannes Fridericus Gerhardus (1654-1705), (Gherhardus) in the Exercitatio jubilaeis judaeorum, ac pontificum romanorum,  (Ienae,): typis Sengenwaldianis , (s. d.), for instance, affirms that the Mosaic jubilee had been abolished in the New Testament and that the popes had profited from this practice out of avarice and to give benefices and power to their relatives. Among his many pamphlets, see Johann Kraus Das gegen einander gehaltene Lutherische und Katholische Jubel-Jahr. Gesprächweiß vorgestellt (Alt-Stadt Prag, 1716). For his biography, see Carlos Sommervogel, Bibliothèque de la Compagnie de Jésus, IV (Brussells: Schepers, 1893), coll. 1219-1229.

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Rome. The author of the Breve ragguaglio, dedicated to Clement VIII, was aware of the significance of the 1575 jubilee. The Holy Year was strictly connected with the politics of Gregory XIII (1572-1585) which aimed to reconquer the countries of North Europe which had been lost to the Reformation and which emphasized the benefits of a persistent and focused strategy for converting heretics.12 And while the conversion of sinners was itself meaningful, all the more significant was the homecoming to the Church of Rome, and allegiance to the pope, of the many nobles who had been previously “confused” by heresy.13 From the second half of the sixteenth century, returns to the Roman Church had become elements of propaganda and polemics used by both reformers and Catholics alike. Jubilees, as such, represented a crucial moment for the reassertion of Rome’s power against heresy and its diabolic insinuations and controversies, which ridiculed the doctrine of indulgences, pilgrimages, and the solemnity of papal authority. During this time, in which the Catholic Church was reasserting its strength and sovereignty, the conversion of famous figures, pilgrims and travelers, served as inarguable proof of the jubilee’s success. These conversions were well documented in the chronicles and accounts of the Holy Years written during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, precisely when the jubilee crisis was evident and heightened by political events and increasing skepticism.14 The 1600 conversion of Etienne de la Favèrgue was particularly noteworthy since he was the son of Calvin’s niece and a member of the Council of the Two Hundred in Geneva. Like many other heretics, he had come to Rome with the intention of deriding the Holy Year ceremonies. But the kind treatment he received from a Capuchin monk, during an illness, ultimately convinced him to abjure. The event was victoriously publicized because it was symbolic of Rome’s expectations for the exemplary purpose of conversions. Conversion stories, with a new functional rhetoric, recall and employ all of the recurring themes: sickness, charity that wins people over and convinces them to 12 13

14

See Cornel Zwierlein, “convertire tutta l’Alemagna”, 63-105. “To continuously return to the womb of the Holy and Apostolic Roman Church many heretics, of noble blood and perfidious within their sects, who are here disguised and have seen everything, much to their confusion, or rather edification, and far from what they had understood, by those who returning to their homelands, after having attended the Holy Jubilee, saw, heard, touched and felt” BAV, Vat. lat. 5513, cc. nn. For example, in the Apparato di notizie, the conversion of Lukas Holste, which took place in Paris in 1624, is erroneously associated with the 1650 Holy Year, when allegedly: “sitting down at the table with many pilgrims, and while the pope was preparing to serve them, suddenly rose, threw himself at His Holiness’ feet, and requested to be allowed to abjure the errors of his faction” (31).

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abandon their error, examples and the salvific value of good works, all of which contributed to the celebration of Roman pietas. Indeed, even in Favèrgue’s case, Clement VIII’s piety and charity were both exemplary and decisive. The pope welcomed the neo-Catholic “relative of John the heretic”15 and entrusted him to the spiritual care of Cardinal Cesare Baronio. He also promised him a pension, provided that he never returned to Geneva. Further success was achieved in 1602 when Etienne de la Favèrgue entered the order of Carmelites and later promoted the founding of Carmelite convents in Germany and France. More notable was the conversion of Justus Kahl, a theology professor in Heidelberg, whose Latinized name led many apologists, early and modern, to mistake him for a relative of John Calvin. Kahl had abandoned Calvinism under the guidance of the Jesuit Andreas Vermadius (1548-1605), who reported his abjuration to Rome. Kahl began corresponding with several cardinals including Cesare Baronio, Robert Bellarmine, and Clement VIII’s nephew, Cinzio Aldobrandini. The latter invited him to Rome where he arrived in July of 1602, was honorably welcomed, and expressed a desire to adopt the name of the Oratorian cardinal; thus, he became Giusto Baronio. His story was reconstructed by Peter Mazur through a critical reading of the works Giusto Baronio had begun writing in 1602 and published upon his return to Mainz in Germany. In them, he describes the phases of his conversion, his formal and lavish reception in Rome, the generosity of the Church, and especially that of Baronio and the Oratorians. His reading of the Annales Ecclesiastici had ushered him into the maternal arms of the Church and led him to change his name and assume a new identity. His was a true conversion, and not a mere façade, as indicated by the name change which served as proof of his new identity. This was also underscored in letters to family and friends who remained Calvinist heretics. And his conversion would later spark a dispute between the Oratorians and Jesuits, both of whom were influential in returning noble and erudite heretics to the true faith. Indeed, both claimed to have been instrumental in Giusto Baronio’s conversion, and “Justus Baronius himself became the subject of historical debate and the object of a rivalry between the two religious orders responsible for his conversion.”16 15

16

Domenico Maria Manni, Istoria degli Anni Santi (Florence: G.B. Stecchi alla Condotta, 1750), 170; Pierre Bayle, Dictionnaire historique et critique, IV (Paris: Desoer, 1820), 354-355. See also Marco Pupillo, La S.S. Trinità dei Pellegrini a Roma: artisti e committenti al tempo di Caravaggio (Rome: Shakespeare & Co. 2, 2001), 101; Barbara Wisch, “The Matrix: Le sette chiese di Roma of 1575 and the Image of Pilgrimage,” Memoirs of the American Academy in Rome 56/57 (2011/2012): 271-303. Peter A. Mazur, “Searcher of Hearts: Cesare Baronio’s History of Conversion,” Journal of the History of Ideas, 75, no. 2 (2014): 213-235, on page 232.

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Returning to the land of “heretics” to disseminate the true faith, as Giusto Baronio had done, contributed to destroying the negative image of Rome, its practices, the pope and his court, all of which had fueled the anti-Roman controversy. This was precisely the mission that was assigned to converts.17 Conversions, especially those of princes, were attributed to the piety and humility of the pontiffs who aided pilgrims by generously distributing alms to the poor and through the celebration of solemn and lavish rituals. This also served, so it was hoped, as explicit and unconfutable proof of the salvific value of good works and a triumph of the maternal charity and pietas of Rome.18 Although the untiring efforts of charity and reception initiated in 1576 by Filippo Neri, at the Trinità dei Pellegrini, were positively regarded, pilgrims nevertheless continued to be viewed as ambiguous and uncertain, and thus evaded description. Foreigners were liminal and dangerous subjects who were ready to disturb social order. Their clothing, the language often incomprehensible, and the obscure origins by no means aided their assimilation into Roman society. On the contrary, it accentuated their dangerous ambiguity. The pilgrim, with a mimetic appearance and indefinable identity, could be controlled and accepted only if integrated into the confraternal world wherein he would be disciplined and educated.19 But beneath his outward appearance there could be lurking an enemy infidel, a heretic spy, come to ridicule the holy ceremonies and jestingly report what he had seen in Rome while distorting its meaning. On the one hand, their presumed dangerousness led many to believe they were capable of destructive actions. On the other, it was perfectly clear that it was impossible to establish a system of control capable of revealing the identity and, above all, the intentions of everyone who arrived in the city. The unease resulting from the possible existence of ultramontani heretics living and hiding in Rome was not novel, nor did it develop solely in relation to the Holy Years. It had, in fact, tormented the Roman authorities and tribunals for some time and was further aggravated by news of the movements and intentions of dangerous figures from beyond the Alps who were settling in the Eternal City. In 1558, for instance, the Cardinal of Augsburg, Otto Truchess von 17 18 19

BAV, Vat. Lat. 5513, c. 29r. For German travelers, aristocrats and princes who converted to Catholicism, see Friedrich Noack, Das Deutschtum in Rom seit dem Ausgang des Mittelalters, I (Stuttgart: Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, 1927), I, 101-106. On the network of confraternities and the work of Filippo Neri, see Luigi Fiorani, “Il carisma dell’ospitalità,” in La storia dei giubilei, ed. Marcello Fagiolo, Maria Luisa Madonna, II (Florence: Giunti, 1998), 308-325; Space, Place, and Motion: Locating Confraternities in the Late Medieval and Early Modern City, ed. Diana Bullen Presciutti (Leiden: Brill, 2017).

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Waldburg, wrote to Cardinal Alessandrino Michele Ghislieri – the future Pius V – that in the city of Dillingen there was “a physician by the name of Doctor Gercon, one of the most rebellious against the Catholic faith.”20 He hoped to “get his hands on that sad wretch because through him one could locate other likeminded Germans residing in Rome, and it would be easy to locate him, knowing his name, his father’s and that of his country.” A few days later more detailed information was acquired in order to track down the foreigner.21 The Cardinal of Augsburg’s letter exposes the climate of suspicion, but also demonstrates how difficult it was to verify the identity of people arriving in Rome and learn their true intentions. These were the years of the most vigorous battle against heresy and of pervasive intolerance, fear, and suspicion. In this climate, overt power and control was granted to the Inquisition with regard to anyone who could potentially promote and spread the heretical “infection.” It was an environment ultimately destined to change in the following decades and was influenced by the events taking place in Europe. For the celebration of the 1600 Holy Year, proclaimed by pope Aldobrandini, pamphlets appeared against the Rome/Babylon. The city had been improved and embellished with modern “constructions” (fabbriche) and long expansive avenues along which passed processions and ostentatious papal ceremonies. Clement VIII had inherited a refurbished city from Sixtus V (15851590), capable of accommodating papal rituals. It was a triumphant emblem of the Counter-Reformation and of papal power on the European scene. Urban VII (September 1590) and Gregory XIV (1590-1591), on the other hand, did not leave any particular mark on the city’s appearance.22 From the end of the six20

21

22

The physician was also famous in his homeland for his hostility towards the Papacy “having never ceased since the Schmalkaldic War to be involved with Lutheran Princes, and do all he could against Catholics, by writing and saying all the evil he could imagine of the Roman Church to incite the diabolic persons to further act […] this Doctor has a son in Rome, called Raphael, under the guise of being in service or attending to some business but the truth is that he informs his father of all sorts of evil customs and ordeals, which cannot be written, but cannot be imagined of this city, such that by virtue of this information he is able to report to those who most disdain the Roman Church.” ACDF, SO, St. St. TT 1-a (5 November 1558), c. 3rv. “his name, as I said, is Raphael Seilero and he is an herbalist by trade, and expert of fishes’ nature while he is young and healthy in spirit, so as to note all that in Rome which could provide material to write some large books to invite readers to Lutheranism. But your Grace must be content to capture him, Ibidem. (11 November 1558). Among the numerous studies, see Steven F. Ostrow, Art and Spirituality in Counter-Reformation Rome (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996); Pamela Jones, Ivor H. Jones, Thomas Worchester, From Rome to Eternity (Leiden-Boston, 2002); Clare Robertson, Rome 1600. The City and the Visual Arts under Clement VIII (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2015).

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teenth century the number of visitors multiplied, “coming to Rome either out of curiosity or by coincidence.”23 Even if it were possible for combative Catholic polemicists and theologians to address the texts being circulated around reformed Europe, heretics could still hide in the city, infiltrate the population and disparage the practices admired and celebrated by the faithful. Therefore, while it was necessary to unearth troublesome characters – via the notorious Inquisition and its spies – it nevertheless proved extremely difficult. Merchants, students, travelers were prohibited by papal bulls and inquisitorial regulations from entering the city. The aim to close off the papal city as an impenetrable fortress clashed however with the growing mobility enjoyed by travelers. In 1600, a “heretic nobleman from Rezia [Rhaetia],” requested to come to Rome for the jubilee and was granted permission by Clement VIII and the Holy Office to enter “provided he appeared before some cardinals, once granted admission to the city.”24 In the case of Tuscany, authorities would be required to monitor that nothing would be said against the Catholic faith. The Holy Office advised the Florentine inquisitor to either convert them and any others present at the grand duke’s court or deny them entry into the Tuscan city.25 The local informative network of inquisitors and their friends needed to be able to quickly alert the Holy Office of the imminent arrival of heretic foreigners. Often, warnings of the presence of “heretics in the city” (heretici in Urbe) came after these individuals had already arrived and it was decided “not to persecute them but established that they had to leave the city.”26 But were they actually driven from the city and excluded from future reentry and integration for not having renounced their error in faith? The answer is unequivocally no, and confirmation of this is found in many different places. An examination of the Decreta reveals that the control, or attempt thereof, of the growing number of foreigners, even after the jubilee period, incessantly weighed upon the Congregation during its sessions. In Rome, the arrival of foreigners was often announced by a news courier and later confirmed by the ever-attentive spies stationed at the ports, on the streets and in the inns. The Congregation of the Holy Office would generally send them an “order” (precetto) not to leave the city of Rome without permission. This practice, which was theoretically applicable to everyone, had originally been reserved for nobles and gentlemen, given the entourage that accompanied them, their manner of dress, and language, all of which made them more conspicuous. Since 23 24 25 26

ACDF, SO, St. St. M 4 a, c. 245r. ACDF, SO, St. St. I 2-n, c. 489r. Ibidem, cc. 375r, 491r; 493r; 497r. Ibidem, c. 495r (21 October 1610).

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Rome was a regular destination on the Grand Tour avant le lettre, their presence would have already been observed and monitored in the cities where they had previously stayed. Notices were sent from these cities to alert the Roman Tribunal of Faith, and agents and ambassadors were likewise involved in the forwarding of information. One such example is Orazio della Rena, secretary to the Florentine Ambassador, Giovanni Niccolini in Rome who, in 1610, informed the Holy Office of the imminent arrival of Englishmen interested in becoming Catholic.27 But the network of control was not always efficient, and the offering of a handsome tip could buy the silence of innkeepers and tattlers, thus enabling disguised travelers to pass through. The cardinals of the Congregation and other custodians of the faith were well aware of this. On 5 September 1609, Belisario Vinta, secretary to the Grand Duke of Tuscany, again turned to Orazio della Rena after receiving a petition to intercede in Rome. The petitioner – wrote Vinta – is one Giordano Vittman of Germany, who states that he is sending his brother there to become Catholic, just as he himself had done a short time ago, and since your Grace provided him charity for his passage, he also wished that I write to your Illustriousness so that you might recommend him to Cardinal Montalto, such that his Catholicization be favored.”28 In February of 1610 a missive written by Robert Persons was read before the Congregation. It was directly addressed to the pope and notified him of the arrival of a Catholic English noble “with four English heretics.” The letter provided information about their identity and movements, obtained due to their being able to communicate in their own language at the English College, of which Persons was the rector. It was a social visit to the famous Jesuit and he in fact writes that there arrived “to see me five English gentlemen from important families in England.” He wrote that The first is Mister Giovanni Ropero, eldest son of the nobleman Christoforo Ropero, accompanied by an English tutor and a twenty-year-old French servant, a good Catholic, as are the majority of his relatives, and he is the cousin of the Baron Vaux, who is in Milan with Sir Oliviero, who your Holiness knows, both of whom are good Catholics. Today his tutor came to me again to inform me about the others, as he too is a Good Catholic. And, in effect, he says that the other four are heretics, yet are disguised and cause no scandal either in their words or actions. They even go to church and attend mass. The first of the four is the nobleman 27 28

ACDF, SO, St. St. M 4-b (2), c. 98v. ASF, Mediceo del Principato, f. 3639, cc. nn.

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Giovanni Haivordo of London; the second is called Knito, the other two are brothers called Amicio and Henrico Pauletti, sons of the nobleman Amicio Pauletto, senior secretary of state and counselor to Queen Elizabeth who was one of the greatest persecutors of Catholics and kept the Queen of Scotland in custody when they killed her. All of them are lodged at the Osteria della Spada and intend on staying together because they plan on staying in Rome for fifteen days, but this is not certain because they passed through Rome secretly on their way from Florence to Naples and only stayed a day. Yet this time I think they shall stay for longer. There is little hope to make progress if they stay together, if they were separated and stayed in different rooms, and were ordered by either the Holy Office or the Padre Commissario to not leave Rome without permission, as in the case of the other barons and gentleman who stayed here, something could be accomplished. But the order would need to be secret and made applicable to all.29 The substantial presence of English travelers in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany and especially in Florence and Leghorn – a port city with a stable English community – had for a long time concerned local inquisitors.30 The gentlemen lived together in order to protect themselves from the dreaded invasive monitoring, and the language barrier made it difficult for others to learn their intentions. As such, it was difficult to establish contact 29

30

ACDF, SO, St. St. M 4-b (2), c. 98rv (22 February 1610). It is not easy to identify the individuals referred to. In order, they could conceivably be: the son of Sir Christopher Roper (+ 16 April 1622), recusant along with his wife to Ealing (1613-1617) who claimed to be a relative of Thomas More: Michael Questier, “Catholicism, Kinship and the Public Memory of Sir Thomas More,” Journal of Ecclesiastical History 53 (2002): 476-509; Henry Vaux, 5th baron Vaux of Harrowden (1591-1663), admitted to the English College in 1610; the intellectual John Hayward (c.1650-1627), but also the jurist Sir John Hayward (1591-1636), even though, for neither, is there any proof of their sojourn in Rome. I thank Warren Butcher for this information. Finally, Amyas Paulet (1536-1588). In reality, his children were called Anthony and George. Perhaps Amyas and Henry were nephews of the hated Amyas Paulet. Stefano Villani, “Una finestra mediterranea sull’Europa: I “nordici” nella Livorno della prima età moderna,” in Livorno 1606-1806. Luogo di incontro tra popoli e culture, ed. Adriano Prosperi (Livorno: Allemandi, 2009), 158-177; “Protestanti a Livorno nella prima età moderna”, in Protestanten zwischen Venedig und Rom in der Frühen Neuzeit, hg. Uwe Israel, Michael Matheus (Berlin: Akademie Verlag, 2013), 129-142; Defining the Church of England in Italy in the Early Modern Times: British Reconciliations in the Documentation of the Inquisition of Pisa, Études Épistémè [Online], 31 2017, made available online 6 October 2017; Barbara Donati, Tra Inquisizione e Granducato. Storie di inglesi nella Livorno del primo Seicento (Rome: Edizioni di Storia e Letteratura, 2010).

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with them, or cross the border they had erected, even for the resourceful Jesuit who was considered an assured and combative intermediary. At the Feria V (Thursday) session of the Congregation, at which the pope was present, it was decided that they would be prohibited from leaving Rome without permission from the Inquisition. At the same time, Paul V (1605-1621) instructed Cardinal Gian Garzia Millini to send Father Persons to the young nobles, “as it was understood there was hope for their conversion.”31 For some time, efforts had already been made to find more adaptable, and hopefully more effective, strategies for the evermore numerous foreigners in the city. Their conversion would be pursued with more persuasive methods and by those who spoke and understood their language. At the Tribunal of Faith there were many ecclesiastic and lay interpreters, and during the jubilee year of 1635 the Tribunal’s work became significantly more intense. At almost every session of the Congregation, cases were presented concerning the conversion of heretics who appeared voluntarily before the Inquisition (the socalled “sponte comparentes”), or the successful, or problematic, attempts to drive heretics from Rome who had been hiding among the many pilgrims. Agostino Giulietti, a “servant from Lorraine” (lotharingus famulus) appeared before the tribunal and reported four German heretics staying at an inn near the “Quattro Fontane” in the center of Rome. After being interrogated, he was required to approach the German heretics, and perhaps convince them to convert, while they continued to be watched.32 He was considered trustworthy, since his conversion had been sanctioned by the Tribunal, and was relied upon for his knowledge of the foreign language. But linguistic communication was not always sufficient. This problem will repeatedly present itself throughout the seventeenth century and seriously jeopardize conversion politics that relied upon “the art of speech” (l’arte della parola) and persuasion. Ludolf Clens, an obstinate Saxon heretic, who along with his companions was encouraged to convert, stated that he could not discern which was the true faith and, although he was jailed, he repeatedly said that his decision to convert could not be forced. The cardinals decided that “religious men from their nation” ought to be sent to teach and convince them of the absolute “goodness” of the Catholic faith. An Englishman and adamant heretic, Johannes Mel, though repeatedly implored by English speaking priests, refused to convert because it conflicted with the solemn Oath of Allegiance he had made to the King of

31 32

ACDF, SO, Decreta SO (1610), c. 83r (43r). ACDF, SO, Decreta SO (1625), c. 36r.

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England.33 His decision to live in error was confirmed by his sentence to life imprisonment in a place to be later determined by the Congregation. The strategies of the “faithful” Saxon and Englishman were dictated by fear, in order to buy time and defer the sentence that would punish deliberate, scandalous, intransigence, and the refusal to compromise their conscience and will. These practices were certainly common and are verified by the inquisitorial documents which contain a variety of similar annotations. 2

Abjuring Heresy and Creating a New Identity

For many who decided to stay in Rome, or travel and make pilgrimages to other places in the Papal States, or areas under the Inquisition’s control, conversion could have been a necessary and decisive step for an individual with a new personal and religious identity. But the abjuring of error, and the abandoning of one’s faith, could also be a mere formality and convenience. It could be the compromise needed to guarantee an existence free from persecution, humiliation and extortion. In other words, it was a way of avoiding fear and preventing the negative impact on one’s material fortunes, disturbing one’s conscience or damaging one’s self-identity. Those working at the Tribunal of Faith’s central and peripheral outposts were well aware of this and sought, at all costs, to find a remedy. Throughout the seventeenth century, the Roman Church would aim to make the conversion process one of persuasion, re-education and transformation. This was preferable to superficial modification, and decisions of convenience deemed opportune or necessary to survive in areas monitored by the Inquisition. Given the possibility of being excluded or persecuted, as per the papal constitutions and the In Coena Domini bull (1568), some individuals came before the Holy Office to abjure their heresy and begin a new life. The words of the sponte comparentes are reproduced by the inquisitors according to a stereotypical format and are therefore filtered twice. They recount adventurous tales set in a Mediterranean threatened by Turkish raids and in a Europe marked by migration and trade. They tell of ships and travelers 33

ACDF, SO, Decreta SO (1610), c. 542r (273v): “hoc repugnari iuramentum fidelitatis per ipsum solenniter et iterato praestito sugo regi Angliae.” He is referring to the Oath of Allegiance imposed by James I upon his subjects following the Gunpowder Plot (5 November 1605). On the significance of the oath, see Paolo Prodi, Il sacramento del potere: il giuramento politico nella storia costituzionale dell’Occidente (Bologna: Il Mulino, 1992), 403-414; on the consequences in Europe of James I’s policy, see Stefania Tutino, Empire of Souls: Robert Bellarmine and the Christian Commonwealth (New York-Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2010).

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who daringly traversed religious space and confessional divisions from the shores of the Mediterranean to Northern Europe. Men and women crossed geographical, political and denominational borders, often adapting their faith in the hopes of a better life as they did so. They brought along with them different experiences and sensitivities, and they cultivated contacts and exchanges which, despite the bans issued by civil and religious authorities, permeated European culture and marked the relationships between the North and South. Many of the exchanges were ambiguous, a contamination of ideas and practices which, like the foreigners, continued to be viewed negatively and in relation to external factors such as war, famine and epidemics. The inquisitorial documents of the 1580s show a clear prevalence of returns to the Catholic faith by those who had been imprisoned by the Turks. These people might have taken advantage of an opportunity to flee, during the common jailbreaks, or perhaps escaped on their own, by land or sea, and voluntarily appeared before the Tribunal of Faith.34 They were usually released with the obligation to perform “penances” (penitenze salutari) which, in many cases, required a visit to the Seven Churches, a fasting of bread and water on Friday for three years, the reciting of the rosary twice a week, and the obligation to confess and take communion on Christmas, Easter and All Saints’ Day. These accounts insist upon depicting the conversion “to the sect of Mohammed” (alla setta di Maometto) as an external façade, motivated by fear and the necessity to survive in precarious conditions like slavery.35 Giorgio di Teodoro Poara was enslaved by the Turks in 1571 and brought “to Morea in a region called Arcadia.” He was able to remain Christian for nine years but eventually promised to become a Turk to please his master “and because of the incessant beatings […] every day over the course of a month.” His deposition was filtered through a “Cypriot” interpreter and by the Holy Office notary, and his abjuration in Greek was translated word for word.36 Was it adapted or corrected? It is difficult to know. A Hungarian, Cristoforo Smeltz, was captured by the Turks when he was twenty years old, agreed to be circumcised, and had frequented mosques. But, in hopes of obtaining clemency, he 34 35

36

Bartolomé and Lucille Bennassar, Les Chrétiens d’Allah. L’histoire extraordinaire des renégats, XVI e-XVII e siècles (Paris: Perrin, 1989). On this topic which has stimulated much research as of late, see Lucetta Scaraffia, Rinnegati. Per una storia dell’identità occidentale (Rome-Bari: Laterza, 1993), as well as the critical observations of Adriano Prosperi, “Convertiti e rinnegati,” in Eresie e devozioni, III (Rome: Edizioni di Storia e Letteratura, 2010), 281-306. See also Giovanna Fiume, Schiavitù mediterranee. Corsari, rinnegati e santi di età moderna (Milan: Bruno Mondadori, 2009); Fosi, “Conversion and Autobiography, 437-456. TCD, ms 1227, f. 33 (30 March 1582).

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claimed that he had always recited Christian prayers and desired to return to the old faith. He abjured his forced decision before the judges of the faith and argued that he would never have succumbed “if it were not for the many beatings and other punishments used against [him] by the Turks.”37 There are many similar stories, and all are consonant with a stereotype supported by the form used by the Roman Tribunal for abjurations. This form, which would be used in the following centuries, came preprinted and only needed to be filled in.38 The abjuration forms used by the Holy Office remain, along with their rhetoric, the same from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries.39 If anything at all changes during this period of time, it is the instruments, places and institutions used to bring about conversions. The reasons people abjured their heresy and returned to the Church likewise changed: for instance, it was viewed as a safe haven from the revolutionary conflicts widespread throughout Europe during and after the French Revolution. These are genuine biographical profiles redacted at the moment of abjuration, in sequential order, and they were often preprinted with blank spaces wherein clichés were repeated, with minimal variation, in recounting the convert’s identity.40 Documents like these provide the official representation of the individuals who abjured, offering a concise summary of the details of the convert’s identity through a skillful investigation of the memorial which was faithfully presented, with judiciousness and skepticism, as suggested by the expression “as you claimed” (come asseristi) pronounced by the judge upon the convert. How “truthful” were these stories and how many simply reported what the judges wished to hear or record? The unstable boundary between truth and fiction, biography and autobiography, begs a question which can be asked in every conversion investigation: can we ever know the “true” motive behind a conversion? The stories told in the records also promoted a stereotypical ­image of the infidel Turk that was intended to circulate throughout European culture.41 “To dress like a Turk and nonchalantly eat meat every day” and 37

38 39 40 41

On this topic which has stimulated much research as of late, see Lucetta Scaraffia, Rinnegati. Per una storia dell’identità occidentale (Rome-Bari: Laterza, 1993), as well as the critical observations of Adriano Prosperi, “Convertiti e rinnegati,” in Eresie e devozioni, III, Devozioni e conversioni (Rome: Edizioni di Storia e Letteratura, 2010): 281-306. See also Giovanna Fiume, Schiavitù mediterranee. Corsari, rinnegati e santi di età moderna (Milan: Bruno Mondadori, 2009); Fosi, “Conversion and Autobiography, 437-456. In the same way are found the pre-printed forms of abjuration for the years 1834-1843, ACDF, SO, St. St. M 4-I, 1, m. For instance, see ACDF, SO, St. St. M 4-i, 1, n (1834-1843). ACDF, SO, St. St. M 4-h; TCD, mss. 1227; 1228. On the image of Turks in the European culture and mentality of this period, see Mustafa Soykut, Image of “Turk” in Italy: a History of the “Other” in Early Modern History, 1453-1683

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­ ractice circumcision, as told in the abjuration of the Albanian Giorgio, were p obligatory displays of Muslim identity that were imposed by slave masters “to the sound of beatings.”42 What emerges from these biographies is a clear contrast between the external display of the false religion and the internal practice, whereby one’s true religious affiliation remained intact and undestroyed. These standardized accounts evoke the fear of finding oneself before a tribunal that punished, but also provided the opportunity to begin a new life, breaking away from the past, and reintegrating oneself into society. The painful recollection of one’s past, often rent by violence and affliction, is emphasized in the hope of obtaining forgiveness and ultimately to partake in the rituals which liberatingly erased the past and so begin a new future. But this was an uncertain and even hostile future. In reality, these few examples, taken from a larger sampling, open like a window revealing a routine interaction between different worlds, a sort of background sound to an uninterrupted war, and a continuous crossing of borders, not only religious ones, and not only those present in the Mediterranean.43 The presence of Englishmen, “Germans” and “Flemings” becomes all the more frequent in the Holy Office documents during the late-sixteenth and early-seventeenth centuries. The two descriptive labels were broadly used to indicate the inhabitants of the Holy Roman Empire and Northern Europe. Many had converted in their homelands after seeking refuge in Capuchin or Jesuit convents and would later make the salvific journey to Rome. Their peregrination symbolized the endorsement of their religious choice and was accompanied by the memories of their past and a hope for a new life in Rome or another city. Appearances before the Inquisition – whether spontaneous or after being captured – permitted one to explain and distance oneself from the past, from one’s “heretical” education, and from family conflicts that arose from the presence of multiple religious affiliations in the home. Some individuals arrived at the true faith by reading Catholic books. These could have either been passed on by friends or recommended by zealots to whom the converts may have expressed their doubts, perhaps after having casually attended a Catholic sermon or religious function. For others, the choice was less definitive and was not so much a matter of Nicodemism as it was difficulty in grasping the dogmatic differences. (Berlin: Schwarz, 2001); Marina Formica, “Giochi di specchi. Dinamiche identitarie e rappresentazioni del Turco nella cultura del Cinquecento,” Rivista storica italiana 120 (2008): 5-53; Giovanni Ricci, Ossessione turca. In una retrovia cristiana dell’Europa moderna (Bologna: il Mulino, 2002). 42 TCD, ms. 1227, c. 33 (30 March 1582). 43 Prosperi, Devozioni e conversioni, 299.

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In February of 1603 “Franciscus Michaelis” of Nuremberg narrated the ­stages of his conversion to the inquisitors. His story would mirror the spiritual itinerary of many other converts and these future conversions very much concerned papal authorities and the Congregation of the Inquisition. He was born to Lutheran parents, had gone to Prague in the service of the nuncio, under the auspices of the emperor, and was convinced to recant his errors of faith. He abjured his heresy before the Jesuits of the Bohemian city and, once absolved, in foro conscientiae, received the sacraments for seven years, but he continued to attend “Lutheran sermons” (conciones Lutheranorum) and each time was confronted by serious doubts. He fell gravely ill and vowed that if he recovered, he would go to Rome. The Tribunal of Faith made him repeat his abjuration, absolved him, sanctioned his conversion as “definitive,” and forbade him to frequent heretic preachers or attend their sermons lest he be accused of perjury and punished with a fast of bread and water.44 Others converted simply because Catholic coworkers or compatriots had indicated their need of a patron saint to whom they could pray in sickness or in need.45 Yet, even in these cases, while a trip to Rome allowed for a healing of body and spirit, the accounts of these neo-Catholics show precisely how porous religious boundaries were in many areas of Europe.46 Above all, it is indicative of how, at the grassroots level, perceptions of such concepts differed from the rigid interpretation of theologians, polemicists and the Tribunal of the Roman Inquisition. Evidence of cherry-picking is recurrent in conversion stories and not only in the case of renegades. Victor Dogger, who was born into a Catholic family, maintained that Catholicism was associated with commoners. He later became involved with high-ranking Calvinists who promised to help him climb the social ladder if he remained in the “sect” (setta). But a priest in Paris convinced him of the impiety of his “heretical” choices and, upon his confession, he was absolved in foro conscientiae. Back in his homeland, however, the prospect of social advancement prevailed, and he presented himself as a Lutheran. Upon traveling to Rome to see the monuments, he appeared before the 44 45 46

TCD, ms 1228, c. 29. Ibidem, c. 81 (7 May 1603) On the vague perception of religious confines in different parts of Europe, see Keith Luria, Sacred Boundaries: Religious Coexistence and Conflict in Early Modern France (Washington: The Catholic University Press of America, 2005), which highlights how the permeability of religious confines and its perception often depend upon external factors: political, economic, and domestic. For an analysis of abjuration accounts (with imprecisions in the transcription of sources) in Jane Wickersham, “Results of Reformation: Ritual, Doctrine and Religious Conversion”, The Seventeenth Century, 18, no.2 (2003): 266-289; Fosi, “Conversion and Autobiography, 437-456.

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Inquisition and affirmed that, in his heart, he had never ceased being Catholic.47 On occasion he had traversed denominational borders, but this was due to his inability to understand the profound differences. The word of Catholic friends, the example of converts, a direct observation of “Catholic customs” that perhaps exposed clichés in their homeland, Catholic mothers who transmitted their religion to their children – against their fathers’ will – and the education thereby provided, stand out as the most frequent “motives for conversion” (motiva conversionis) that appear in the abjuration forms. The subjects of Elizabeth I who, like the sponte comparentes, found themselves before the Tribunal of the Inquisition went to the English College upon their arrival in Rome, or would later lodge there to receive aid. They had firsthand experience of the social upheavals caused by religious politics – within their own families- and by the “unjust laws of the current pretender Queen of England,” vis-à-vis Catholics, as expressed in their abjuration forms. They were born into mixed marriages, were conveniently educated in the reformed religion, and had read heretical books recommended to them by their teachers and friends. Others had traveled around Europe and, for unknown reasons, had come to Rome. The reason for their conversion may have been deliberately left vague in these stereotypical documents. Some had come to the Eternal City to see the Antiquities, others came out of mere “curiosity.” Others still came to make their fortune as soldiers, merchants and sailors. Some, like Jacob Cipper of Sommertown, had fought in the war against the Catholics in France. He explained that although he had been raised Anglican, older people had spoken to him of the papist religion; the document’s redactors stressed that it was called this out of disdain. He was also told about its ceremonies, especially the mass, and his father always said it was a good practice to pray for the dead. Recollections of this religion could not be erased by Elizabethan politics. Indeed, they were orally transmitted, perhaps deeply rooted in the minds of Englishmen, and were compounded by other circumstances and people in France, which would lead them to doubt. We have seen how the English College operated as a nonpareil point of reference for those escaping persecution or for individuals traveling through Europe who no longer wished to return to England. Conversions took place within the College’s walls since priests spoke the language of the visitors and could direct, and undoubtedly influence, religious choices. In many cases, the converts admitted to the College would be made into missionaries for the arduous task of reconquering England. The confession of error and the abjuration of those who came before the Inquisition were strictly codified and left no margin for creativity, neither on 47

TCD, ms 1228, c. 106.

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the part of the penitent nor the confessor. The presence of a notary guaranteed a proper and official redaction of the abjuration certificate wherein the convert would recant their past errors and earnestly embark upon a new life. The protocol for receiving and reporting these accounts are provided, for instance, by Eliseo Masini in the Sacro Arsenale, which was the most widely circulated inquisitorial manual during the seventeenth century.48 After taking an oath before the notary, who would redact his deposition, the convert would provide an account of his life.49 The recollection of one’s past, of one’s homeland and relatives symbolized the painful and successful abandonment of error. And the kindness and good will of the inquisitors did not ease the cruel and subtle punishment inflicted by the memory of that which had been abandoned and rejected for a new and uncertain life. But reassurance was to be had through the conviction of faith and with the maternal welcome of the Catholic Church. In these autobiographies, elaborated before the tribunal, conversion was emphasized as an essential passage. Sometimes it was a solemn affair, and other times it was brought about by tragic circumstances. Yet, even in the case of commoners, it symbolized a poignant moment in their biography/autobiography, which otherwise left no trace of the event, save for a standardized form presented to the Tribunal of Faith. But what happened afterwards? What bearing did conversion have on the life of a convert? It is not always easy to track the abjurations since names rarely appear in the list of those who received alms and then often disappeared without a trace. 3 Clement VIII’s “Womb of Paternal Compassion” Beginning in the seventeenth century, during the Holy Year festivities, there developed a new method of managing the growing number of foreigners, 48

49

With respect to the “manner of receiving the deposition of a Heretic who has voluntarily appeared,” the Dominican wrote that “certainly whoever willingly appeared before the Inquisitor, will freely confess his errors and heresies, in which he had especially been raised and instructed and should not be received by the Judge in any manner if not kindly, and treated pleasantly, and be released, without any incarceration, fees, torments or punishments of any kind.” Eliseo Masini, Sacro Arsenale overo pratica dell’Officio della S. Inquisitione (Rome: Reverenda Camera Apostolica, 1693), 174. The convert needed to provide “his father’s name, his country, sect, or family’s Religion, that is whether they were, or currently are Heretics, or Catholics, his formation and education in heresy, of which he will need to explain at least the principles he remembers and the reason, that is the motive of his conversion to the Holy Catholic Faith, in the manner that follows, however changing those things that need to be changed in each individual case and on the individual person”: Ibidem.

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pilgrims and travelers in the city. As in the past, it was aimed at unveiling and identifying heretics, and then to financially assist and convert them. This strategy is fully described by the late Oratorian historiography: “During the Holy Year of 1600, when even heretics would come to Rome out of curiosity, they would be converted. Precisely to this end, in the Church of the Santi Apostoli Simone e Giuda in Monte Giordano, a congregation was established where ­every Saturday those who returned to the fold of the Holy Church were preached to and catechized….And along with the spiritual riches those poor heretics, who illuminated ran into the arms of the Holy Church, were also accorded abundant alms; whereupon it earned the glorious name of the ‘refuge of converts’,”50 and it would be employed throughout the seventeenth century with different variations and uncertainties. It was oriented within the postTridentine Church’s extensive program of control and discipline, via the system of congregations that had been redesigned and enhanced by Sixtus V and Clement VIII. The protagonist of this initiative, which appeared to be directly related to the jubilee event, was the Oratorian Giovanni Giovenale Ancina. Yet both seventeenth century and subsequent chronicles attributed the initiative to Clement VIII who relished in triumphant glory during the jubilee celebrations.51 As in the other reports on the Congregation’s organization and activity no further mention was made of Ancina’s work. Nonetheless, he was a central yet problematic figure within the Oratorian Congregation.52 Pope Aldobrandini was labeled the sole founder of the institution and his actions once again became linked to the issue of converting heretics. This initiative strove to promote and publicize the benevolence shown to those who returned to the fold. It was also intended to destroy the negative image of Rome and the Papacy and 50 51

52

Memorie historiche della Congregazione dell’Oratorio […] raccolte e date alla luce da Giovanni Marciano, I (Naples: De Bonis stampatore arcivescovile, 1693), 442-443. A later deposition explicitly stated that “His Majesty of Clement VIII, with his womb of paternal piety, pitying those who turned from the shadow of heresy to the light of Ca­ tholic truth, and came to Rome to abjure their errors, sometimes found themselves not only in need of someone to instruct them in matters pertaining to spiritual health, but often required sustenance, founded a Congregation originally called De iis qui sponte veniunt ad fidem which was later given a more significant name, De Conversis ad fidem adiuvandis”: ACDF, SO, St. St. M 4-a, cc. 574r-576r. Fiorani dedicates a few pages to the foundation of this Congregation, Luigi Fiorani, “Verso la nuova città. Conversione e conversionismo a Roma nel Cinque-Seicento,” Ricerche per la storia religiosa di Roma 10 (1998): 149-155. He maintains that it closed its doors shortly after 1600 and was exclusively linked to the work of Giovanni Giovenale Ancina and his presence in Rome. Pietro Damilano, “Ancina, Giovanni Giovenale,” in Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani, 3 (Rome: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, 1961), 40-43. On the role of Oratorians in conversion politics, see Ricarda Matheus, “Gli oratoriani e i protestanti: concetti e pratiche di conversione a Roma (XVI-XVIII secolo)”, Rivista di Storia di Cristianesimo 1 (2010): 107-123; Mazur, Conversion to Catholicism, 45-50; 53-54.

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to provide the ideal tools for refashioning the new image of Catholicism, which was to be long lasting and overcome heresy. The role of Filippo Neri’s confraternal brothers soon became marginal and control was given to the pope’s closest collaborators. The Congregation developed into an instrument of the Papacy, and this was a pivotal and important move. The conversion of heretics was now under the purview of the pope, his tribunals and the Congregations that were strictly controlled by the Roman curia. During the papacy of ­Clement VIII, a number of conversion plans were launched with the goal of regenerating the missionary program. Yet some were short lived, like the Congregation “de Propaganda Fide”, which would be later established in 1622. The belief that converts should quickly become zealous and enthusiastic missionaries and bring news of their Roman conversion experience to their homeland circulated inside and outside the curia. It was also behind Giovanni Giovenale ­Ancina’s initiative who, having instituted the Congregation, felt that neo-Catholics should, “after being well taught the Christian religion [the converts should] return to their homelands. He would personally compose their itineraries, assign them places to stay each day, and supply them with letters for various devout persons, so that they would be accorded charitable lodging.”53 During the pontificate of Paul V, conversion initiatives were similarly undertaken, but to meet different ends. Conversion institutions appeared throughout Europe with the purpose of aiding, reeducating and controlling. The most renowned was the one established in Cologne, notably for the problems arising from its relations with the Holy Office and Holy See.54 On 27 March 1614 news reached the Holy Office from the Nuncio of Cologne, Antonio Albergati. At the time, he was in Liege and informed that a confraternity had been founded in the city to aid those who converted to the Catholic faith.55 The problems resolved by the 53 54

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Memorie historiche, 442. This was the Congregazione della Passione del Signore e della Croce, founded by the nuncio Albergati on 2 January 1612 with headquarters in the church of the Capuchins, see Leo Just, “Beiträge zur Geschichte der Kölner Nuntiatur”, Quellen und Forschungen aus italienischen Archiven und Bibliotheken 36 (1956): 256-271, 296-307; Le istruzioni generali di Paolo V ai diplomatici pontifici 1605-1621 ed. Silvano Giordano OCD, II (Tübingen: Max Niemeyer, 2003), 1032, n. 10. “Two years ago, with His Holiness’ permission, I established a congregation in Cologne in the Church of the Capuchins, to host heretics who returned to the womb of the Holy Church and particularly the Ministers who have nowhere to go, which was visited by the Duke of Bavaria, the Elector of Cologne, […] and many other illustrious gentlemen to learn of its merits: the daily profits are great, because many heretics contribute daily and profit is made. All of the named gentleman and the Nuncio are taxed annually to maintain this Holy enterprise. And I will send the regulations to your Lordship regarding the

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foundation of the pious institution, in the Rhine city, were considerable and not only financial in nature.56 On 7 March 1575 the Confraternita dello Spirito Santo was founded in Turin and “was an institution for aiding Jews and infidels who converted to the Holy Faith, providing them with lodging and food for 40 days or more, as was feasible, and which merged with the Compagnia de’ Catecumeni of Rome in 1589.”57 Though it continued its operations until 1653 it also became necessary to provide assistance to heretics who converted in the Duchy of Savoy and “support them, educate them well and find them work so they do not return to their homelands and risk falling back into heresy.” The nephew of Cardinal Francesco Adriano Ceva, a member of “Propaganda Fide”, succeeded in having his uncle’s income from the benefices possessed in the Savoy territories and in Lombardy used to establish a true hospice for converts. The institution was essentially an outpost at the border of the “heresy infected” valleys and challenged the “heretic ministers who threatened to kill those who became Catholic.” Naturally, it was supervised by the Inquisitor of Turin, the nuncio and the Roman Congregation. But during the course of the seventeenth century there was a decline in its activity due to financial troubles and issues arising from those feigning to be Catholic to benefit from lodging, clothing and alms. These problems were also faced by the Roman institutions whose ministers prudently endeavored to uphold the goals of the conversion program, which differed within Rome and in other places. Yet even the new Roman institution soon faced logistical and financial difficulties. The alms provided by the pope, cardinals and Roman nobles soon became insufficient for maintaining the grandiose conversion program. It had been undertaken and publicized along with the Holy Year and, above all, for providing dignified accommodations for those who abjured their heresy in the hopes of avoiding destitution. The issue of tangible aid was fundamental to the

56

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institution and its scope.” ACDF, SO, St. St. H 2-f, c. 29r-34r. Georg Denzler, Die Propaganda Kongregation in Rom und die Kirche in Deutschland im ersten Jahrzenht nach dem Westfälischen Friend (Paderborn: Schöning, 1969), 183, n. 28 erroneously attributes the foundation of the Congregation of Cologne to the nuncius Giuseppe Maria Sanfelice. Regarding the conversion enterprise of the nuncios of Cologne, see Burkhard Roberg, “Das Wirken der kölner Nuntien in den protestantischen Territorien Norddeutschlands,” Römische Quartalschrift 84 (1989): 51-72. In order to overcome financial difficulty and the hostility of the heretics “envious of our wellbeing and of the progress we are making, they try to deprive them of the aid and food they require,” thus the emperor’s help was requested, Istruzione a Vitaliano Visconti Borromeo (10 July 1616), in Le istruzioni generali di Paolo V, 1032, n. 10. ACDF, SO, St. St. M 4-a: Circa Hospitium erectum in Taurini pro hereticis amplectentibus S. Fidem Catholicam.

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entire project and reducible to a matter of maintaining honor and order in the city. This was worsened by the growing and threatening presence of poor people, not only for neo-Catholics, but also for the Church. Fraternization between converts and vagabonds, living in potentially dangerous conditions and contaminating the Roman streets, could not be risked. And those who had left their homelands, families and properties could not be disappointed. Therefore, it was imperative to offer them concrete proof of the maternal generosity of their new Church, as well as hope and the certainty of permanent accommodations in Rome or somewhere else. In 1600, at the time of the Roman Congregation’s foundation, the funds for aiding those who abjured their heresy were by and large nonexistent. Clement VIII’s monthly donation of twenty-five scudi resulted in the institution becoming financially dependent on papal charity and liberalitas. It was later decided that, in lieu of the 25 scudi, papal almoners would provide “the amount of alms required.” The donations of cardinals, a monthly allowance of 50 scudi from “Propaganda Fide”, and financial reserves allowed the institution to continue its operations for the entire first half of the seventeenth century. As such, it was always connected to the inquisitorial and missionary Congregation and was organized like the other congregations of the Roman curia. It was run by a cardinal prefect, a French Benedictine, Anne Escars de Givry (1546-1612), who was involved in the reconciliation of Henry IV (1595) and in strengthening his ties with Rome. Other affiliates included members of the curia while the bursar, later called the secretary, oversaw the management of revenue and matters to be discussed during the Congregation’s weekly meetings. During the papacies of Paul V (1605-1621) and Urban VIII (1623-1644), Cardinal Gian Garzia Millini and Marzio Ginetti held the office of prefect respectively. The latter remained in his position until the papacy of Alexander VII (1655-67), at which time the entire Congregation was reestablished and assigned another prefect. This was a decisive move by the pope who was greatly influenced by his extensive experience in Germany. The presence of theologians at the Congregation’s initial meetings, like ­Robert Bellarmine and the Cardinal Vicar, is revelatory of the strategy that had been employed from the very beginning: discovering, approaching and converting foreign heretics. The Vicar and other prelates and clerics needed to “direct the heretics to the Holy Office, make them confess, communicate with them, help them as per their needs and personalities, and in due course catechize them.”58 Thus there was an attempt to foster a joint effort between the highest spiritual authorities, the Cardinal Vicar of Rome and the Holy ­Office of the Universal Church. Beginning in 1622, the “Propaganda Fide” 58

Ibidem, c. 204r.

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began monitoring the congregation to manage its conversion strategy and respond – albeit with random and insufficient sources – to the continuous requests for alms and aid made by neo-Catholics. And there was no shortage of tricks and scams. In Rome, the Church authorities, whose purview was becoming more extensive and often ambiguous, would track down those guilty of crimes of mixed forum (crimini di misto foro). In order to identify heretics and false converts, vagabonds and phony paupers, the very same tools were used as in ordinary crimes.59 The work of the individuals in the institutions became indispensable since, like the colleges, they were approached not only by foreigners but also by numerous Roman hospitals. Figures like Robert Persons, or the physician and papal herbalist Johannes Faber, became strategic instruments of control. They were both well-known and later coveted, especially for their knowledge of the languages of the ultramontani. The fragmented records of the Congregation’s operations during the papacy of Urban VIII reveal that the “Propaganda Fide” continuously received alms requests for new converts. But it also received letters expressing the concerns of neo-Catholics who were occasionally disappointed by the lack of assistance, the shortage of alms, and by the behavior of priests unamenable to understanding the problems faced by foreigners in a new and heavily guarded host society. In 1627 a woman complained of a priest’s lack of preparation to whom she had been sent “to be educated, and I do not know why he simply sent her away.”60 In many later instances it was revealed that parish priests were especially incapable of dealing with foreigners, since the Holy Mother Church successfully tolerates non-Catholic oltramontani coming to stay in Rome, it happens quite often that many, during their stay, fall ill and given the dangerous progression of their ailment the innkeepers call for the parish priests to visit them, whose purpose, albeit holy, often proves more dangerous than beneficial, treating the ailing person with harsh words, a soul steeped and nourished in those nefarious beliefs, from which there developed an aversion to the Catholic faith and an explicit reticence to conversion. In such cases it would be of great benefit to assign individuals to visit those ailing persons, such that with knowledge of the different languages and pious and prudent manners they might be reunited in obedience to the Church.61 59 60 61

At a 1634 session of the Congregation it was noted that “two alms requesters, using false names of heretics, who had converted to the Catholic faith, were banned from all ecclesiastical life.” ACDF, SO, St. St. 12-e, c. 417r. ACDF, SO, St. St. M-4a, c. 230r. Ibidem, c. 643r.

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The success of the new projects was risked by ignorant and aggressive Roman parish priests. Initiatives of conversion, assistance and integration were publicized, reproduced elsewhere and founded on “good manners” (buone maniere). They also required a certain sensibility that was only cultivated in the milieu of the curia and “new” religious orders, like the Oratorians. It had not been adopted by lower members of the clergy, that is, those who would have initial contact with foreigners in their homes, in the streets and in taverns. In terms of receiving aid, it was inevitable that preference would be given to those endorsed by curia members or agreeable parish priests. The same would hold true for converted aristocrats who, having embraced their new faith, were prepared to return home. In these cases, the Congregation, aside from providing the money needed for the journey, would lavish them with gifts to bring to their coreligionists, as proof of Roman generosity, and to keep alive the Marian cult and that of the saints. Indeed, it was recorded among the expenses incurred by the Congregation, in 1630, that two English nobles who had become Catholics in Rome were given three dozen crowns, one hundred medals, and money for their trip home.62 That which took place in the pope’s city served as a model for all Catholic countries and echoed around reformed Europe, fueling anti-Roman polemics and propaganda, all throughout the seventeenth century. 4

Rome, a Den of Spies

Clement VIII’s clear universalistic aspirations, and desire to make Rome the center and exemplum of conversion, through a bold propaganda enterprise, resulted in triumphant returns to the Catholic Church. This occurred not only in Rome, during the favorable time of the Holy Year, but all throughout Europe. In France, the sovereign convert, Henry IV, was finally recognized by Rome as a legitimate king. In the imperial territories, many princes abjured the reformed faith thus adding to the increasing number of Catholics.63 Theirs and other successful conversions were fodder for the polemics that were rampant in reformed areas, and not only in the empire. The conversions in Rome were viewed with suspicion and converts became instruments of mediation between Protestant Europe and the Papacy. But their intervention cannot be merely reduced to matters of religion. Their work, correspondence, literary 62 63

Ibidem, c. 224v. A list of these conversions in Andreas Räss, Die Convertiten seit der Reformation nach ihrem Leben und aus ihren Schriften (10 Bde., Freiburg. B.: Herder, 1866-1875).

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exchange and personal contacts promoted friendship, loyalty and patronage. It also opened channels of cultural communication and circulation between Rome and the rest of Europe. Some viewed this interaction as a poison from the South – from papist Rome – that was spreading throughout reformed countries and threatened to weaken their foundations. The protagonists of this devious plan were labeled as spies and are some of the figures we will encounter in the following pages. A work titled His Alarm to All Protestant Princes is an example of the pamphleteering which depicted Rome as a dangerous den of spies. The text, written in Latin and containing 41 points, was almost certainly published in Amsterdam in 1603. It was republished in 1677, in English, and likely in Amsterdam, during a particularly bitter moment in the anti-Catholic struggle on the Island following the revolution.64 Little information is available on the author, Francis Broccard (Francesco Broccardo?) who, in the English translation, is referred to as “secretary to pope Clement the Eight.” The writer, a Catholic turned Calvinist who has not been found in Clement VIII’s Ruoli, is aware of the role played by pope Aldobrandini in the Catholic reconquering of Protestant Europe.65 But a finger is above all pointed at the converts who, moved by their newfound zeal against former coreligionists, betrayed the trust of whoever naively believed that a shared origin was still valued, irrespective of religious differences. The pamphlet was widespread throughout Europe, especially in England, after the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660, when fear of a papist conspiracy had been rekindled.66 As stated by the translator, in the introduction to the English edition, Francis Broccard targets Clement VIII’s politics in the Holy Roman Empire, in France, The Netherlands, and in England, to reconquer heretic countries and return them to Catholicism. Points 23-35 of his text are especially interesting because of the precision with 64

Francis Broccard, His Alarm to all Protestant Princes. With a Discovery of Papish Plot and Conspiracies, after his Conversion from Popery to Protestant Religion. London, 1679. The original Latin version of the pamphlet was called Consilia vaticana retecta and is contained in Francis Potter, Interpretatio numeri 666 (London: R. Chiswell, 1677). On the impressive number of anti-Catholic English propaganda pamphlets, see Catholicism and Anticatholicism in Early Modern Texts, ed. Arthur F. Marotti (Baskingstoke: Macmillan, 1999). 65 BAV, Ruoli 109-145. 66 Broccard, His Alarm…, 14-15. On papist conspiracies and the related pamphleteering, see Stefano Villani, “Complotti papisti in Inghilterra tra il 1570 e il 1679” in Congiure e Complotti, ed. Marina Caffiero and Maria Antonietta Visceglia, special issue of Roma moderna e contemporanea, XI, 1, no. 2 (2003): 134-142; For an overall discussion, see John Kenyon, The Popish Plot (London: W. Heinemann, 1972); Michael Mullet, James II and English Politics. 1678-1688 (London: Routledge, 1994); Susanne Jane Abbott, Anti-Catholicism and Anti-Popery. Religion and Language in English Politics, 1678-1720 (Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, University College, London, 2004).

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which the Roman institutions and environment are described – except for people’s names! Herein, there is a complete demonization of the more piercing components of Clement’s conversion politics. The establishment of two congregations- the Congregatio ad propagationem Fidei, the “short-lived” one (founded 10 August 1599 lived up to 1604 ca) led by the Cardinal of Santa Severina, Giulio Santori) and the Congregatio sacri foederis (founded by Ancina).67 Their organization and weekly meetings aimed “to contrive, propose, and consider all means of propagating the Popish Tyranny, and how to prepare the way for the persecution, and the butchering of Protestants; and how to lay hold of all advantages of beginning that cursed War designed against them.”68 It is known that the foundation of the Congregation “de Propaganda Fide” by Gregory XV (1621-1623) on 6 January 1622 had been preceded by attempts, during the pontificate of pope Aldobrandini, to organize the missionary initiative and conversion strategy in a more organic way, under central control. Religious orders including the Oratorians, Jesuits, Discalced Carmelites and Clerics Regular of the Mother of God were actively involved in this effort, as were prominent figures like Cesare Baronio, Robert Bellarmine, Jerónimo Gracián de la Madre de Dios and Giovanni Leonardi.69 Broccard considered these two congregations to be a den of “Spies and Emissaries who every year in great numbers are imployed to make broils in Protestant Countries, and seduce the Professors of the true Religion.”70 Their tool was the Jesuits, who were influenced by the pope and active in cultivating “Trojan horses” in German and English colleges to be later deployed in Protestant countries. With their knowledge of the language and support of the nobility and princes, these “Traiters and Seducers” would infiltrate in order to inject poison. Francis Broccard provides a list of names – with very imprecise spelling – of those who favored the Catholic reconquering of the Empire and overlooked what the Papacy had done in France and England to recover its lost positions. And he viewed, with a very critical eye, the conversions to Catholicism of some territorial princes in the Holy Roman Empire, of noble men and even of learned evangelical preachers, which marked the end of the sixteenth century, In Rome, hope for a 67

Marko Jacov, “Clément VIII et la fondation de la Congrégation pour la Propagation de la Foi en 1599”, Revue d’Histoire Ecclésiastique, 100 (2005): 5-14. 68 Broccard, His Alarm…, 12. 69 Giovanni Pizzorusso, “La Compagnia di Gesù, gli ordini regolari e il processo di affermazione della giurisdizione pontificia sulle missioni tra fine XVI e inizio XVII secolo” in I gesuiti al tempo di Claudio Acquaviva. Strategie politiche, religiose e culturali tra Cinque e Seicento, ed. Paolo Broggio, Francesca Cantù, Pierre-Antoine Fabre and Antonella Romano (Brescia: Morcelliana, 2007), 55-85. 70 Francis Broccard, His Alarm…, 12.

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reconquest of territories for Roman Catholicism was raised through the using of new methods, such as caresses and courtesy (carezze e cortesie), financial support, charitable assistance, cultural and religious persuasion. Yet he could not overlook the scores of people coming to the papal city to recant their ­heresy: .

There is a great number of them every day flocking to Rome, to renounce the true Faith of Christ; but much greater of those who do privately at home abiure it, and are by these Emissaries instructed in the Popish idolatry, and are maintained in the Country and Cities of Germany, that living covertly and under disguise amongst Protestants, they may have the better opportunity of promoting the Popish interest; and do it effectually: for by their means it is perfectly known to Rome, what are the Protestant designs, differences and inclinations.71 Broccard claimed to have personally met some of the apostates who were generally of a “mean condition” and had successfully assimilated into Roman society and the papal court. Others were unleashed upon Italian cities to observe “whether any of the Protestant Princes or Nobility come to Italy.” Among the spies in Rome he lists two innkeepers, “John Hierom Fendri, who lets lodgings at the sign of the White Lion [and] John Scherver, at the Sign of the Black Eagle, near the bridge of St. Angelo.”72 The former was paid by the pope, along with his two sons, to report Germans who found their way to his inn. There was also a Dutch tailor, in via Giulia, who, along with others, shuttled between the city’s inns and hotels to reveal and report heretic adventurers. Their knowledge of the language permitted them to shrewdly mingle with the foreigners and discover their origins, religion and opinions on theological matters and religious practices. As we can imagine, superficial questions would have elicited equally superficial answers, which could have easily led to misunderstandings. Suspects were reported irrespective of social status and, Broccard affirms, for this they were paid by the pope. But the names on his list were not only those of innkeepers, tailors and anonymous figures. He also provided the names of famous converts who had obtained prestigious positions in Rome, like Johannes Faber, Gaspar Schoppe, Giusto Calvino and Guillaume Reboul. Their experiences were exemplary of the liminal status of converts who were sometimes zealous and openminded or else prudent to the point of exag­ geration. They were looked upon with suspicion, not only by their former 71 Ibidem. 72 Broccard, His Alarm…, 13.

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coreligionists but even by Catholics. We will encounter these figures in the following pages. Their task was to socialize, converse, persuade, betray and denounce heretics found in Rome to the Inquisition. The higher their position, the more intense and refined their efforts would be, and their prey would be all the larger, such as nobles and princes. As soon as these “Apostates and Spies” discovered a foreigner, either the pope or the inquisitors would send “some person of good condition to attend to them, and shew (i.e. show) them all civilities, and bestow upon them small presents, and entertain them with very civil language, and encourage them not to be afraid,” all the while never failing to forget, amid the “presents, flatteries, and artifices” to investigate their religious affiliation. Those accompanying high ranking figures were promised a career, while the future of lower class foreigners was decidedly less attractive. They were summoned before the Inquisition and “by long imprisonments and cruel torments they force to renounce Christ; or if they persist constant in truth, then by fire and sword and cruel torments they kill and destroy them.”73 Broccard’s writing constitutes a summation of the past and present negative views of the Papacy, Rome and the Inquisition. He re-elaborates them to highlight the nuances of Clement VIII’s conversion politics which persisted, with fluctuations, uncertainties and difficulties, throughout the century during the Catholic period of reconquering. He also captured in his coverage the disruptive significance of all of the elements used in Rome and implemented in what was a large-scale conversion program, conducted with the aid of the colleges lead by Jesuits. In short, it was a completely negative reading of Roman politics, and the protagonists within it, which would achieve approval and reception in the public opinion of post-Reformation Europe.74 73 Broccard, His Alarm…, 15-16. 74 For an analysis of the negative image of the Inquisition in European culture and particularly in seventeenth century England, see Michaela Valente, Contro l’inquisizione. Il dibattito europeo secc. XVI-XVII (Turin: Claudiana, 2009), 79-88.

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Cristoforo Gaspare Fischer: a Goldsmith, His Inheritance and the Inquisition 1

Cristoforo “Piscator aurifex in Urbe” Most illustrious and reverend sirs, the German Christoforo Piscatore died during these past months in Rome, and left behind children, the eldest of whom is eight years old, and given the decedent’s interest in their wellbeing, he assigned them guardians. Presently there came a man sent from Germany by the decedent’s brother, Giorgio, bearing a proxy to collect the effects of the said inheritance and to accompany the youngsters to those territories. Your Graces are therefore requested to consider that the youngsters not be permitted to be brought to those countries of dubious faith, also since Giorgio, who will be responsible for the said children, had in the past been prosecuted by this Holy Tribunal and, in order to avoid it fled. The father of the children was likewise investigated, prosecuted and incarcerated. You are thus implored to consider the souls of the youngsters, who nec nolle nec velle, and would have to be raised in those suspicious countries, by suspicious persons, and order Gio. Paolo and Domenico Fantitto, one a goldsmith at the Orefici, the other a cobbler at San Blasio, in via Giulia, who are their guardians, and the man who came to Rome to collect them, that they shall not be removed from Rome. And further order that the guardians not release the inheritance to the said agent since it is under the purview of the Apostolic Chamber, since the heir is under investigation and sentenced in absentia by this Holy Inquisition.1

An anonymous letter was sent to the Congregation of the Holy Office warning of the imminent departure, from Rome, of the two children of a recently deceased German goldsmith, Cristoforo Pescatore. They were expected to travel to Nuremberg, where they would be placed in the care of Cristoforo’s brother, Georg, and his wife. But Nuremberg was a city governed by heretics, and investigations and “rumors” (voci) had revealed that Georg and his wife were not 1 ACDF, SO, St. St. L 7-c, c. 876rv.

© Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2020 | doi:10.1163/9789004422667_005

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Catholic. The message was clear: the children’s souls were in danger, as was a sizeable inheritance that would accompany them to Germany. On 17 November 1626, the Tribunal of Faith ordered the sequestration of Cristoforo’s assets and prohibited his two children from leaving Rome. Thus began a controversy that would involve the Inquisition, the children’s guardians, Georg Fischer’s agent, and the Senate and consuls of Nuremberg. The affair also raised the ­issue of relations between Rome, her many foreign communities, and the oltramontani merchants who resided there, permanently or temporarily, and imported suspicious items and ideas. In this case, as in others documented in the inquisitorial records, and those of the nonciatures, the “treatment” of foreigners in Rome must be examined from beyond the Roman scene. The tension between denominations and the rapport between the Papacy and the European States must also be considered. This problem was linked to potential retaliation and revenge against Catholics – merchants and travelers – who were living in heresy – “infected” countries. Roman authorities therefore needed to carefully weigh their options and consider the consequences their actions might have in the broader European context. But who was Cristoforo Gaspare Fischer, “aurifex in Urbe”? His surname is found written a number of different ways – Vallian, Vescian, Viscer, Viger, Fischer – but he was usually called Pescatore (“vulgariter Piscator”), as indicated in the large inquisitorial dossier, and was likely born in Augsburg around 1570. In the Roman documents his origin is reported differently and with vague terms, like praghensis, fiammingo and todesco, often used to identify those who came from beyond the Alps and traveled around Europe in search of work and fortune. Ambiguity and mobility were among the negative traits associated with foreigners, even after they had lived for a while in a new city. He had arrived in Rome around 1604 and was quickly admitted to the Roman university of silver and goldsmiths. Like many artists and artisans, he was likely attracted by the prospect of income offered by the Roman court, and the generous commissions of cardinals, curia members, nobles and merchants. And perhaps, like other artists and artisans from Northern Europe, Cristoforo had assimilated into Roman society by way of acquaintances, connections with compatriots already living in the city, or through the good offices of his colleagues. He worked as a master goldsmith at Rione Ponte, in via del Pellegrino, where the workshops of the most renowned goldsmiths were located. These artisans came from all over Italy, from Flanders, and from the Imperial territories, Nuremberg in particular. Cristoforo is registered among the workers for the years 1604 and 1616, and from 1606 to 1611 he lived and worked alongside Eugenio Clodio and the Bruto brothers. They had come from Torano in Sabina and were already well-known

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goldsmiths and active administrators at the Università di Sant’Eligio and in the confraternity of Roman silver and goldsmiths.2 In 1610 he traveled to Naples where he was robbed of a number of precious items. But, during his stay in the Parthenopean city, he met other German merchants and artisans. Some had been in trouble with the Inquisition, and he would later attempt to aid them from Rome. His work as a goldsmith soon made him famous, which likely caused some of his neighbors and fellow artisans to become envious. They may have looked upon the wealthy foreigner with suspicion and were prepared to collect and report every trace – whether alleged or true – of the heresy known to have infected his homeland. On 29 and 31 March 1616, two reports were made against him and presented to the Inquisition by Prudente di Paliano and Vincenzo Denaccioli of Città di Castello. He was accused of making heretical statements and on 14 April 1616 was interrogated, taken to trial and imprisoned in the Holy Office jail.3 Perhaps he let a word slip out in a moment of anger, or when discussing matters of theology forewent his usual discretion. But there may have been other reasons why his colleagues chose to appear before the Tribunal of Faith. On 1 September 1616 the Congregation convened to reexamine his case. One can imagine the desire to resolve the incident, and it is conceivable that important members of the German community, like the physician Johannes Faber, intervened on his behalf. However, the lack of documents impedes us from knowing what transpired that summer between the Congregation and the German community or the goldsmith colleagues who had accused him of heresy. Paul V was present at the September 1st meeting of the Congregation of the Inquisition and determined that Cristoforo should abjure.4 The goldsmith submitted a memorial wherein he indicated his precarious health and requested to be released from prison. The Tribunal conceded this request, and he was placed under “house arrest” (arresti domiciliari) at his residence in via del Pellegrino. This, however, was subject to a bond payment to guarantee his compliance with the provisions of his sentence and a promise to return to prison as soon as he had convalesced. Little more than a month had gone by when, on 12 October 1616, the Congregation of the Inquisition, to which Cristoforo Fischer had sent another memorial, granted him permission to move “about the city” (per Urbem), subject to the renewal of the bond and the 2 From 1610 he is recorded as living in via del Pellegrino, Noack, Das Deutschtum in Rom, II, 175. 3 ACDF, SO, Decreta (1616), c. 162rv. 4 “it was determined that Cristoforo, having been instructed in the Catholic faith, had a de formali abjuration and was condemned as a heretic, but because of his illness was permitted to stay in the aforementioned place, once guaranteed that he would not leave and would return to prison once he had convalesced.” Ibidem, c. 366r.

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obligation to appear monthly before the Holy Office.5 It seems his religious convictions no longer concerned the Tribunal, which was confident of the success of his Catholic reeducation. It was therefore preferable to grant him the right to move freely – perhaps to better observe his actions – and require him to pay considerable sums of money as security. But the goldsmith’s wealth proved tempting for the Tribunal, his external collaborators and all those who found themselves involved in the affair. Cristoforo’s assimilation into Roman society and the neighborhood in which he cultivated his professional skills was completed by his obligatory conversion, abjuration and confession made before the Holy Office. On 6 April he paid 10 scudi to the university and college of goldsmiths for a “membership license” (patente di ascrizione), and between 1623 and 1624 he received a stipend as overseer of the mint, which was a position of great importance. In 1624, 1625 and 1626 he financially backed a bond for three merchant brothers from Frankfurt. This was a common act of solidarity displayed towards compatriots who found themselves in trouble with the Tribunal of Faith. During these years many Germans in Rome and throughout Italy had trouble with the Inquisition and were aided, financially and socially, by wealthy and influential compatriots. Though he was aging and in poor health, he nevertheless married the younger, and possibly Roman, Ortensia Bonfatti. It was a Catholic marriage of convenience which served to dispel any and all doubts regarding his religious conviction and unstable life. Around 1618 Cristoforo had in fact fathered a son, Giuseppe, with “Maria a public courtesan” (Maria cortigiana publica), and shortly thereafter a daughter. He named the child Orsola, after his sister who had married a schoolteacher and lived in a small town near Nuremberg. By naming his daughter Orsola, Cristoforo was attempting to recreate a familiar setting with the loved ones and relatives he knew he would never see again. And, perhaps due to his deteriorating health, he repeatedly wrote to his brother Georg, a goldsmith in Nuremberg, requesting that he come to Rome. But the letters had either gotten lost en route or had possibly been sequestered. Only the last one arrived, but it was already too late, Cristoforo had by then died, and Georg knew he could do nothing to help. On 17 November the Congregation of the Inquisition convened at Campo Marzio in the palace of Cardinal Ottavio Bandini. A memorial by an “unknown author” (incerto auctore) had been brought to the Congregation’s attention and informed of Cristoforo’s death and the arrival, in Rome, of a German sent by his brother to collect his children and inheritance. The Inquisition had also 5 Ibidem, c. 422r.

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received an anonymous letter wherein it was specified that the goldsmith had left behind a substantial sum of money that would likewise be brought to Germany.6 Secret reports and letters were a common tool used by the Roman tribunals.7 This one likely came from an assistant of the notary who drew up the will and realized the potential profit to be made by collaborating with the inquisitors. And although the Holy Tribunal had repeatedly warned against the use of anonymous reports in the presentation and deliberation of cases, on 17 November 1626 the Congregation resolved to immediately sequester the goldsmith’s property and inheritance.8 The will’s executors, Giovan Paolo Fantetti of Aquila and Giovan Domenico Saluzzi, both goldsmiths in Rome, were also summoned to be interrogated.9 They gave testimony that an inventory of the inheritance had already been prepared by a notary of the Auditor Camerae which, after the distribution of various bequests, would amount to approximately 6,500 scudi. All of the property, especially the jewelry, was kept, as per Georg’s instructions, at the house of Jacomo Abertelli, a “German merchant who lived near the sewer of Santa Lucia.” His name was actually Jacob Apenzeller (or Appenzeller), and he was a merchant from St. Gallen who also had a run-in with the Inquisition. In 1620 he had voluntarily appeared before the Tribunal which declared his abjuration de formali.10 Meanwhile, the two children, Giuseppe and Orsola, had been taken from their mother, upon Cristoforo Fischer’s request, and were being cared for by Giovan Paolo Fantetti. But Maria Cavalletta, a Roman “public courtesan,” was not willing to accept the estrangement of her children. Thus, against the father’s will, she petitioned for custody of Giuseppe who was living with the 6

7 8 9

10

The letter spoke of “a will made by an individual who had been imprisoned by the Office of the Holy Inquisition for heresy, wherein he left his bequests to his heretic relatives in Nuremberg. As such, the informant offers your Excellencies full notice of the entire state of this inheritance, as well as the evidence needed to be certain of the aforementioned will, and the contents therein contained, provided that the said informant be granted a third of that which shall be obtained and found relative to the said testator.” ACDF, S. O., St. St. L 7-c, c. 877r. On the topic of anonymous reports and letters see Paolo Preto, “Persona per hora secreta.” Accusa e delazione nella Repubblica di Venezia (Milan: Il Saggiatore, 2003). ACDF, S.O., Decreta (1626), c. 217r. Costantino Bulgari, Argentieri, gemmari e orafi d’Italia. Notizie storiche e raccolte dei loro contrassegni con la riproduzione grafica dei punzoni individuali e dei punzoni di stato, 2 vols. (Rome: L. del Turco, 1958), I, 432 e II, 368. For an overall discussion on the presence of foreigners amongst the goldsmiths, see Michele Bimbenet-Privat, “Les orfevrès français à Rome 1500-1620,” Mélanges de l’École française de Rome. Italie et Méditerranée 104, no. 2 (1992): 455-478. ACDF, SO, Decreta (1620), cc. 413v-414r.

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goldsmith Fantetti. She even appeared at the boy’s school and attempted to take him home with her, “but I impeded it because – affirmed the executor – the father left him five hundred scudi, and four hundred to the girl, provided they not reside with their courtesan mother, and in the will it resolves that the aforesaid son should go to live with his uncle.”11 The goldsmith’s intentions were clear but clashed with Maria’s maternal affection and perhaps her desire to benefit from her son’s inheritance. Georg Fischer pointed out that the sum of 400 scudi, left to Orsola, was not enough to finance both her education in a convent and, if necessary, a dowry. During his interrogation he recounted that which had been told to him by “signor Ranieri, a goldsmith at palazzo di Sforza.” He had ordered that another 200 scudi be taken from the inheritance, “and if they should not suffice that an order be given for more to be released, and it is further ordered that Giuseppe reach the appropriate age prior to receiving his inheritance.” The matter of the inheritance, the contents of the will and the destiny of the children, ultimately became a public affair. And it was not confined to the German nation in Rome but involved goldsmiths who had known Cristoforo “Pescatore” during his more than twenty years in the city. Some became genuinely interested in the affair and some were instead driven by greed. Others were moved by solidarity, friendship and collegiality, which testifies to the presence of a solid network of relations within the multifaceted city of the pope. 2

Between Nuremberg and Rome

The executors of the will also presented a letter to the Inquisition from Georg Fischer, Cristoforo’s brother in Nuremberg, which confirmed their depositions that had been made before the Tribunal. It demonstrated a knowledge of the will’s provisions and established the decedent’s intention to provide for his children.12 Georg apologized for not being able to personally come to Rome to attend to his late brother’s affairs and bring back his “things” (robe). He needed 11 12

ACDF, SO, St. St. L 7-c, c. 881r. It in fact specified that “with regard to Orsolina, if I were in time to place her in a monastery it would be quite expensive, and I would be prepared to provide some aid, as I believe it better than to have her stay with someone. And if she cannot become a nun then she could marry, and nor do I wish to go against the father’s wishes, for he does not want her to go live with the mother, nor the son Giuseppe, who was to take up the profession in the knowledge that it is a good vocation. Nonetheless, if that not be the case, and travel were required, I would like him here with me as they will tell me their ages and information and where they are presently staying.” Ibidem.

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to go to the St. Michael’s fair at Leipzig, on 29 September, which was one of the most important trade fairs in Germany. Moreover, his wife was preparing to give birth and the approaching winter impeded him from traveling. He therefore gave his proxy to the abovenamed executors and to Jacob Apenzeller of St. Gallen. In another letter dated 26 September 1626, written in German to Apenzeller, Georg emphasized that, “if there should be any impediment or difficulty I would come there [to Rome] as God desires. I have no fear of religion insofar as I have no intention of staying in Rome, for once I have concluded my business I shall return home.” After the attorney had been interrogated by the Holy Office, the letter was transcribed for the Inquisition by the Jesuit Leonardo Bacchini. Georg had already been to Italy, Naples and Rome in particular, where had had met Jacob Apenzeller to whom he gave his proxy to settle his late brother’s affairs. His troubles with the Inquisition do not appear to have discouraged him from any future trips to the peninsula. Nonetheless, he wished to be informed of the potential dangers by the attaché of Bamberg and Johann Christoff Neustetter, Rector of the Cathedral of Mainz. The latter was a regular correspondent of Johannes Faber who looked out for his interests in the curia and supported, and protected, people appointed by the prelate and his friends.13 He hoped that his agent would not encounter any obstacles while in Rome and instructed him to see “that those two Italians (the goldsmith executors of the will) not make too high an appraisal of the property, for that would make it difficult to sell. And, after all is written up, kindly take possession of everything, and before all else, send his wife what she is due.” Georg’s words summarized his brother’s Roman experience. His statements revealed a desire to definitively sever ties with Ortensia and her family, who many “voices” had described as being too “cheerful” (allegra) after his brother’s death. Ortensia was due to inherit her husband’s contribution to the dowry with no obligation to return it. And in the will, which Georg considered to be “well done” (ben fatto), the goldsmith intended to leave his wife with respect to bequests […] all of the items I made for her, as well as a ring with four diamonds, valued at twenty-five scudi, another ring with four rubies, valued at seven scudi, a turquoise worth twenty-five giulii, a horsehair daizza with four corals, a coral crown worth fifteen scudi, and a 13

The letter expressed that, “seeing as he [the deceased brother] already lived in Rome for many years, and had recently taken a wife, and not caused trouble for anyone, and ultimately having died as a Catholic, there is no danger, and I, in the name of God, take my leave, and if by chance there should be any impediment shall write immediately to His Most Reverend Excellency.” Ibidem, c. 890v.

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perfume case covered in gold worth twenty scudi, which were given to her along with some furniture. He even bequeathed a gift to “Madonna Martia, my wife’s mother” to whom he left 30 scudi. The kindness displayed by Georg to his brother’s children directly contrasted with the diffidence exhibited towards other relatives. He enquired about their present condition and thought about their future, indicating his willingness to financially care for Orsola and Giuseppe.14 A letter sent to Apenzeller, on 12 October, seemed to stress his desire to cut ties with the family his brother had established in Rome. In it, he stated that “my brother’s wife’s family is extraordinarily cheerful and sent away the young man who lived with my brother, which surely would not have been done without a reason.”15 And he wished to be informed “if it were true that the young wife was so cheerful, for I should not think that such cheer would be natural, as people in these circumstances ought to display a modicum of virtue, and I am not at all surprised that my brother got married in such a place, to which can be attributed the underlying misfortune.”16 Georg’s words, from Nuremberg, underscore the disdain with which he viewed the Roman milieu, the numerous profiteers who eyed his brother’s wealth while he was ill, and, thanks to the marriage of convenience, now wanted to seize his riches. These words highlight the separation between the two worlds, two settings, that were close and connected. His words also echoed the portrayals of the Italian character, particularly the Roman one, which was already widespread beyond the Alps, especially from the German perspective. In this negative view, his late brother’s marriage was stigmatized, even considered a tragedy. He had not practiced the endogamy that characterized many marriages in the Roman nationes – especially the German one – which guaranteed family stability, the continuity of customs, a shared language, and common religious practices and sensibilities. And, as expected, it had negative results.17 Mixed marriages were dangerous not only for the souls of those directly involved, but for the entire community. 14

15 16 17

”In my opinion – he wrote – that young girl called Orsola should be placed in a convent, having inherited 400 scudi from her father, and adding another 200 as a gift to the convent, so that today or tomorrow she can be wed to someone or else remain there until such time that she will be requested to marry; and I add 200 scudi so that she can be more diligently raised by the nuns […]. With respect to Giuseppe, I would like to know how old he is so that at the right time he can take up the art of goldsmithing and become himself an expert in it if your grace would agree, as I should like your advice in all matters, if it is best to send him here or leave him to study in Rome.” Ibidem. Eusebio Canera, who moved to Camerino after the goldsmith’s death. ACDF, SO, St. St. L7-c, c. 893r. Mazzei, “Itinera mercatorum, 181-198.

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It is no coincidence that his brother placed his trust, perhaps exclusively, in Cristoforo’s goldsmith colleagues. Indeed, the majority of the witnesses to Cristoforo Pescatore’s will, redacted by the notary Astolfo Galloppo of Torano in Sabina, were goldsmiths. Many of the goldsmiths, silversmiths and jewelers in Rome used his professional services. The will redacted on 8 September 1626 was composed according to the standard formulae which, in Cristoforo’s case, confirmed his desire to die catholically (cattolicamente), after having lived a busy existence which had been conclusively changed by his conversion. He was to be buried in Santa Maria dell’Ara Coeli and left a bequest of 25 scudi to the friars, plus another 10 to celebrate masses for the repose of his soul.18 His brother’s letters, and his last will and testament, help piece together a mosaic that was fragmented and scattered around Europe. He left 200 scudi to his father Gaspar and another 200 scudi to his mother Maddalena, to be dispensed by Georg as soon as he received part of the inheritance from Rome. Other relatives were included in the will, like Bartolomeo Giovanni Helln, at the time in Danzig, but whose brother was residing in Italy. In his final wishes, Cristoforo clearly indicated the debts to be settled and loans to be collected, which reveal the strong network of relations he had with his community. He was the guardian of Anselmo Barthof, referred to as “my compatriot” (mio paesano), and he had clients in the curia. Cardinal Desiderio Scaglia, a member of the Congregation of the Holy Faith, had commissioned him to make “two gold crosses with emeralds and other things” valued at 85 scudi. He was also a creditor for the Spanish ambassador in Rome, the Duke of Alcalà, for the sum of 240 scudi for gold work, and “signor Felice a notary of the Holy Office owed him fifteen scudi for a pearl ring.”19 Finally, he established that his sole heirs, his brother Georg and sister Orsola, would receive the remainder of his inheritance to be “divided equally between them” (per equal portione). On 26 September 1626 an inventory of Cristoforo Pescatore’s property was drawn up, in accordance with his wishes. The majority included silver and gold objects, precious materials, and work implements kept in various “studios,” boxes and other valuable containers, in the house in via del Pellegrino. And then there were clothes, linens, furniture and books, all of which gave the impression that his wealth had been acquired through his work as a goldsmith. This was further supported by his ability to enter Roman society and his relations with important members of the German nation and the curia, strengthened no doubt by his conversion 18 19

On the church of Ara Coeli and its symbolic meaning for the city, see “Ara Coeli: la basilica e il convento; Marianna Brancia di Apricena,” Il Complesso dell’Aracoeli sul Colle Capitolino, IX-XIX secolo (Rome: Quasar, 2000), 125-223. ACDF, SO, St. St. L 7-c, c. 912v.

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and acceptance of the Catholic faith.20 On the 23rd of September, his brother Georg, “a citizen and goldsmith in Nuremberg,” and his sister Orsola, appeared before a notary, judge and several witnesses in Nuremberg to name Jacob Apenzeller the merchant “in Urbe” as their representative. The proxy was registered in Rome, on the 28 September, by Domenico Amadeo, the notary of the Apostolic Chamber. And the inheritance, amounting to approximately 8,000 scudi, was sequestered by the Holy Office and deposited at the Monte di Pietà in Rome. 3

Lengthy Negotiations and Powerful Intermediaries

In January of 1627 a long tug-of-war began between Cristoforo’s heirs, Georg and Orsola Fischer, and the Roman Inquisition. Their agent in Rome, the “German merchant,” Jacob Apenzeller, and the goldsmith Rainier Brugo, sent a petition to the pope wherein they stressed that the sequestration of the inheritance would seriously harm not only the heirs but also innumerable merchants “and other dealers in the aforesaid city (Nuremberg), having seen the overturning of peaceful business relations between themselves, merchants in Rome, and in other parts of Italy, given that nothing like this has happened before.” They hoped that Urban VIII would intercede and “free” the large inheritance, “which, after the deduction of bequests, would amount to no more than three thousand scudi, to the disgust of the aforementioned people who, when necessary, had always followed the procedures of the Italian Nation, and the heir is an honored citizen who lived in Naples as a Catholic, for nine years, and thus the testator’s wishes ought to be carried out.”21 The petition, written in perfect calligraphy, was in accordance with the rhetorical model and emphasized the positive qualities of the postulant as well as the damage deriving from the unheeded requests.22 This was but one of many instances in which petitions were sent to Rome, especially from Nuremberg, requesting to have the inheritance unsequestered. The consuls and senate of the German city had expressly written to the Cardinal Nephew Francesco Barberini and Cardinal Melchior Klesl. The latter, the Archbishop of Vienna, was an important yet controversial figure and influential in the relations between Rome, the impe20 21 22

Ibidem, cc. 902r-916r. Ibidem, c. 925r. On the topic, see Irene Fosi, “Rituali della parola. Supplicare, raccomandare e raccomandarsi a Roma nel Seicento,” in Forme della comunicazione politica in Europa nei secoli XV-XVIII. Suppliche, gravamina, lettere, ed. Cecilia Nubola and Andreas Würgler (Bologna: Il Mulino, 2004), 329-349.

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rial court and the German world.23 Georg Fischer had instead turned to the pope’s depositary and treasurer, Marcello Sacchetti,24 and especially to Johannes Faber.25 On 26 December 1626 the Secretary of the Holy Office, Cardinal Gian Garzia Millini, asked Carlo Carafa, the nuncio of the imperial court, to investigate the religious affiliations of the heirs. The papal diplomat acted immediately and appointed Pietro Martire Mutoni of Treviso, adding in his response to the Inquisition that, “I had no one else whom I could trust.” The information obtained from the reliable parties interrogated by the Dominican revealed the current situation of the city in which they lived: Of fifty citizens who are Catholic, but commonly believed to be Lutherans, particularly in the Supreme Magistrate, comprised of seven, there are two whose names, like those of the other Catholic citizens, for the immense fear they have of the revocation of their privileges in the city and of being banned, have not been communicated to me, though I investigated and was indeed advised not to publicize the fact that there were Catholic citizens. For if the Senate were to learn of this, it would use extraordinary methods to discover and ban these Catholics. And this would be tantamount to losing all hope for converting that city. At the present, there is only hope for secretly introducing Catholics into the population and magistracies.26 The case of the goldsmith’s inheritance transcended Roman borders and became connected to the concerns of Catholics in reformed imperial cities, whether hidden or disguised, and contributed to the danger and intolerance that worsened during the long years of conflict between the European powers. Likewise revived was the matter of conversion strategies adopted in the imperial territories by old and new religious orders present in the courts, armies, lands and border cities, namely, the Dominicans, Capuchins and Jesuits. In 23

24 25 26

For a biography of Klesl, see Johann Rainer, “Kardinal Melchior Klesl (1552-163) Vom “Generalreformator” zum “Ausgleichpolitiker,” Römische Quartalschrift 59 (1964):14-35; Heinz Angermeier, “Politik, Religion und Reich bei Kardinal Melchior Klesl” Zeitschrift der Savigny Stiftung für Rechtsgeschichte, Germanistiche Abteilung 110 (1993): 249-330. On the role of the pope’s powerful depositary, see Irene Fosi, All’ombra dei Barberini. Fedeltà e servizio nella Roma barocca (Rome: Bulzoni, 1997). BANL, Fondo Faber, 412-425. Georg Fischer letters from Nuremberg in BANL, Fondo Faber 413, cc. 206r-217v; cc. 444rv; 463rv; BANL, Fondo Faber 414, cc. 601r-602r. ACDF, SO, St. St. L 7-c, c. 928r. Rotraud Becker, ‘‘Das Heilige Offitium und die Nuntiatur in Wien“, Quellen und Forschungen aus italienischen Archiven und Bibliotheken 95 (2015): 270-271.

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Rome, the conversion politics resulted in conflict between nuncios, the Congregation of the Inquisition and the “Propaganda Fide”. And it was not always clear to members of the Holy Office that openly investigating the religion of the heirs, in Nuremberg, and denying them their inheritance on the basis of their being Protestant, would jeopardize those feigning to be reformed for reasons of necessity. Economic interests of conversion and order, with respect to social status, permitted foreign communities with different confessions to fully integrate into the government. They could also become involved in the political and financial management of public affairs, where religious differences could provoke marginalization and intolerance. But in Italy, in Rome and elsewhere, merchants, soldiers, travelers and students did not always fall victim to religious intolerance. Cristoforo Pescatore, prior to being “absolved” by the Holy Office, had lived for many years as a heretic without causing scandal. The tolerance of foreigners, irrespective of their status, was dependent upon their behavior, the “scandal” they caused, proselytism, their potential for contaminating the community, and the religious, social and political disorder that resulted from it. The boundary was unstable and conditioned, in different circumstances, by different factors that made it more or less unyielding. In the present case and in others documented in the historical sources, factors like money, the heretic’s social class, their ties to the community and “lofty” protection by powerful intermediaries could quell the strict application of papal laws directed against foreign heretics in Italy. The perception of the religious boundaries between ecclesiastic and lay judiciaries and the general population differed. This was also the case in Rome. In fact, while in European territories religious differences were more noticeable, it stands to reason that among the Roman population – in the streets, shops, and in daily interactions – religious boundaries were perceived in a more nebulous way. Factors extraneous to the defense of orthodoxy could lead someone to report an ultramontano foreigner to the Holy Office or else live alongside him indifferently, providing that he prudently disguised his faith. There was therefore a concern that the sequestration of Cristoforo Fischer’s inheritance might compromise the Church’s hope to introduce the free practice of the Catholic faith. The conversion politics enacted in Nuremberg came during a difficult political moment for Germany affected by the Thirty Years’ War. On 22 April 1627, the Congregation of the Inquisition ordered that the inheritance be released.27 Meanwhile, there had been disagreements between the heir and his agent who was accused of having sold the effects, many jewels, and of not having paid the “sicurtà,” the 1,000 scudi deposit, requested by the 27

ACDF, SO, Decreta (1627), c. 72v.

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Holy Office for its release. Georg Fischer had revoked Jacob Apenzeller’s proxy and instead named Giuseppe Bracciolini, who came from a prominent merchant family from Pistoia that was active in Nuremberg, as his representative in Rome.28 In many ways, Apenzeller had benefited from his position and the distance, which made it difficult for the heirs to monitor his activities. He had doubled the bond paid by Cristoforo for the Germans imprisoned in Naples by the Holy Office from 1,000 to 2,000 scudi, and he now requested an annulment or, at least, a reduction.29 The Holy Office’s sequestration of the inheritance had impeded the collection of debts now being claimed by all those who had unpaid accounts with the German goldsmith. Even Giovan Paolo Fantetti, an executor of the will and the children’s custodian, filed two petitions with the Inquisition in August of 1627. He requested that the inheritance not be released until he could collect the money intended for the education of the decedent’s daughter, Orsola, which had been invested in “luoghi di monte.” In this complex inheritance case, the Tribunal of Faith became the exclusive representative for resolving disagreements between the numerous parties involved. The case of Cristoforo Pescatore highlights several crucial points regarding the rapport between foreigners, the city of Rome, its institutions and the Inquisition. It raised the question of the efficacy and extent of the Tribunal of Faith’s control over foreigners, as repeated by anti-Catholic propaganda being disseminated beyond the Alps intended to discourage relations with Italy and especially Rome. It reveals how economic interests became intertwined with, and exceeded, those of morality and the defense of orthodoxy. And it shows how solutions were found, thanks to the intervention of prestigious mediators capable of influencing the Congregation of the Inquisition’s decisions. The world of the German goldsmith, within the pope’s city, was traversed by merchants, artists, and foreign goldsmiths, and it represents the multiform Roman culture and its various relations to religion. It also underscores how the 28 29

Rita Mazzei, “Itinera mercatorum”, 40. In other documents Abram and Pietro Stefano de Revans from Frankfurt are defined as “artists.” They must have also been “absolved” by the Holy Office and obligated to covert. A third brother, Gio. Ludovico had fallen ill will cholera while in Rome, as certified by both a physician and priest to whom he had confessed. Their miserable condition ­convinced the inquisitorial Congregation to void the bond payment and return the diamond deposited at Monte di Pietà to guarantee their presence in Rome. After the umpteenth plea presented to the Holy Office, in which they requested to go live in Venice, “where with their profession they could support themselves…having found themselves in dire need…and having gone so very long without finding work.” On 15 September 1627 they were granted permission to immigrate to the Republic but were prohibited from leaving the city with a 200 scudi penalty and others ad arbitrium”: ACDF, SO, St. St., L 7-c, c. 963r.

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boundaries were perceived differently by those called to defend religious orthodoxy. Like many others, Cristoforo Pescatore’s case was not limited to Rome but instead stretched across Europe and was transmitted via the steady stream of correspondence of curia members, diplomats and men of letters and science. They, in turn, became vehicles of communication. The physician Johannes Faber, to whom Georg had turned to resolve the intricate case of the inheritance – and his correspondence throughout Europe – is an example of the connection between Rome and the Germanic world during the first three decades of the seventeenth century. He abandoned heresy and embraced the Catholic faith, playing an important role as a go-between. Nonetheless, as we will see, he was considered by many to be dangerously ambiguous.

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Johannes Faber, “One of Italy’s Seven Sages” 1

Johannes Faber’s Roman Career

In his polemical pamphlet, His Alarm to all Protestant Princes, directed against papal politics and power in Europe, Francis Broccard listed a number of apostates or “persons of learning” who in Rome were attempting to convince ultramontani to embrace the Catholic faith. While – according to the pamphlet – the most favorable source of propaganda came from the conversion of nobles and princes, it was also noted that the numerous travelers and foreigners already living in the city were likewise caught in this net. The “Apostates and Spies” were high-profile figures and were well-known throughout Europe. Among them were Gaspar Schoppe, Giusto Calvino, the nephew of the great reformer, who converted during the Holy Year of 1600, the Frenchman Guillaume Reboul and Johannes Faber, “a Physician at the Hospital of the Holy Ghost.”1 Johannes Faber, a Lincean physician and papal herbalist, was one of Georg Fischer’s interlocutors in Rome to whom he had sent a dozen letters. And it is likely that he intervened with the Holy Office for the releaze from seizure of Cristoforo Pescatore’s inheritance and its transfer to Germany.2 They had lived in Rome during the same period of time, perhaps even met, and Faber would die three years after the goldsmith Cristoforo Pescatore. Faber was born in 1574 into a reformed family and, upon being orphaned, had been educated in the Catholic faith, a frequent case in the German territories and cities where the principle of interfaith and confessional coexistence applied. Having gained his medical degrees in Würzburg, under the guidance of the famous Adrian van Roomen, known as Adriano Romano, Faber had moved to Rome towards the end of the sixteenth century. In 1598 Rome became not only his new home: here he was early ingrained thanks also to van Roomen’s contacts with the Jesuits of the Roman College and in particular with the mathematician Christof Clavius. At the beginning of the seventeenth century, Faber was already an assistant at the Archiospedale di Santo Spirito in Sassia, where he also played an important role in the investigation on medical intervention on both the body and soul of the patients. While Faber quickly became a target of 1 Broccard, His Alarm…. 2 See supra, p. 81.

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Protestant propaganda, he nonethless considered his German origin of great importance to the Roman hospital “for the service of this place, it’s necessary that there be a foreign doctor for the various foreign countries that come there,” as he stated3. In 1600, Faber took on the chair of medicine at La Sapienza as well as lecturer in anatomy, in place of Andrea the former chief physician (archiatra) of Sixtus V. From 1601 to 1628 Faber held the position of extraordinary lecturer of “medical simples” (simplicia medicamenta) at La Sapienza University,4 and was appointed Simple of the pope and curator of the medicinal plants of the Vatican gardens. As Prefect of Gardens, Faber had frequent contact with the pope and the main exponents of his family and court, until his death in 1629.5 Between the 16th and 17th centuries, relations between Rome and the Holy Roman Empire were complex, characterized by tension and instability. At the court of the pope, imperial diplomatic representation appeared fragile and knowledge of the German language was lacking, even among those who carried out diplomatic duties in the nunciatures of Germany. The German natio, who also gathered Flemish and Dutch around the Church of Santa Maria dell’Anima, was a visible pole of interest in the urban space that was Rome, united by the use of the German language but also lacking strong political and exclusive relations, owing to the absence of a recognizable imperial faction. In this difficult and nuanced communicative framework, the profile of the master of simples Faber and his medical experience of relationships marked by tensions, between conflict, attempts at mediation and coexistence, was considered strategic but not without ambiguity. The experience of Rome and the court offered the German doctor the possibility of taking action in favour of German princes. His contacts with cardinal entourages sensitive to the problems of the Empire were not uncommon, so relations with institutional figures of the Holy Roman Empire passing through Rome intensified: Johannes Godefridus von Aschhausen, Prince-Bishop of Bamberg, who carried out the 3 BANL, Fondo Faber 420, c. 61r. 4 Silvia De Renzi, “Medical competence, anatomy and the polity in seventeenth-century Rome,” in Spaces, objects and identities in early modern Italian medicine, ed. Sandra Cavallo – David Gentilcore, “Renaissance Studies”, (2007): 551-567; Maria Conforti – Silvia De Renzi, “Sapere anatomico negli ospedali romani : formazione dei chirurghi e pratiche sperimentali (16201720)”, in Rome et la science moderne: entre Renaissance et Lumières ed. Antonella Romano, (Rome: École française de Rome, 2008), 433-472; Candida Carella, L’insegnamento della filosofia alla “Sapienza” di Roma nel Seicento. Le cattedre, i maestri (Florence: Leo Olschki, 2007), which also mentions a petition sent by the German physician to Urban VIII requesting a raise. 5 For information on his life, see Gabriella Belloni Speciale, “Faber (Fabri, Fabro), Giovanni,” in Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani, 43 (Rome: Istituto della Enciclopedia italiana, 1993), 686-689.

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mission in Rome as extraordinary ambassador of the new Emperor Matthias; Count Federico Itelio of Hohenzollern, trained in Rome with the Jesuits and future cardinal; Peter van Mander, imperial agent and secretary to Cardinal Marco Sittico Altemps; the landscape painter Adam Elsheimer of whom Faber was an admirer, as shown by the paintings hanging on the walls of his house by the Pantheon. The role played by Faber was often ambiguous, and not only in the eyes of the “emulators and detractors” (emoli e malevoli). The position of a convert was liminal and sometimes proved dangerous for the Catholic Church, as in­ dicated in the writings of Gaspar Schoppe, “who wanders wherever his zeal for the Catholic faith and fate carry him.”6 Schoppe was a correspondent of Faber and the untiring author of works that revealed an unbridled bitterness towards the world he had left behind. In the spring of 1607, Faber had reacted with Schoppe to the attack of the Calvinist philologist Joseph Justus Scaliger against the reform of the calendar of Gregory XIII and, more generally, against the Catholic world. At that time, the Jesuit Clavius had played a leading role on behalf of the Catholics and, as Welser said, it was now a matter of “responding to the impertinences that he wrote against Scaliger on Eusebius, with such animosity”.7 Faber, conversely, never elaborated upon the controversies with the same aggression that characterized Schoppe’s writing.8 However, his presence in Rome represented a pivotal moment in the conversion strategy undertaken by the Roman Church with respect to the “ultramontani gentlemen.” The physician from the Santo Spirito acted silently yet incisively. And his work materialized throughout the decades thanks to his fame, acquaintances and informal relationships with members of the curia, and the protection of cardinals, especially members of the Congregation of the Holy Office and Index like Robert Bellarmine, Gian Garzia Millini, Scipione Cobelluzzi, and the Cardinal Nephew Scipione Borghese, Protector of Germany.9 6 As stated by Marco Welser in a letter to Faber: BANL, Fondo Faber 419, c. 70r. 7 BANL, Fondo Faber, vol. 419, c. 54r-55r; 56r. 8 On the figure of the German convert and his polemic writing, see Frank-Rutger Hausmann, Zwischen Autobiographie und Biographie. Jugend und Ausbildung des Fräkisch-Oberfälzer Philologen und Kontroverstheologen Kaspar Schoppe (1576-1649) (Würzburg: Königshausen & Neumann, 1995); Kaspar Schoppe (1576-1649). Philologe in Dienst der Gegereformation. Beiträge zur Gelehrtenkultur des europäischen Späthumanismus, hg. Herbert Jaumann (Frankfurt am M.: V. Klostermann, 1998); Philotheca Scioppiana. Eine frühneuzeitliche Autobiographie 15761630. Kaspar Schoppe authobiographische Texte und Briefe, hg. Klaus Jaitner, 2 Bde. (München: Beck, 2004). 9 See Markus Faber, Scipione Borghese als Kardinalprotecktor. Studien zur römische Mikropolitik in der Frühen Neuzeit (Mainz: Philipp von Zabern, 2005).

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Faber’s position at the Santo Spirito in Rome certainly brought him into contact with both heretic and Catholic foreigners who came to the well-established institution in need of aid. As such, the hospital became a place of communication and exchange where ailing foreigners not only received assistance but also precious information. Through their physician they often, directly and indirectly, encountered members of Roman society and the curia. Faber also received news, observed, communicated and, when necessary, reported occurrences, words and suspicious heretical discussions made by sick foreigners who had been prudently concealing their religious identity. He also worked at the Ospedale della Consolazione and the Holy Office prisons, where his job was decidedly more delicate and ambiguous.10 As a figure who liaised between the hospital, the city, the German community and the custodians of faith, he could quite easily have been labeled a spy. He had petitioned the Tribunal of Faith more than three times to visit “sick heretics” (hereticos infirmos) imprisoned in their jail. On 7 November 1611, Faber was granted permission. But the pope, who as usual was present at the meeting of the weekly Thursday meeting of the Holy Office, obliged the German physician to report the ailing prisoners who did not wish to receive the sacraments.11 The prisoners that Faber visited and cured were heretics awaiting conversion, removal or condemnation. But what did the physician say – in his (and their) mother tongue – to those who, in their sickness and despair, asked for his help? Was there persuasion, compulsion or threat? Could people present at these encounters understand the language and therefore attest to the “proper” practice of such a prestigious intermediary as the academician from the Lincei? On 12 September 1629, Johannes Faber, or Giovanni Fabri, as he was called in Rome, requested in his will to be buried, without unnecessary expenditure, in the church of Santa Maria dell’Anima, next to his wife, Maria Anna, who had died two years before.12 He justified his request by listing his merits, among which were his commitment to building the chapel of San Bennone, or San Benno of Meissen (the last German to be canonized before the Reformation),13 10

11

12 13

Irene Fosi, “The Hospital as a Space of Conversion: Roman Examples from the Seventeenth Century,” in Space of Conversion in Global Perspective, ed. Giuseppe Marcocci, ­Wietse de Boer, Aliocha Maldavsky and Ilaria Pavan, Intersections 35 (Leiden-Boston: Brill, 2014), 154-174. ACDF, SO Decreta (1611), c. 504r, 7 November 1611: “Johannes Faber, a physician of the German nation in the City, asks permission to visit ailing heretics without any reprimand. He said, having read the memorial, that he will denounce to the Holy Office those who did not receive the sacraments.” BANL, Fondo Faber 412, cc. 7r-12r. On the artistic aspects of the Chapel of St. Benno, see Irene Baldriga, L’occhio della Lince. I primi lincei tra arte, scienza e collezionismo (1603-1630) (Rome: Accademia dei Lincei,

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having petitioned for “the beatification of Brother Nicolas the hermit on behalf of the Swiss,”14 and operating as an “agent” of Leopold Wilhelm, Archbishop of Passau, the Arch Duke of Austria, the Bishop of Constance, Jakob Fugger von Kircher-Weissenhorn, and many other members of the Fugger family. He discretely, yet deliberately, recalled his intervention on behalf of the powerful banking family of Augsburg during “an important dispute” tried before the Roman Rota, as well as other “zealous efforts during his thirty years of servitude.”15 He concluded his brief but important summary by entrusting the custody of his son, Gian Domenico, to his powerful transalpine protectors and their kindhearted liberality (benignissima libertà). He had given his son an ambiguous name, perhaps to demonstrate his own status as an “Italianised German” (tedesco italianato), as a convert and mediator between denominations, between cultures that, though torn by conflicts, were nevertheless close. He also had two daughters, Maria Vittoria, who was already deceased, and Maria Maddalena, who had become a nun in the Roman convent of SS. Quattro Coronati. Portraits of his German protectors hung on the walls of his home along with those of the pontiffs he had met, from Clement VIII to Urban VIII, as well as “Prince [Federico] Cesio”, founder of the Accademia dei Lincei. They were all “framed in black and outlined in gold” and were a patent display of the gratitude and loyalty towards those who had enabled him to achieve his position of inarguable affluence and prestige.16 With regard to his wealth, one need only consider the inventory made after his death, noteworthy not only for the collection of “anatomy texts“ but also for its unequivocal mark of distinction and social prestige.17 The opulent library, which contained much more than scientific books, speaks to the originality and multifaceted nature of the doctor from Bamberg and echoes the principles of the Linceans, according to whom the observation of nature should never be separated from the study of books. 2002), 171-233. For a wealth of documentation on Faber’s contacts used for financing the decoration of the chapel of S. Benno, see BANL, Fondo Faber 424. Tobias Daniels, “Von landsmannschaftlicher Repräsentanz zu konfessioneller Propaganda: Die St.-Benno-Kapelle in Santa Maria dell’Anima (15.-17. Jahrhundert)”, in Identità e rappresentazione, 179210; Id., “Ein sächsischer Heiliger für Rom. Die Benno-Kapelle in Santa Maria dell’Anima in Rom”, in Ein Schatz nicht von Gold: Benno von Meißen–Sachsens erster Heiliger, hg. Claudia Kunde und André Thieme (Petersberg: ImHof Verlag, 2017), 440-447. 14 Nicholas of Flüe who died in 1497 was particularly venerated in Switzerland not only as a prophet and mystic but also as a peace-maker and savior in his country. On his cult and the events of his beatification, see Miguel Gotor, I beati del papa. Santità, Inquisizione e obbedienza in età moderna (Florence: Leo Olschki, 2002), 290-292. 15 BANL, Fondo Faber 412, cc. 7r-12r. 16 Ibidem, c. 22r. 17 Baldriga, L’occhio della Lince, 171-233.

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On the list of works handed over to the Maestro of the Holy Palace there appear medical texts along with Bernardino Telesio’s De rerum natura, writings by Francesco Patrizi, Girolamo Cardano’s De subtilitate, and four volumes of the works of Lucian. There were also a great number of theological, devotional and controversist writings, ranging from Bellarmine to Schoppe, that had been incendiary in contemporary European culture.18 Johannes Faber’s eclectic tastes also piqued the interest of the new Accademia dei Lincei and its founder, Federico Cesi. Faber became a member in 1611, was the Academy’s first secretary, and thus became an “official” instrument of the dissemination in Europe of the culture produced inside the Accademia dei Lincei. Though this network would prove difficult to establish, relations with other figures, like converted German intellectuals and scientists, would nevertheless be strengthened: Johannes Schreck, Teofilo Müller, Marco Welser, Lukas Holste.19 In a letter to Faber discussing the recruitment of “linceans” in Germany, Marco Welser emphasized that, “you well know that in Germany many intellectuals join the religious orders, especially that of the Jesuits, and, in reality, many are tainted by heresy. Thus, neither side helps our cause.”20 Prior to his admission to the Accademia dei Lincei, Faber’s work in Rome had been viewed with suspicion. He was suspected of being a spy and of playing a double game, denouncing to the Inquisition heretic foreigners, especially those arrived from German territories. These suspicions and rumours negatively impacted his reputation as well as those of his entourage and protectors. Faber’s enrollment in the Academy allowed him to finally bring his professional ambitions to fruition and reap the related financial rewards. In the petition he sent to the head of the Santo Spirito Hospital, he recalled Cardinal Scipione Borghese’s promise to “give him the first vacant position among the physicians of S. Santità,” and he asked “that he be given said position” since 18

19

20

BANL, Fondo Faber 412, c. 138r. On Faber’s library, see Silvia De Renzi, “La biblioteca di Johannes Faber linceo”, in Bibliothecae selectae. Da Cusano a Leopardi, ed. Eugenio Canone (Florence: Olschki, 1993), 517-524; Gabriella Miggiano, “Fra politica e scienza: la biblioteca di Johannes Faber linceo,” in Le biblioteche private come paradigma bibliografico, ed. Fiammetta Sabba (Rome: Bulzoni, 2008), 107-153; ead., “Johannes Faber e la sua biblioteca: vecchi e nuovi documenti,” Il Bibliotecario 1,2 (2010): 115-171; Sabina Brevaglieri, “Libri e circolazione della cultura medico-scientifica,” Mélanges de l’École française de Rome. Italie et Méditerranée, 120, no. 2 (2008): 425-444. Giuseppe Gabrieli, “La Germania lincea: ovvero Lincei e linceabili tedeschi della prima Accademia: in particolare di Teofilo Müller”, Resoconti dell’Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, 6°, XV (1939): 42-66; Isaia Iannaccone, Johann Schreck Terrentius: le scienze rinascimentali e lo spirito dell’Accademia dei Lincei nella Cina dei Ming (Naples: Istituto Universitario Orientale, 1998). BANL, Fondo Faber, 419, c. 167r.

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he had already worked there for five years and “so that there would be a foreign doctor to attend to the various foreigners that come there.”21 Faber’s copious correspondence informs us of the circulation of scientific culture, and more generally humanist and the culture of natural philosophy, which began in and returned to Rome in part due to the Linceans, and which attempted to surpass religious boundaries.22 Johannes Faber’s practice of mediation between cultures, scientific interests, and religious confessions, was controversial and equivocal, yet it had existed long before his arrival at the Accademia dei Lincei. Letters exchanged with minor figures, even those outside of the scientific milieu, essentially reclassify him as a point of contact for those who wished to come to Rome, for its court, congregations, tribunals, cultural institutions, universities, hospitals, and numerous confraternities. In the meantime, the Papacy was researching a conversion tactic to be developed in the Eternal City and subsequently deployed throughout Europe. Three years before his death Faber exhibited a need for tangible financial recognition and began amassing petitions from princes, nobles, clergy members and scientists, particularly for “having performed noteworthy service to the Holy See.”23 In a letter to Cardinal Francesco Barberini’s almoner, Agostino Oreggio, he reminded the latter of his promise to provide him with a monthly pension, as had been granted to other converts who strove to defend the Catholic religion. He named Gaspar Schoppe and “Mr. Barlay”24 and recalled that 21 22

23 24

BANL, Fondo Faber, 420, c. 61r. BANL, Fondo Faber, 412-425. On the circulation of culture and intellectuals, irrespective of religious boundaries, and the Italian culture’s force of attraction, and especially that of Rome, in late Cinquecento and early Seicento Europe, see the essays in Späthumanismus. Studien über das Ende einer kulturhistorischen Epoche, ed. Notker Hammerstein and Gerrit Walther (Göttingen: Wallstein, 2000). For a description of the facets of scientific culture in Rome during the seventeenth century, see Antonella Romano, Rome et la science moderne: entre Renaissance et Lumières (École française de Rome, 2008). On Faber’s numerous relationships with German intellectuals and his role as a cultural liaison, see Sabina Brevaglieri, “Science, Books and Censorship in the Academy of the Lincei: Johannes Faber as Cultural Mediator,” in Conflicting Duties: Science, Medicine and Religion in Rome, 15501750, ed. Maria Pia Donato and Jill Kraye (London, 2010), 109-133 as well as the wealthy of bibliography on the topic; ead., Storie naturali a Roma fra Antichi e Nuovi mondi. Il “Dioscorides” di Andrés Laguna (1555) e gli “Animalia Mexicana” di Johannes Faber (1628), (with Elisa Andretta) in ed. Sabina Brevaglieri, Antonella Romano ‘Produzione di saperi/ costruzione di spazi’, Quaderni Storici, 142, no. 1 (2013): 43-88; ead., Natural desiderio di sapere. Roma barocca fra vecchi e nuovi mondi (Rome: Viella, 2019). BANL, Fondo Faber 419, c. 345v. John Barclay (1582-1621), son of the polemicist William. After having published his father’s work De Potestate Papae directed against Bellarmine, he came to Rome and approached the Catholic Church. Paul V provided him a pension and in 1617 the Scottish writer printed a work entitled Paraenesis ad sectarios, in Cologne, in which he attacked the Protestant

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he had always attempted to return Protestant princes, like the Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt25 and the Duke of Saxony, to the Catholic faith. I have always attempted to reconcile the young Protestant Princes with devotion towards this Holy See and was the first to have convinced and introduced two great Lutheran Princes ad osculum pedum, (lit. to kiss the foot [of the pope] i.e. show him obeisance). The one was the elder landgrave who did so to Paul V and the younger to Urban VIII. Both princes now write me often and remain devoted, always displaying humble reverence to your Holiness, and they write to Cardinal Barberini as they do your Holiness. I have shown the letters. Here I have served the Duke of Saxony who made notable services to the Catholics. Moreover, I am one of the old palace squires and in 25 years I have never received a quattrino more than my scarce amount. I submit all this for your Grace’s consideration so you can intervene for me with his Holiness who can see that I might receive monthly assistance and qualify for a pension, as I am in great need of it for my wife and poor family. In this way I will be able to better complete my present work.”26 As was usual for such documents, the petition emphasized Faber’s deprivation and fear of growing old, but it also revealed his displeasure at not having been adequately recognized and compensated for his work in Rome in support of the Catholic religion. Although his writings are more cautiously worded than the controversial works of the polemicists, they were in no way less incisive.

25

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sects, perhaps in an attempt to establish his Catholic position which was also supported by his friendship with Bellarmine. Faber refers to his trip to Italy and sojourn in Rome during 1619 by the Landgrave of HesseDarmstadt, Ludwig V, and in 1626 to his son and successor Georg II. These trips, made in vain, inspired hope for the conversion to Catholicism of the Lutheran princes: see Sabina Brevaglieri, “Medici e mediazione politica all’inizio della Guerra dei Trent’anni: la corte di Assia-Darmstadt e le storie naturali di Roma,” in Tramiti. Figure e strumenti della mediazione culturale nella prima età moderna, ed. Elisa Andretta, Elena Valeri, Maria Antonietta Visceglia and Paola Volpini (Rome: Viella, 2015), 67-102; Sabina Brevaglieri, “Ein Chamäleon zwischen Rom und Darmstadt: Naturhistorische Geschicten und Mediation während des Dreißigjährigen Kriegs (1619-1629)”, in Transferprozesse zwischen dem Alten Reich und Italien im 17. Jahrhundert. Wissenskonfigurationen – Akteure – Netzwerke, ed. Sabina Brevaglieri, Matthias Schnettger (Bielefeld: Transcript Verlag, 2018), 243-286. BANL, Fondo Faber, 414, c. 346r.

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“Acquiring the Souls of Others”

An exploration of Faber’ efforts reveals the vital role played by those who informally represented foreign interests in Rome. Aside from the usual ambassadors, agents and residents, the papal city and court encountered figures who, like Faber, carried out important functions of patronage and mediation. Their intervention transcended factions and was instead founded upon common ties including shared origin, friendship, religious affiliation, and financial interests.27 In an unsigned letter accompanying a recommendation for a foreign visitor who “had come to Rome to see the ancient wonders of the city and was now returning to his country,” Marco Welser emphasized what he believed were Faber’s duties in protecting and aiding “the transalpine gentlemen” visiting the pope’s city. because – wrote Welser – I should like that the German gentlemen who come to Italy and return to Germany leave satisfied by their stay and especially with Rome and the lands belonging to the Church. You well know how much poison has been spread by that wretched Lutheran heresy against which one of the most effective remedies is to win the hearts of the many people pass through those parts and leave. I shall not begin now to elaborate upon all the different ways in which the souls of men can be acquired but will simply say that pampering and being honored is one of those things that brings men together. Yet I am certainly very foolish since I do not speak with you, who with your wonderful knowledge and singular prudence, have earned the title of one of the seven sages of Italy.28 Welser was one of the Faber’s more regular correspondents and his words synthesized the hopes of German Catholics. They wished for heresy to be addressed and combatted from Rome via a prudent program of reconquering, 27

28

On protection and mediation within the academies, see Mario Biagioli, Galileo Courtier. The Practice of Science in the Culture of Absolutism (Chicago: Chicago University Press, 1993) and Paula Findlen, Possessing Nature. Museums, Collecting, and Scientific Culture in Early Modern Scientific Culture (Berkley-Los Angeles- London: University of California Press, 1994), 346-392; Silvia De Renzi, “Courts and Conversions. Intellectual Battles and Natural Knowledge in Counter-Reformation Rome,” Studies in the History and Philosophy of Science, 27, no. 4 (1996): 429-449: the author highlights the mediatory role of several converts like Faber and the meaning that “conversion”, not only religious, assumed in the cultural program of the Accademia dei Lincei. BANL, Fondo Faber 414, cc. 273v-274v.

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founded upon good examples and persuasion, and through the dissemination of positive images of the pope’s city and its culture, which was a prerequisite for tolerance in accepting foreigners. These politics also sought to reconfigure and broadcast an image of Rome based on the revival of classicism and humanism, through the neostoic currents found in Faber, who was a reader and interlocutor of Lipsius. It was a conversion strategy that required the collaboration of individuals, like the German physician, yet nevertheless contended with the malicious polemics being propagated throughout Europe by Schoppe. This is evident in the letters of Faber’s correspondents, especially those of Marco Welser29 and the Oratorians, from Cardinal Francesco Maria Tarugi to Giovanni Giovenale Ancina to the Cardinal Nephew Pietro Aldobrandini. They represented a point of reference for erudite German Catholics and for the converts who traveled to, or permanently established themselves, in Rome. However, in some cases, their disappearance would weaken, and even terminate, the protection of certain people who, after returning to the Church of Rome, had been welcomed, assimilated into the Roman court, and were used as intermediaries to support the conversion of reformed persons in their homelands. Welser wrote: “It was like a knife to the heart when I was informed of the imminent death, morally speaking, of Cardinal Baronio, which should be mourned by all the world and shall bring tears to the eyes of all those good people who recall his worth, which is infinite. I myself cannot find any other consolation than the fact he is in the hands of He who does not err.”30 As an agent of the Fuggers, and powerful and respected interlocutor of nobles and clergy members in the empire, Faber frequently forwarded requests to the cardinals of the Congregation of the Index, requesting permission for his correspondents to read prohibited books. Among these texts were those awaiting “expurgation,” volumes that were “altogether prohibited” (omnino probiti),31 and works of heretical authors, responding to the controversies raging at the onset of the Thirty Years’ War. In 1607 Faber acquired permission for Count Georg von Zollern to read books written by heretics and other texts prohibited by the Roman Index, “so as to refute and confute the heresies and errors 29

30 31

On M. Welser and neostoicism see Jan Papy, “Lipsius and Marcus Welser: the Antiquarian’s Life as Via Media” in The World of Justus Lipsius: A Contribution Towards his Intellectual Biography, Bulletin de l’Institut Historique belge de Rome 68, special issue (1998): 173-190; Magnus U. Ferber, “Scio multos te amicos habere.”: Wissensvermittlung und Wissenssicherug im Späthumanismus am Beispiel des Epistolariums Marx Welsers d. J. (1558-1614) (Augsburg: Wissner, 2008). BANL, Fondo Faber 419, c. 3r. BANL, Fondo Faber 422, c. 261r. Faber wrote a plea on behalf of Federico Fugger to obtain permission from the Congregation of the Index to read prohibited books.

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[therein] contained,” with an obligation to present the list to the nuncios of the Imperial court.32 Cardinal Scipione Cobelluzzi, at the time the Secretary of Briefs, appears to have been a special contact of Faber and even operated as a liaison for requests presented to the various congregations or their members. The cardinal would provide Faber with books, copies of bulls, and other documents from the papal chancellery, to be forwarded to Augsburg and other ­German cities. By way of the Fuggers, other princes, Catholic nobles and clergymen, numerous requests were sent to the papal physician and herbalist for per­mission to read prohibited texts, obtain marriage dispensations, and inter­ vene at the Tribunal of the Inquisition on behalf of German travelers who had carelessly aroused suspicion in Rome or elsewhere.33 This intense practice of mediation and patronage – an activity for which Faber was handsomely remunerated by his clients and friends – is documented not only in the receipts for the purchase and shipping of books, but also in the drafts of petitions. These would later be sent to the pope or Holy Office requesting dispensations, the granting of privileges, exemption from the payment of tithes, or the collation of ecclesiastical benefices, in order to strengthen the position of Catholic nobles and princes in the Holy Empire. From Rome, in turn, Faber recommended individuals endorsed by noble Catholic Germans and the Archbishop of Vienna, Cardinal Melchior Klesl, “so that they would be favored in his appeals to the emperor and the imperial court.”34 Aside from this medical-scientific enterprise, he also played an equally important role as a liaison for the financial affairs concerning the Fugger and other noble German houses. Financial transactions, exchanges, acquisition of merchandise, especially silk from the Kingdom of Naples, exhibit, in his correspondence, the international breadth of the funds which passed, by and large, from Vienna to other Catholic courts to Rome and then onto Madrid. 3

Friends and Compatriots

While it is not always possible to document the cases in which Faber was called to intervene, nor verify the success of his interventions, the zeal with which he sought to satisfy his protectors is nonetheless evident in his correspondence. Petition drafts with a blank space for a name, copies of letters of recommendation, and lists of books are found along with receipts and requests 32 BANL, Fondo Faber 415, c. 274. 33 Ibidem. 34 BANL, Fondo Faber 424, cc. nn.

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for payment which Faber had obtained, or attempted to obtain, for his services. In a letter to Faber from 1625, written in a hybrid language of Italian and Spanish, with intermittent sentences in Fraktur, Stefan Engelhard, a doctor in civil and Canon Law, reminded the now famous Faber that his actions ought to be influenced by friendship and not by greed. He requested that Faber intervene in obtaining a marriage dispensation for his noble German friend and included a memorial to present to the pope, so that the latter might grant “this grace without causing scandal among our heretic neighbors.” He goes on to observe that, in the past, for a similar service, Faber had asked a fee of 20 or 30 gold ducats.35 The evocation of friendship as a magnanimous instrument of patronage, solidarity, and intellectual sympathy and empathy regularly emerges in the letters of Faber’s interlocutors, who were familiar with the Ciceronian legacy that was reintroduced and diffused by neostoicism.36 But the recurring allusion to the value of friendship, aside from evoking one of the main precepts of the Accademia dei Lincei, and which was also a common feature of intellectual and scientific solidarity in the seventeenth century, might also hint at the fear of betrayal of a relationship that had been nurtured for years. And this relationship had been accomplished from a distance, through a flow of letters, and thanks to the reputation of the correspondent. At any rate, the evocation of friendship underscores the issues that could arise from the potential venality and egoism of famous intermediaries, which was connected to the practice of reception and courtesy towards the ultramontani. On 6 July 1607 Marco Welser had written to Faber that, “this is how one ought to make friends, by looking beyond the difficulties and inconveniences, and mutually help one another.”37 Initially, he had asked the physician to “do a good deed” and intervene with the Inquisition on behalf of “signor Pflug” [who] found himself 35

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The prices were considered too high and seemed like a “curious way to punish the good and simple Germans so rigorously in Rome our common homeland […] your Lordship benefits from frequenting his Holiness and his nephews and other Imperial Princes, but on the condition, and with the modesty, that when you become great you will not neglect us poor foreigners. BANL, Fondo Faber, 414, cc. 30r-31v. On the birth of neostoicism and on its function as a cultural vehicle in modern Europe, see Marc Fumaroli, Oratori e eroi. Retorica e drammaturgia secentesche (Bologna: Il Mulino, 1990), 137-168. On the role of Barberini patronage in the Roman field of science, see Paula Findlen, Possessing Nature. Museums, Collecting, and Scientific Culture in Early Modern Scientific Culture (Berkeley- Los Angeles-London: University of California Press, 1994), 346-392. On the function of friendship in creating client relations in the Roman court, see “Amici e creature. Politische Microgeschichte der römische Kurie im 17. Jahrhundert,” Quellen und Forschungen aus italienischen Archiven und Bibliotheken, 76 (1996): 308-334. BANL, Fondo Faber 419, c. 5r.

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trapped in [Siena] in a practice for which there is no hope of honor, or profit, and…not even a signor Scioppo could handle the matter neither publicly nor privately, as they say.”38 Actually, it is impossible to discover what kind of “practices” he was involved in: which maybe included an illegal matter that concerned members of the German nation of university students in Siena.39 Faber’s fame was no doubt bolstered by his social status, his work in the medical field, his connections in the curia, and by the names and influence of his contacts beyond the Alps. Requests were regularly sent to the German doctor, in the name of friendship, by a medicinae candidatus, for instance, who hoped to successfully gain admission into the Roman hospitals, obtain a position at the Collegio Germanico, or blaze a surefire path to a career in the curia as a member of the Tribunal of Rota (Auditor of the Rota) The Duke of Bavaria’s chief physician, Georg Grems, recommended German candidates and discreetly added requests for his own son, thus underscoring the efficacy of national ties in strengthening friendships and clientele. Beginning in 1624, Grems’ son would be given a coveted position at the Collegio Germanico. This is revealed in a letter in which his father thanks Faber and requests that he “be diligent” with princes who would soon be arriving in Rome, perhaps for the upcoming jubilee, and about whom he provided brief descriptions based on their portraits.40 Whereas Faber’s friends received his assistance free of charge, there are other instances in which tangible recognition was given for the continued support he provided for his compatriots. In his will, Johann Lambacher, an agent of the Fugger family in Madrid who died in Alcalà de Henares in 1615, was ­particularly expressive in this regard. Lambacher had financially contributed to the decoration of the Chapel of St. Benno in Santa Maria dell’Anima in

38 39

40

Ibidem, c. 3r. Die Matrikel der deutschen Nation in Siena (1537-1738) hg. Fritz Weigle (Tübingen: Niemeyer, 1962), 156. Cristoforo Pflug was registered in Siena in 1601 and was well adapted to the cultural life of the city and his natio. Indeed, Celso Cittadini, a local intellectual and defender of the purity of the Tuscan language, “a person who loves and very much reveres the illustrious German nation,” dedicated three orations to him. It could also be Otto Pflug, who was recorded among the matriculants on 27 October 1605, ibidem, 174. On Celso Cittadini and his connection with the German nation in Siena, see Gianfranco Formichetti, “Cittadini, Celso,” in Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani, 26 (Rome: Istituto dell’Enciclopedia Italiana, 1982), 71-75 (note on page 74). BANL, Fondo Faber 414, cc. 255r-256r and 257v. Ferdinand Grems was a student at the Collegio Germanico from 1624 to 1631; Peter Schmidt, Das Collegium Germanicum in Rom und die Germaniker. Zur Funktion eines römischen Ausländerseminar (1552-1914) (Tübingen: Niemeyer, 1984), 250.

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Rome.41 The gifts – a chain and gold ring – were tangible compensation for the work Faber had done for the Fugger’s agent. The bequest of a “red case” (fortiero roscio) was an indisputable token of esteem and gratitude, and legitimized Faber’s claim to the inheritance, both in the eyes of Lambacher’s heirs and the Roman institutions. As is made clear in the case of the goldsmith Fischer, Faber did not operate solely on the behalf of powerful protectors or transalpine intellectuals and scientists. He instead offered himself as a vital contact for the German colony in Rome. He assumed responsibility for impoverished students, managed the inheritance of compatriots, used surety bonds to resolve arguments and business transactions – especially in cases of debt which were subject to civil justice – and made himself a guarantor for requests made by artisans, bakers, tailors and cobblers of the German nation. Their identity continued to be distinctive in Roman society and was maintained, and defended, with a strong mutual solidarity.42 Faber noted, with exacting precision, the expenses incurred for the tutelage of Giovan Battista Sessel, between 1620 and 1625, and considered him to be “a very poor ward” (pupillo poverissimo). He petitioned the Governor of Tivoli, Cardinal Alessandro d’Este, for permission to demand payment from a debtor who had been incarcerated multiple times, was now free, but “could never satisfy the outstanding debts.”43 Faber similarly noted the expenses incurred for feeding and dressing Karl Lorsch (Loesch?) during his time as a student at the Collegio Germanico.44 Furthermore, it was in his role as “Provisor,” administrator of the church and hospital of Santa Maria dell’Anima, a position he held on several occasions between 1615 and 1627, that Faber carried out, in various ways, the vital functions of administration, mediation and communication with the German community in Rome.45 In fact, the numerous petitions, numbering around 150 which were generally requests 41

In his last will and testament he stated that, “Doctor Giovanni Fabro has honored me with correspondence for a period of five years and I feel obliged to demonstrate my gratitude, I desire and it is my will, that he be given my gold chain, and gold ring […] valued at one thousand and seventy ducats in Castilian currency […] and that if the said chain should not arrive there, or be lost along the way, it is my wish that the said Giorgio Reiter, my nephew, pay the above amount in cash, and moreover it is my desire that the red case, be given to the said Doctor Giovanni Fabro, as it is and with all its present contents, and remain with him and that he keep it along with the other items I gave him when I left Rome for Spain, without question or obligation to return it.” BANL, Fondo Faber 424, cc.nn. 42 Maas, The German Community in Renaissance Rome. 43 BANL, Fondo Faber, 420, c. 43r. 44 BANL, Fondo Faber, 425, fasc. 73,76. 45 BANL, Fondo Faber 424: Interessi spettanti all’Azienda della Venerabile Chiesa di S. Maria dell’Anima, cc. nn.

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for financial aid addressed to the rectors of the national confraternity, were reviewed by Faber who decided whether to bestow upon Francesco Tito, for instance, the subsidies he requested.46 Aside from the Latin documents, redacted by scribes using a standardized template, there are a number of writings in German. There are also others penned in an indistinguishable language, containing sentences in Spanish, which reveals a lack of familiarity with the vernacular on the part of those who used their own language within the German colony in Rome. While these petitions confirm Faber’s intense activity as a doctor for his compatriots and as a mediator in financial matters, they also describe the mobility which, as we have seen, characterized the social makeup of Rome’s foreign nationes. Many pilgrims requested financial aid to return home after having spent a brief period of time in the Eternal City. For others, the visit to the Sepulcra Apostolorum constituted the fulfilment of a vow, as in the case of Wolfgang Pemsell, of Nuremberg, who “recently turned from error to the Catholic truth” and now desired to return home. Simon Schwartz from Styria had instead been imprisoned by the Turks and vowed that, if freed, he would journey to Rome three times. Others had come to the city in search of employment, like the tailors Johannes Gottfried and Cornelius Hasheveldt of Utrecht. They had been drawn by the potential of the Roman market but were ultimately disappointed and decided to leave. Many women turned to the rectors of Santa Maria dell’Anima for alms, to obtain a dowry for their daughters and to find employment for their sons. The neighborhood surrounding Santa Maria dell’Anima maintained a steady German population since the founding of the pilgrims’ hospital in the Middle Ages.47 This was also revealed by the petitions sent to the pious institution by those looking for a house to rent or seeking a reduction in rent. Giorgio Liebl, from Vienna, and his Flemish wife, Giovanna, were tenants in a house “at the sign of the emperor” (all’insegna dell’imperatore) whose name eloquently revealed their identity. They requested a reduction of the yearly rent of 158 scudi because, “due to the poverty of the times after the end [of the 1625 Holy Year] and also during the same Holy Year, the majority of the house was empty and there were still many vacant rooms with no hope of them being rented as it is the off season.”48 Faber also shows careful consideration of a conflict that occurred, during his appointment at the guild, between Santa Maria dell’Anima and the churches of neighboring religious orders like 46 47 48

A balance sheet from 1616 reveals that 137 scudi were granted as alms for those who had presented a petition: BANL, Fondo Faber 424, cc. nn. On the topic see S. Maria dell’Anima. Zur Geschichte einer “deutschen” Stiftung in Rom, hg. Michael Matheus (Berlin-New York: De Gruyter, 2010). BANL, Fondo Faber 424, cc. nn.

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Sant’Agnese in Agone. There was a dispute over the management of the church of Santa Maria di Campo Santo, which was claimed by the Germans. A memorial was drawn up – in which Faber was inevitably involved – and sent to the pope and Cardinal Nephew Scipione Borghese, Protector of Germany, requesting the exclusion of the “Flemings” who had surreptitiously introduced their language and customs into the running of the church. The “Most devout German nation of the Company of Campo Santo” upheld its demands against the pretention of the Flemings.49 This was a blatant defense of the “national” identity of the tight-knit community that distinguished itself in the city and was united around its churches, Santa Maria del Campo Santo and Santa Maria dell’Anima. During the course of the seventeenth century, the latter would constantly identify itself as an essential, and even symbolic instrument of communication between the North and South, between Rome and the imperial territories. 4

Echoes of War

From the various regions of Germany there arrived ever more pressing requests for the Roman court and curia to see to it, as a matter of urgency, that “recommended” individuals occupy the vacant benefices and churches that had been salvaged from the heretics after the victories of the imperial forces, at the beginning of the Thirty Years’ War.50 During the first decade of the ­seventeenth century, when the Evangelical Union had emerged reinvigorated and determined, Faber received news of the disastrous political situation in the Empire from many of his German correspondents and, in particular, from Cardinal Eitel Friedrich von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, Co-Protector of 49

50

It was stated that “the said church had always belonged to their nation and which had provided for and grew its numbers, and happily brought it to its present state, where everyone had since lived in peace and charity, as one ought to live in such companies, except for when a number of Flemings who had been admitted to the Church as Germans, were discovered to be Flemings, and fraudulently sought to introduce new customs to gain favor for their Nation in contrast with the most authentic statutes of this place, and thus many fights broke out, and differences which would not have occurred if the said Flemings had been admitted as they should to the church of St. Juliano.” BANL, Ibidem. On the Church of San Giuliano dei Fiamminghi and on the archive, see Inventario: Chiesa e Fondazione Reale Belga “San Giuliano dei Fiamminghi” a Roma: archivio storico, ed. Johann Ickx and Marco Pizzo (Rome: Gangemi, 2016). For example, Karl Fugger, a canon from Constance and deacon in the Cathedral of Salzburg, wrote to Faber in 1629 informing him that his emissary would arrive in Rome to request the appointment “of one of the monasteries that the Duke of Wittemberg [Württemberg?] must give back, and on this occasion, I will also express my intention with respect to the provostship of Ulm.” BANL, Fondo Faber 415, c. 237r.

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Germany, whom the physician considered to be one of his “masters” (padroni). The need to fortify the Catholic presence in German territories accompanied the requests for privileges and ecclesiastical benefices that were forwarded to Faber in Rome. In a petition to the pope, on behalf of the Landgrave Wilhelm von Leuchtenberg – a recent widower intending to receive minor orders, whose dominion was surrounded by heretics of the Upper Palatinate – Faber requested “with the zeal of acquiring some lost sheep, if it were possible to accord him greater graces in the ecclesiastic ranks, rendering this in the service of God and the Apostolic See.”51 He further reminded that the petitioner “had always been a defender of the Catholic faith among the secular princes in Germany and that his father had also been in the service of the Religion and the Empire, to which he gave his life and belongings: your Holiness will recall having recommended him for his first benefices.”52 Even Archduke Maximilian’s counselor, Hyeronimus Maninckhorn, had requested that some of the Empire’s churches be exempt from tithes and asked that he “find a place in the Collegio Germanico for our son Onofrio, a cleric and scholar at the Rhetorica, who is now 19 years old.” He stressed that these concessions were repaid by the imperial court through politicies that were favorable to Catholics.53 Faber was regularly updated by his correspondents about religious tensions and military actions, and Marco Welser’s letters were particularly informative, though not always reassuring. In March of 1609, for instance, he wrote, “I do not write to you concerning Austria as I doubt the paper could blush.”54 However, his communications also reveal an interest in the matter of the Venetian Interdict and emphasized that the end of the conflict between Rome and Venice was only temporary. Indeed, tension between the pope and the Republic was imminent “with the danger of causing further and graver calamities as often happens in the case of relapses.”55 Welser also happily commented on the news Faber received, which was confirmed by the dissemination of informations and Avvisi, of a sermon given in the papal chapel by Jacques Séguier, one 51 52

53 54 55

BANL, Fondo Faber 414, c. 308r. BANL, Fondo Faber 420, cc. 214r-216r. In 1625 Faber needed to intercede on behalf of the knight of Malta Jacob Christoph von Andlau, who pleaded with him to renounce his vows “in order to preserve his most ancient and noble family” and defend it from the “evils” of the Roman court. BANL, Fondo Faber 414, cc. 304r e 306r. BANL, Fondo Faber 416, c. 292r. In the published list of students appears the name of Ferdinand Maninckhorn, a student from 1621 to 1627; see Schmidt, Das Collegium Germanicum, 273. BANL, Fondo Faber 419, c. 33r. Ibidem, c. 74r. Welser also considered the Venetian Republic to be fortunate for having had the “fortune of not chancing upon one those Pontiffs who had influenced the Henrys or Fredericks or further still with a Pius the fifth or a Sixtus of our times.”

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of the Cardinal of Joyeuse’s theologians, in which the preacher harshly attacked French support of Protestant forces in the conflict over the succession of the Duchy of Jülich-Clèves.56 Welser would later comment, with scepticism as well as concern, on the evolution of the religious conflicts in the imperial territories. In 1611 he wrote that, “with regard to the ways of the world, I can no longer tell you what everyone is saying: the heretics are winning without, one could say, any resistance and have many methods of resisting the Catholics, even with the latter’s tactics of harmony, prudence and resolution.”57 News, sometimes in the form of a chronicle, like that in the letters of Bernard von Hettingen on the progress of the war and the advance of the Catholic armies, also served in preparing the many requests which Faber had to make on behalf of his ultramontani spokespeople. He needed to work from within the Roman congregations, and directly on the pontiff, in order to obtain indulgences and increase devotion to the pope by obtaining the concession of privileges: “absolving heresy which I am certain is not carried out without much difficulty,” as was written in 1623 by von Hettingen, Prior of St. Ulrich in Augsburg. He also added the detailed account of a young noble “captive brought up in Calvin’s heresy” and again recalled the importance of obtaining permission to absolve him of heresy, “for during these times many heretics come to convert to Catholicism and I compelled myself to have it confirmed again once it expired.”58 During those years this problem was central not only to discussions that took place at meetings of the Holy Office, but also to the information given to nuncios.59 And news of the wars not only arrived from Germany. Johann Lambacher’s nephew, Giorgio Reiter, who provided Faber with copies of books from Germany, Milan and 56

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“Admiring how he [Séguier] dared to say in the papal chapel in the presence of Your Holiness and of the Holy College those words that were later printed publicly […] [which was] as clear as the midday sun, so much so that the French do not deny it nor did the King who stood with the Heretic princes against the Catholics. Thus these are the ventures for which the Christian kings deserve to be praised […] Do I truly astonish you?” Ibidem, c. 25r. Ibidem, c. 19r. BANL, Fondo Faber, vol. 422, c. 265. In 1625 the Holy Office had repeatedly considered the “quaestio an liceat episcopis concedere facultatem absolvendi ab haeresi” and decided to grant it to the bishops of Vienna and Wiener Neustadt, despite the protests of Carlo Carafa, nuncio to the imperial court, who was determined to defend that power as pertaining only to the papal delegate, ACDF, SO, St. St. TT 1-b, cc. nn. On the topic, see Die Hauptinstruktionen Gregors XV. Für Nuntien und Gesandten an den europäischen Fürstenhöfen 1621-1623, hg. Klaus Jaitner, 2 Bde (Tübingen: Niemeyer, 1997), ad indicem; Le istruzioni generali di Paolo V, ad indicem; Irene Fosi, “Frontiere inquisitoriali nel Sacro Romano Impero”, in Papato e politica internazionale nella prima età moderna, ed. Maria Antonietta Visceglia (Viella, Rome: 2013), 257-274.

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Venice, informed him of the war between the Venetians and the Uskoks. In 1617 Reiter concernedly wrote that, “these sounds of war continue even though we had hoped for Holy Peace.” He added that, during the skirmishes in Friuli, a number of Roman condottieri had been killed, “among whom signor Oratio Baglioni and signor Orsino Romano, may the Lord bring forth his sacred hand and call for Peace lest we shall witness great ruin in Italy.”60 He had been informed of the controversial affair involving Cardinal Melchior Klesl, and in his letters there also appears detailed information on the wars being waged in Mantua.61 In seventeenth century correspondence, Rome emerges as a central hub of communication. The role of foreigners, and especially converts, became vital in transmitting information related to the conversion politics. The Catholic agenda of reconquest was promoted by the Papacy less by frontal, military attack and more by means of soft power. Intellectuals, men of letters and science were used to provide clear evidence of the richness of Catholic culture and thus refute the attacks of pamphleteers who persistently accused the Church and its ministers of ignorance. The letters sent to Faber contain the same concerns about the difficulties of the catholic reconquest of the German territories, especially during the Thirty Years’ War, which were also expressed by successive nuncios at the imperial court and at other Catholic German courts, in correspondence with the cardinal nephew in Rome. However, in German courts Faber’s agency in Rome was observed with profound suspicion and mistrust that ultimately marred his reputation. 5

A Dubious Reputation

In a letter sent from Dresden, on 10 June 1610, Cristoforo Pflug, now gentleman of the bedchamber to the Elector of Saxony, first begged forgiveness for his silence and expressing his continued gratitude for the benefices granted, informed Faber of a case which had caused much distress at the Elector’s court. 60 61

BANL, Fondo Faber 424, cc. nn. (Venice, 26 August 1617). Faber had been previously informed by his German correspondents of the Klesl affair. Giorgio Reiter had written him from Innsbruck on 17 August 1618, that “Cardinal Cleselio is detained by this Court and under the constant watch of 12 of His Highnesses halberdiers and attended by two Barons…In these quarters he has been made to wear a cardinal’s biretta and cassock, yet he does so with reluctance. His actions are taken quite seriously and, if this be the case, then he deserves punishment. May the Lord protect the most Serene House of Austria and the Holy Catholic Religion during these trying times.” Ibidem, cc. nn. See Miggiano, “Johannes Faber e la sua biblioteca, 123.

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Cardinal Nephew Scipione Borghese had sent a letter to the emperor’s nuncio, Gian Garzia Millini, wherein he informed the latter that a “German gentleman and subject of the Most Serene Elector of Saxony,” having been brought before the Inquisition, had been “transferred to a convent of Barefoot Carmelites through the intercession of His Imperial Majesty.”62 This he did in favor of the young Saxon noble who had fallen into the hands of the Holy Tribunal, “by what misfortune or haplessness I cannot say,” and was then transferred to a convent of Barefoot Carmelites – it was said – where “he is treated well with kindness and charity.” The young man’s mother was a lady-in-waiting to the wife of the Elector of Saxony’s brother, Prince Johann Georg.63 The intervention to free the young noble, who “until now has been very quiet and reposed,” bore inarguable political relevance. The prisoner’s uncle was Johannes Costiz, proposto of the Cathedral of Merserburg and “first dignitary” (primo dignitario) of the court.64 The letters sent to Rome from the young man’s parents received no response, “such that the worst is suspected.” But the release of “the unhappy youth” would come to be of great significance with regard to Faber’s reputation. In 1607, Cristoforo Pflug had an experience which involved him deeply with the Inquisition of Siena.65 In this particular circumstance, it is appears that the interventions of Faber and Cardinal Domenico Pinelli, to whom the physician had been sent by his German correspondents, especially Marco Welser, to have Pflug released “from the labyrinth in which he either found himself or thought he found himself,” had been ineffective.66 A cold silence fell between Pflug and Faber, revealing the unease surrounding the physician’s negative reputation, and dubious behavior, which had been noted in Germany for a number of years. Faber was suspected of spying on Protestant foreigners arriving in Rome, of denouncing them to the Inquisition to force them into abjuration. In the Protestant world the doctor of Bamberg was considered a spy capable of playing a double game with his countrymen to earn honor and reputation at the papal court. Faber again became an important interlocutor for Pflug and the letter that reaffirmed their epistolary rapport concluded with 62 63

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BANL, Fondo Faber 420, cc. 179r-180v. The mother “is very much anxious and afflicted by this terrible incident and shall not rest until her son is safe, whose mishap has caused much grief as he has not written letters or informed anyone that he is alive and well, which is continuously doubted considering that he is sickly.” Ibidem, c. 180r. The dignitary Johannes Costiz, as Pflug stated in the letter – “for his singular merit is most esteemed and respected in the empire and especially by the House of Saxony, which is believed to love logical and moderate advice”, cc. 179v-180r. Ibidem, c. 3r. BANL, Fondo Faber, 419, c. 5r.

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a command: “may your excellency, having read my present letter, see fit to give me news of all that has occurred until now regarding the individual before the Inquisition, the reason for which he finds himself in this mess, the progress of his case, and when one might expect him to be released.”67 Even Johannes von Pflaumernkirch, with whom Faber had had an intense epistolary exchange throughout his life, understood that the physician had dedicated himself to defending his reputation in Germany, and praised his dedication towards the German community in Rome. In a 1609 letter to Faber from Merserburg, Pflaumernkirch in fact emphasized that he was repeatedly involved in defending “your innocence” (innocentiam tuam). Now, in upholding the case of the noble Saxon who had fallen into the hands of the Inquisition, Pflug also reminded him that, in displaying “every kindness” to the young man, the physician from Bamberg would be judged positively and not “badly by certain malignant individuals who throughout Germany have striven to make it appear as though he was an extreme persecutor, to say the least, of Protestants who found their way to Rome.” Employing this accusation as a means of exerting pressure was by no means a novelty. It was bolstered by stereotypes in the ongoing anti-Catholic controversies which warned all intending to visit Italy or come to Rome of the devious acts taking place in the pope’s city by figures like Schoppe, Faber and Reboul, as elaborated in Francis Broccard’s writings.68 It is not possible to prove if Faber was two-faced, or whether his interventions with the Tribunal of the Inquisition, the Roman courts, and especially his influence on “friends” in the curia and congregations were truly effective. The verbal aspects of these intercessions, his face-to-face contacts and private meetings, while no doubt more effective than his correspondence, are unavailable to the historian. Perhaps the papal physician and herbalist, now famous and respected in his new hometown, and with his neo-convert identity, did not wish to gamble his reputation, fame or fortune, denouncing foreign heretics to the Inquisition. Thus those in Germany, who placed their hopes in his intervention would have to contend with the oltramontani heretics who were likewise being “caressed.” Faber would continue to support Roman politics of conversion in his official capacity at the Accademia dei Lincei, in the network of courtly protection of popes and cardinals, and in the communication sustained with the transalpine world, by means of which scientific and naturalistic innovations circulated. Faber would also have been influential in disseminating a high culture which 67 68

BANL, Fondo Faber 420, c. 178r (in the volume the letter is reversely attached) An explicit reference to Faber’s controversial conversionistic activity along with Schoppe can be found in Noack, Das Deutschtum in Rom, 71-72.

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permitted the circulation of prohibited books, to different places, but fostered a deep communication between the North and South, despite the religious censures and wars in Europe. In Rome, other figures also became instruments of propaganda, often involuntarily, and messengers and defenders of the politics of conversion in Europe. In many cases, they were individuals who had themselves abandoned their heresy and found Rome to be a “safe haven” (porto sicuro) in which to land, and from which to depart. Furthermore, they were often useful to the reconquest strategies, at least up until a certain point.

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Guillaume Reboul: A Troublesome Convert 1

A Restless Pamphleteer

In early July of 1611 the scholar Marco Welser wrote to Johannes Faber from Augsburg urgently requesting him to entreat the Cardinal of Lorraine, or “any cardinal” in Rome, to intercede at the Governor’s Tribunal – the main entity in Rome with criminal jurisdiction – on behalf of “signor Reboul […] who is in a dungeon and therefore unable to respond.” Welser went on to say, with concern, that the news of the French pamphleteer’s capture, arriving by gazette from beyond the Alps, “caused much displeasure, especially since […] it is nearly impossible for a person of such quality and ingenuity to not have, at some point, written so freely that enemies might therein find fault.”1 Welser wrote again on 29 July 1611 requesting that, “if you have any news of signor Reboul, kindly let me know.”2 But why such concern? Who was this person? Guillaume Reboul was born in Nîmes, into a Huguenot family, around 1564, and had witnessed the bloody turmoil of the religious conflicts that had afflicted his city. From a young age he was drawn to the study of philosophy and the Bible. In 1587 he was welcomed at the court of the King of Navarre, who would later protect and offer him the position of secretary to the Duke of Bouillon. He then traveled around Europe, spent three years in Germany, and, upon returning to France, came in contact with moderate members of the Huguenot party. However, these connections put him in a bad light in the eyes of his stauncher coreligionists, for which they relentlessly attacked him. Reboul had been assigned the task of collecting debts in the Comtat Venaissin on behalf of his master. In 1595 he converted to Catholicism and was welcomed in Avignon by the archbishop, Cardinal Francesco Maria Tarugi, and the legate, Ottavio Acquaviva. As stated in his writings, his desire to convert had developed over time and was nurtured by Henry IV’s future confessor, the Jesuit Pierre Coton. In 1597 he published an Apologie wherein he defended himself from reformers in Nîmes who had accused him of having composed a Menippean satire entitled La Cabale des Réforméz. They were determined to have him punished in exemplary fashion by the king “to punish him as a public rest

1 BANL, Fondo Faber 419, c. 16 (9 July 1611). 2 Ibidem, c. 17v.

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disturbance, worthy of an exemplary punishment”.3 He also responded to the accusation of having betrayed the Duke of Bouillon’s trust, and sought to refute all inequitable charges which had been made against him, “a flood of insults on my honor and curses on my soul”.4 In this text, as in others, he explained that heresy and its diffusion only succeeded in demonstrating, and reinforcing, the majesty of the Catholic Church. Moreover, he argued, the request for religious freedom on the part of the Huguenots was contradicted by their blatant intolerance towards those who had embraced the Catholic faith. These polemics were not new and were disseminated, by both sides, in the numerous pamphlets produced during the negotiation with the crown prior to the Edict of Nantes (1598). Reboul cautioned his former coreligionists against presenting proposals to the new king. In 1597, thanks to the protection of Henry IV, Reboul departed from Avignon for Rome.5 The good offices of the Cardinals of Joyeuse, whom he described as “greater in virtue than in rank,”6 and of D’Ossat– who had also asked the king to recommend him to the French ambassador in Rome, the Duke of Villeroy – allowed him to be welcomed into the entourage of Cardinal Cesare Baronio. This was also perhaps facilitated by Tarugi. The Oratorian cardinal-archbishop, though he appreciated the French pamphleteer’s intellectual potential, polemical flare and punchy, effective, style, nevertheless encouraged him to abandon bitter controversies and dedicated himself to Church history.7 The neo-convert might, in fact, be a weapon 3 4 5

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“pour faire chaster cestuy-cy comme un perturbateur du repos public […] digne d’une punition exemplaire”: Apologie de Reboul sur la cabale des Reformez (s.l., 1597), 72. The works reprinted in the following years in Montpellier, chez le Libertin. “un deluge d’iniures sur mon honneur et de maledictions sur mon ame”: Ibidem. Information on the life of Reboul, although not always precise, can be found in Michel Nicolas, Histoire littéraire de Nîmes et des localités voisines, I (Nîmes: Favre et Balivet, 1854), 236-241; Nouvelle Biographie Francaise, 41 (Paris: Plassan, 1866), coll. 803-804; Albert Puech, Un Nîmois oublié. Le Pamphlétaire Guillaume Reboul (Nîmes: Bedot-Chastagné, 1889); Ch. Anatole, Aux origines d’un type littéraire. Le “capitaine Gascon,” dans un pamphlet antihuguenot de Guillaume Reboul: les actes du Synode universel de la Sainte Réformation (1599), s.l., s.d.. His escape to Rome seems to have also been caused by the accusation of having taken an exorbitant amount of money from the Duke of Bouillon, an accusation that is denied by Reboul in some of his writings. ”plus grand de vertu que de grade”: Guillaume Reboul, Les Salmonées du Sieur de Reboul, le premier contre les ministers de Nîmes, le second contre le ministers du Languedoc (Lyon: Jacques Roussin, 1597), 9. The work dedicated to the Cardinal François de Joyeuse (15621615), dean of the French cardinals in the Holy College under Henry IV, protector of France, along with Cardinals D’Ossat (1537-1604) and Du Perron (1556-1618), played an important role in obtaining the absolution of Henry of Navarre and resolving other political affairs. Lettres del l’ill.me et rev.me Cardinal d’Ossat, evesque de Bayeux au Roy Henry le Grand depuis l’année MDXCIV jusques à l’année MDCIV (Paris: J. Bouillerat, 1624), 2 and 393: the

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to deploy in support of the Catholic cause, not only at the French court, but also in the imperial territories where he had been famous for some time. Like other converts, Reboul was familiar with the internal mechanisms that governed the world of the reformers. He had a proclivity and cultural knowledge which betrayed a paradoxical loyalty to the milieu he had abandoned and now fought against.8 In 1603 he dedicated his Plaidoyez, addressed against reformed ministers, to Cardinals Tarugi and Baronio.9 He recalled, with emphatic gratitude, that the two Oratorians – who were deeply involved, as we have seen, in the politics of conversion – had saved and brought him to Rome, “all clammy and trembling from this great shipwreck in Rome and presented at the feet of this great Pontiff Clement VIII”.10 In a pamphlet titled L’Apostate, which in a few years’ time gained popularity in Rome and beyond the Alps, he recounted the reasons for his conversion.11 Reboul published more than ten polemical anti-Reformation works, as well as a biography of Henry IV, whom he likened to Alexander the Great.12 Even afterwards, in letters sent to his French friends,

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cardinal wrote from Rome, on 21 February 1602, to the king “je diray au sieur Reboul le bien et l’honneur que votre Majesté luy veut faire” and, on 15 April of the same year thanked “de ce que vous voulez faire pour monsieur Reboul et ay fait tenir par luy-mesme à Monsieur le Cardinal Baronio vostre response sur la recommendation qu’il vous avoit faicte dudit Reboul:” Ibidem, 400. Reboul was not a docile figure, see Frank Lestringant, “Une liberté féroce: Guillaume Reboul et le Nouveau Panurge”, in “Parler librement”. La liberté de parole au tournant du XVIe et du XVIIe siècle, ed. Isabelle Moreau and Grégoire Holtz (Lyon: Ens, 2005), 117; id., “Une Satire Ménippée” au service de la Contre-Réforme: La Cabale des Reformez attribuée à Guillaume Reboul”, in Citê des Hommes, Cité de Dieu. Travaux au l’honneur de Daniel Ménager (Geneva: Droz, 2003), 301-320. Guillaume Reboul, Les Plaidoyez de Reboul, en la chambre mi-partie de Castres, contre les Ministres (Lyon: J. Bertrand, 1604). “tout moite et tout tremblant de ce grand naufrage dans Rome et presenté aux pieds de ce grand pontife Clement VIII”. Ibidem. Guillaume Reboul, L’Apostate, ou il est traicté de la nature de la foi catholique et de l’apostasie des ministres (Lyon: J. Bertrand, 1604). The work was dedicated to Bernardino Paoloni, here called “Paulino,” an apostolic datary (in reality he was a sottodatario at the time, 24 August 1603) indicated as “pere commun de ceux qui, sauvez du naufrae de l’Heresie, se trouvent heureusement portez sur le ravage de l’Eglise. Et qui est celuy d’entre eux, qui venant à Rome, ou de France, ou d’Angleterre, ou d’Allemagne, ou de quelque autre province que ce soit, ne vous ait trouvé tel que cela et votre maison le plus assure refuge de ses misères?” The sottodatario was mentioned also in some letters to Marco Welser for his activity in the archconfraternity of Trinità dei Pellegrini on behalf of heretic converts, he seems to have been one of the prominent figures in the project for aiding neo-Catholics tied to the Oratorians and the recently established Congregation de iis qui sponte ad fidem veniunt, see supra, pp. 60-66. Guillaume Reboul, Les Fortunes et vertus de Henry, Roy de France et de Navarre: compares à celles d’Alexandre le Grand par le sieur Reboul (Paris: J. Houzé, 1604).

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Rome is described as a safe haven that welcomed those who turned from heresy, which he defined, “daughter of the world and night, nourished and raised in the depths of hell.”13 Reboul seems to have begun composing a history of the religious wars that had bloodied his homeland at the request of Paul V. And, to better sharpen his polemical darts, he requested permission from the Holy Office to read prohibited books, allowing him “three years to effectively refute the heresies.”14 Like other foreigners who came to Rome in search of fortune, Reboul made connections with compatriots already living in the city, among whom were members of the curia, artists and artisans. But this vibrant milieu was under the watchful eye of the Inquisition for having circulated images of the king prior to the recognition of his conversion in Rome and the legitimization of his sovereignty. Reboul was appreciated for his literary prowess and knowledge of the Scriptures, perhaps encouraged by his protectors, and confident in the opportunities offered by the Roman court. Thus he attempted to insert himself into the circle of compatriots that gravitated around the French embassy and operated as a liaison with the curia. However, the events which affected the tense relations between the Papacy and France, after Henry IV’s murder, would seal the fate of the restless convert.15 On 20 June 1611 Reboul was arrested by the Governor’s guards, imprisoned in the Tor di Nona jail, and the books, writings and other items found in his home were sequestered.16 At the moment of his arrest they found “many writings and manuscripts, as well as printed books, especially in French.” Among the 226 texts were “two prohibited books, one on the Church, entitled Duplesis, and another on the revision of the Council of Trent.”17 Reboul claimed that they were needed so as to polemically “refute them” and protect himself from further accusations, adding that he had obtained permission to read them from inquisitors in both Avignon and Rome. The writings were locked away in a trunk and left with the Governor’s notaries, while the books were in all likelyhood given to the Master of the Sacred Palace. Reboul’s home in via della Croce, near Piazza di Spagna, consisting of five rooms on two floors and a 13 14 15

16 17

Le Salmonées, 4. ACDF, SO, Decreta (1607), c. 128r. For an outline of the climate of harsh polemics in which the Jesuits were protagonists, sustained by Maria de’ Medici, Huguenots, exponents of the anti-Roman Catholicism and zealous Catholics, see Sylvio Hermann de Franceschi, La crise théologico-politique du premier âge baroque. Antiromanisme doctrinal, pouvoir pastoral et raison du prince: le Saint-Siège au prisme français (1607-1627) (Rome: École française de Rome, 2009). The minutes from the interrogation of G. Reboul in ASR, Tribunale criminale del Governatore, processi, sec. XVII, vol. 98, ins. 46, cc. 1918r-1938v. Ibidem, cc. 1936v.

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kitchen, was decorated with somber furnishings and just an essential wardrobe, i.e. a not extensive collection of clothes. In his rooms they found “a walnut kneeler, a painting of Cardinal Baronio, another of the Magdalen, one of St. John and another smaller one of St. Bernard.”18 On the one hand, these paintings recalled his gratitude towards his powerful protector; on the other, they displayed his devotion as an Protestant convert. The house where Reboul’s brother-in-law and another relative worked was an active copy center for his writings, which were shipped throughout Europe. Occasionally, other individuals including foreigners would pass through, but he claimed not to remember their names. The depositions of Reboul’s collaborators shed light on the multifaceted world of information and communication that connected Rome with the rest of Europe. It brought together activities, public and clandestine, which often made monitoring difficult even for the most attentive Roman agencies of censorship. Reboul’s brother-in-law, for instance, affirmed that during the time I lived here in Rome with my brother-in-law, Guglielmo Rebullo, I wrote and copied many things for him, upon his order, of which I cannot recall everything. But I particularly remember having copied a book, a response he made to the King of England, and also the histories of France, which he recently wrote. I copied another book of his, called the Faramondo, and many other things I cannot recall, as stated before […]. The manner in which I wrote and copied for signor Guglielmo Rebullo, my brother-in-law, was as follows: he would give me two or three sheets, sometimes fewer, of the original he wished for me to copy, and I would go to work in my room. When I had finished, I would give him the copy, and sometimes the original, and other times it remained in my room. Sometimes, after time had passed, he would come retrieve it himself, or else I would tear them up as required.19 The pamphleteer and his brother-in-law were well aware of the dangerous nature of their work and relied upon manuscripts to distribute the pamphlets, controversies and satires. This literature performed a political function in support of the new King of France, Henry IV. But it also served to defame the “enemies” who opposed Reboul’s personal advancement in Rome. His home, situated in the very heart of the foreign milieu, was frequented by artists and courtesans, and protected by collaborators, friends. Nevertheless little could 18 19

ASR, Tribunale criminale del Governatore. Atti di cancelleria, 231, fasc. 3 (1611), c. 1v. ASR, Tribunale criminale del Governatore, processi sec. XVII, vol. 98, ins. 46, cc. 1922v-1923r.

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be done by law enforcement of papal authorities, because of the code of silence (omertà) and the complicity of neighbors and friends. During Reboul’s interrogation, which began on the 22nd of June, Reboul stated that he had been living in Rome for fourteen years, and he highlighted the most significant phases of his life: During the years I have been in Rome, for ten I have lived under the protection of Cardinal Baunio (Baronio) and have been favored by pope Clement the eighth. I wrote and published many works against heretics, and particularly against the King of England, upon His Holiness’ orders, in response to a book the king had published against the pope. The king was so irritated by my response, he implored the Queen of France to have me captured. I also began to write of the religious civil wars in France.20 Among Reboul’s numerous pamphlets was one written against James I – Le Roy at la Foy d’Angleterre combattus: he said, proudly, that he had received the commission to write it directly from the pope. The brother-in-law who had copied and sent his writings to France and other parts of Europe was also arrested. He had gone to the Governor to request news of his relative imprisoned at Tor di Nona and, upon interrogation, testified that “the house where we live was frequented by on of Cardinal Gioiosa’s [Joyeuse’s] theologians, signor Seghier, who is a good soul, signor Dumas, our compatriot and courtier of Cardinal Aldobrandini, and Italians, a courtier of Cardinal Peretti, signor Francesco Augustini, and others whom I don’t particularly know.”21 They were high ranking members of the French party in Rome whose reputation and influence have been restored after Henry of Navarre’s conversion and now sought to consolidate power in the Roman curia. Jacques Séguier was a renowned theologian and the commotion from his sermons “in the papal chapel” (in sacello pontificio), against the French endorsement of heretics had reached Johannes Faber’s European correspondents.22

20 21 22

Ibidem, cc. 1919v-1920r. Ibidem, c. 1923r. It will be J. Séguier to recite “in sacello pontificio” the funeral oration for Henry IV: Oraison funebre. On the topic, see Jacques Hennequin, Henry IV dans ses oraisons funèbres ou la naissance d’une legend (Paris: Klincksieck, 1977); Thomas Danièle, Henry IV: images d’un roi entre réalité et mythe (Bizanos: Héraclés, 1996).

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Rivalry and “Loathing”

On 19 August 1611 Guillaume Reboul was again interrogated in prison by the Governor’s prosecutor (fiscale). His deposition reveals the factional divisions created within Rome and, above all, surrounding the French embassy. Upon his arrival in the Eternal City, Reboul had enjoyed the support and protection of the ambassador, the Count of Selles, Philippe de Béthune, who was himself a Catholic convert sent to the pope by Henry IV. Diplomatic representation in Rome, between the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, was in the hand, on one side, of the “national cardinals,” the spokespersons for their sovereigns in the Holy College and, on the other, of the “cardinal protectors.” This was not only the case with the French. The “institutional” definition of the responsibilities and role of the ambassador during this period continued to be vague.23 Yet, one cannot underestimate the influence of the figures, lay and cleric, French and Italian, that came together around the cardinals and ambassadors. For many new arrivals in Rome, these men were crucial for making introduction into the papal curia and for creating contacts. In 1589 François de Joyeuse was appointed Protector of France and, in 1594, was sent to Rome by Henry IV to negotiate papal recognition of his conversion. Between 1595 and 1610 the French monarchy would aim to reestablish a faithful clientele in Rome, in the curia, and in the city and thus display an image of renewed grandeur and power vis-à-vis the Spanish monarchy. The French cardinals’ frequent trips and lengthy stays in Rome were a method of establishing loyalty and ­acquiring supporters of Henry IV’s politics. Connections were in fact stronger in the courts and entourages of cardinals than in those of the French ambassadors. And loyalty was above all acquired through the generous granting of pensions.24 23

24

“La bonne coordination de l’action de l’ambassadeur et du protectuer est un des soucis permanents du secrétaire de’ Etat,” the cardinal protector worked within the congregations, and in the heart of the curia, to show his attentiveness and ability to defend “les intérêts du roi, des privileges du royame et des ses ecclésiastiques”: Olivier Poncet, “Les cardinaux protecteurs des couronnes en cour de Rome dans la première moitié du XVII siècle: l’exemple de la France”, in La Corte di Roma tra Cinque e Seicento. “Teatro” della politica europea, ed. Gianvittorio Signorotto and Maria Antonietta Visceglia (Rome: Bulzoni, 1998), 473. Bernard Barbiche, “L’influence française à la cour pontificale sous le règne d’Henry IV” Mélanges d’archéologie et d’histoire 77 (1965): 277-299; id., “Clément VIII et la France (15921605). Principes et réalités dans les instructions générales et les correspondances

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Reboul’s testimony before the Governor casts light on his life, on the web of relationships inside the papal curia and in the city. Arriving in Rome in 1597, Guillaume Reboul was confronted with a complex situation. Thanks to letters of recommendation from the king and Cardinal D’Ossat recommending him to Cardinal Joyeuse, he sought the protection of Ambassador Philippe de ­Béthune, Cardinal Du Perron and Joyeuse himself. He also hoped to obtain a patent from the King of France and an official position to work and be paid in Rome or in another Italian city. In his deposition before the Roman Tribunal he expressed his desire to represent Henry IV in Genoa but, he said, due to the jealousy of his adversaries these hopes never came to fruition. In Rome, he became involved with the religious orders most active in the recognition of Henry of Navarre’s 1585 conversion, the Oratorians and Jesuits. Things would however change for the convert with the arrival in Rome of the new ambassador, the Baron of Neuville, Charles d’Alincourt. In his deposition, the French pamphleteer explains the reasons for the animosity he experienced and provided an account of the accusations made against him. Reboul claimed that they stemmed from the rivalry with, and desire for revenge among, those who had represented France in Rome, during the first two decades of the seventeenth century. When asked, “how and from where the discord and hate came, which, in his first interrogation, he claimed to have with signor Breves, d’Alincurt and Villeroi,” Reboul described in detail the connections, relations and rivalry that had marked the French king’s diplomatic representation in Rome. “The loathing and discord” (li disgusti e le discordie) had apparently developed from his having sided with Cardinal Du Perron, which pitted him against the French ambassador, Charles d’Alincourt, who “was hateful and ­unfriendly to those who depended on signor di Rettuno25 and Cardinal di Perron. And since I was on their side, signor d’Alincourt began to oppose everything I did.”26 The situation became all the more bitter when, as Reboul affirmed during his testimony before the Governatore, he was appointed by Henry IV to represent him in Genoa with a stipend of 100 scudi. This would cause jealousy and, as was recorded during the case,

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diplomatiques du Saint-Siége,” in Das Papsttum, die Christenheit und die Staaten Europas 1592-1605, hg. Georg Lutz (Tübingen, Niemeyer, 1994), 99-118. Philippe de Béthune, Count of Selles, a Calvinist later converted to Catholicism, was appointed counselor of State by Henry IV and then ambassador to Rome from 1601 to 1605. This solidarity between Reboul and Béthune does not appear to be random as both had recanted their heresy and turned to the Roman faith. ASR, Tribunale criminale del Governatore, processi sec. XVII, vol. 98, ins. 46, c. 1926r.

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it was taken so badly that he [the ambassador] committed a terrible affront towards me in his house. He had me arrested and sent for all the writings in my house to be removed, claiming it was at the pope’s orders, even though this was not true […] and this was the beginning of the loathing and discord, which I very much wished to avoid. Thus I awaited the arrival of a new ambassador to come to my aid and bring it to an end.27 In 1608 the new ambassador, François Savary de Brèves,28 arrived in Rome and Reboul quickly went to pay homage, in the hopes of obtaining the protection he had not been accorded in the past. But relations with Brèves were no better, as he recalled in his lengthy deposition: He received me in such a strange way, and with many threats, such as to have me killed. Thus I was forced to leave that day. Once he was no longer angry, he sought me out, and I returned, and he was satisfied by my actions, as was my intention, and gave me satisfaction with his words. He promised to intervene in my favor, as needed, with His Holiness and also with the king, and have me attend meetings of the Consistory on behalf of His Majesty.29 Reboul claimed, before the Roman Tribunal, to have been appointed by the king as an “informer” (confidente). The position would have required him to defend “his Majesty’s interests” (le cose di Sua Maestà), in the Consistory and become the protector of the sollicitatores. But Alincourt had sold this mercenary position for 4,000 scudi to his secretary, Etienne Gueffier, who naturally obstructed Reboul in every possible way. Gueffier had been Béthune’s secretary but, thanks to Cardinal D’Ossat’s influential recommendations, succeeded in remaining in his post under the new ambassador Alincourt. Considered to be a “honnete jeune homme,” Gueffier was again confirmed in this position, in 1608, when François de Brèves replaced Alincourt, and was officially appointed to oversee the benefices granted by the French king. Henry IV’s actions in Rome emphasized his generosity and were aimed at establishing a solid base of support in the curia during the latter years of Clement VIII’s papacy and, above all, during that of Paul V. From 1605 the flow of French money arriving in Rome from Lyon, in the form of bills of exchange (lettere di cambio), was 27 28 29

Ibidem, c. 1926rv. François Savary, sieur de Brèves, was ambassador in Rome from 1608 to 1624: Barbiche, “L’influence française à la cour pontificale, 277-299, 295, n. 2. ASR, Tribunale criminale del Governatore, processi sec. XVII, vol. 98, ins. 46, cc. 1926r-1928v.

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funneled to new members of the Holy College and the curia. Among them was Roberto Ubaldini, Master of the Chamber to Pope Borghese and later nuncio in Paris, who was granted an annual pension of 1,800 lire.30 In his deposition, Reboul indicated he was aware that his capture, by the governor’s guards, was the result of the “animosity” and revenge of the previous French ambassador, Alincourt. This hostility was therefore not new but had instead been rekindled and deployed in a political plot which, during those years, wound its way between Rome and Paris. Moreover, there had been profound rivalry and disagreement over the privileges Reboul’s brother-in-law had taken from Alincourt’s secretary Gueffier.31 As usual, Reboul defended himself with the same incendiary writing that had already caused him to make many enemies. He composed pamphlets against Alincourt, and Gueffier accused him of having written a “lyric fable,” titled Il Faramondo,32 wherein he denigrated the ambassador who was trying to convince Paul V to remove the French convert pamphleteer from his appointment to write the history of the religious wars in France. In fact, Reboul maintained that Alincourt feared the work would become a source for accusations against himself and his friends. Yet this concern was unfounded since the writing would have first been examined by his “friend,” and now general treasurer, Cardinal Luigi Capponi, who, as he affirmed, controlled and approved the text. In this instance too, Reboul defended himself by turning his pen against his accusers, Alincourt, Brèves and Gueffier. He had his defense against Brèves’ accusations read to the Jesuit Louis Richêome, the author of polemical works against the French Protestants, as well as a catechism dedicated to Henry IV.33 The Jesuit, dreading the consequences that would in fact come about, advised the convert to temper his style and tone down his attacks. Other 30 31

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Barbiche, “L’influence française à la cour pontificale, 277-299. He in fact affirmed that…”there is another reason for the disagreement: that signor Greffier, the secretary of signor d’Alincurt, having obtained a Brevetto from the King of France, which none other than he could have expedited the consistorial negotiations of France, and my brother-in-law being implored by others to accept their protection regarding this negotiation, and having accepted it, so very much displeased the said signori d’Alincurt and Greffier, that signor Greffier made my brother-in-law understand that if he did not desist within twenty four hours, that he would kill him,” ASR, Tribunale criminale del Governatore, processi sec. XVII, vol. 98, ins. 46, c. 1924r. Faramondo is the name of a (mythical?) king of the Frankish people. During the seventeenth century many written works were dedicated to this figure, among which the most famous Faramond ou l’Histoire de France by Gautier de Coste de La Calprenède, published in Paris by A. de Sommeville in 12 voll., between 1661 and 1670. Less known is the work by Rithi, Il Faramondo, who Reboul could have met. Louis Richeôme, L’idolatrie huguenote figurée au patron de la vielle payenne (Lyon: Pierre Riguad, 1608).

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“friends” had also read his defense. During the interrogation before the Tribunal of the Governor, Reboul affirmed that he showed “the said writings to others,” to several Jesuits. Among them was Charles Venot, a Jesuit in Autun, who had been residing in Rome during those years,34 another unidentified “friend called signor Renato Francese, who is here in Rome,” and naturally his brotherin-law, Daniel Nicolo, “who has copied this and many other works of mine, because he copies everything for me.”35 Those who had Reboul arrested feared the diffusion of these writings, and their deployment against the pope’s politicies, the French ambassador and the entire coté that had supported Henry IV. Papal authority was under attack from those who did not accept the enforcement of the Tridentine decrees and instead upheld Gallican beliefs a propos of Robert Bellarmine’s theories on the potestas indirecta of pontiffs over sovereigns. In his deposition before the Roman Tribunal, Guillaume Reboul also stated that he would have liked to send his text to “monsieur Dupui, a gentleman in the service of the Cardinal of Rouò (Rouen) to whom he planned to send it, but then did not.”36 These statements were underlined in the court papers, among others, which revealed that, despite the reticence and attempted defense, the writings had not only been disseminated in Rome, but in France and beyond. The circulation of such texts alarmed the court in Paris, the French embassy in Rome and especially the pope. During his interrogation Reboul affirmed that he was confident that Paul V would not allow himself to be convinced by the accusations against him [Reboul] made by the French ambassadors in Rome. He went on to declare that the pope’s confidence in him remained unaffected and he would in fact commission Reboul to respond to a work written against the pope entitled De Triplici nodo triplex cuneus, wherein James I defended the oath of loyalty to the monarchy.37 As is well known, there was no shortage of Catholic responses from Bellarmine and Gaspar Schoppe.38 However, this task would also create trouble for the writer, because after the circulation of the pamphlet Le Roy at la Foy d’Angleterre combattus, and the insults hurled against him by the French 34 Sommervogel, Bibliothèque de la Compagnie de Jésus, IV, coll. 564-565. 35 ASR, Tribunale criminale del Governatore, processi sec. XVII, vol. 98, ins. 46, c. 1926v. 36 Ibidem, c. 1930v. Probably Pierre or Charles Dupuy. 37 De Triplici nodo triplex cuneus, sive apologia pro iuramento fidelitatis, adversus duo brevia Pauli PP. Quindi et epistulam cardinalis Bellarmini ad G. Blackwellum archipresbyterum nuper scriptam (London: Robertus Barkerus, 1607). A picture of the polemics is outlined by Joseph de la Servière, De Iacobo I Angliae rege cum cardinali Roberto Bellarmino S.J. super potestate cum regia tum pontificia disputante (1607-1609) (Paris: H. Oudin, 1900). 38 Among Schoppe’s writings against James I there was, for example, Gasp. Scioppii Collyrium Regium, (Apud Holofernum Kriegsederum, 1611).

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convert, the King of England would ask Queen Maria de’ Medici for Reboul’s head. 3

Between Paris and Rome

The pamphlet against James I Le Roy at la Foy d’Angleterre combattus was interpreted as an attack upon the recent pact made between France, England and the United Provinces against Spanish supremacy. It was also feared it might provoke retaliation against Catholics in England. At the end of October 1610, the Earl of Salisbury maintained that the pamphlet seemed to be “of a French hand.” James I considered it to be infinitely pricked “infinement ­piqué,” and attempted to learn the identity of the author even examining the paper and typeface, which turned out to be French. It can therefore be assumed that the manuscript was copied by Reboul’s brother-in-law in Rome and then sent to France for publication. The pamphlet had initially been attributed to Cardinal Du Perron; this however was ruled out by Antoine Le Fèvre de la Boderie, the ambassador extraordinary in England, as he felt that the cardinal was “too wise, too kind and too Christian to do such a thing.”39 Isaac Casaubon, a new arrival at the Stuart court, having ruled out all other possibilities, identified Reboul as the author by his “plume vive,” likewise present in the works he had read in Languedoc. The text could only have come from Rome where the writer “a very cunning and perverse spirit…is again, and from where he will only leave by force,” as written on 13 November 1610, to La Boderie, by Nicolas de Neufville de Villeroy, the powerful Secretary of State for foreign affairs.40 Paolo Sarpi had identified Reboul as the author of the text against James I.41 In early Autumn of 1610 a hunt began for the writer who, it was imagined, continued to enjoy the pope’s protection, “ which [the pope] is very ill-advised and served” and “yet this was unsurprising”. In fact, in his letter, Villeroy criticized the Roman court and added that he had already alerted the current ambassador Brèves, while advising the utmost secrecy in the project of capturing Reboul.42 39 40 41 42

Antoine Le Fèvre de la Boderie, Ambassades des Monseigneur de la Boderie en Angleterre sous le Regne d’Henry IV et la minorité de Louis XIII, despuis les années 1606 jusqu’en 1611, t. 5, (s.l. par Paul Denis Bourtin, s.a.), 436. Ibidem, 463. Paolo Sarpi, Lettere ai Gallicani, ed. Boris Ulianich (Wiesbaden: Steiner, 1961), 199-200. “mais vous connoissez cette cour-là, laquelle ne ressent que ce qui lui touche, et croit que tout soit sujet à les loix et à sa censure, sans qu’elle se doive donner peine et souci des événments hors d’elle.” He added that it was time “de mettre la main comme il faut au recouvrement de ce galant’’: Antoine Le Fèvre de la Boderie, Ambassades des Monseigneur

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He had completely alienated himself from Savary de Brèves, which justified his estrangement, given the pressure emanating from Paris. In addition, Reboul was no longer protected by the Oratorians, Cardinal Baronio or the pope. In a matter of a few years, between 1607, when Cesare Baronio died, and 1611, Reboul would find himself alone at the center of strained relations between Rome and Paris, which called for his sacrifice in order to save the papal reputation in front of the French court. His punishment by a Roman court would demonstrate the responsiveness and renewed power of the Roman Church in France against attacks from heretics, Gallicans and polemicists who, during those years, following Henry’s IV death, raged not only against Bellarmine’s writings, but also against the pope and Rome. Reboul had been accused of publishing an “infamous pamphlet” which was considered lèse majesté (high treason), however it is unknown if Faber actually intervened on his behalf, as requested by Marco Welser. Both the French ambassador in Rome, Savary de Brèves, and Alincourt stood up against him. The latter, in a plea to the pope, later sent to the Governor, requested “thorough justice” (rigorosa giustizia) for the pamphleteer’s insolence. Alincourt further requested that Reboul be punished “not only for the known reason but in accordance with Pius V’s bull against similar pamphleteers, for he had not only composed his polemical works, which would have been enough to punish him, but kept these dangerous writings with him, and showed them to many people in the nation, so that they would be widely disseminated.”43 It was not only credibility, loyalty and personal honor that were attacked by Reboul’s biting satire, but the very majesty of the king of France in Rome, who, following his conversion, had returned to the traditional position of fille ainée de l’Eglise. Therefore, it was a very serious crime lèse majesté. In his deposition before the Governor, Reboul indicated the rivalry and hostility between the French figures who gravitated around the Roman court and curia as the cause of his arrest. Yet his fate was quickly decided at a political level between Paris and Rome. This was revealed in letters from the nuncio in Paris, Roberto Ubaldini, who was concerned by the circulation of prohibited books, like those of Du Plessy, and pamphlets against Bellarmine, as well as Nicolas Vignier’s Teatro dell’Anticristo, which he arranged to have burned.44 On the 19 July, the nuncio wrote to Cardinal Scipione Borghese informing him that Reboul had

43 44

de la Boderie en Angleterre sous le Regne d’Henry IV et la minorité de Louis XIII, despuis les années 1606 jusqu’en 1611, t. 5, publiè par Paul Denis Burtin, (s.l. 1750), 464. The Constitution Romani Pontificis Providentia (17 March 1572), in Bullarum…, VII, (Turin: Vecco & S., 1862), 969-971. The document is published in “Archivio storico, artistico, archeologico e letterario della città e provincia di Roma,” (V, vol. III, fasc. 6, 1879): 312-313. AAV, Segreteria di Stato, Francia, n. 54, c. 305r.

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finally fallen into the hands of Roman justice. It was now a matter of deciding his fate. Signor Brèves wrote to Villeroy regarding the capture of Reboul, exacted upon His Holiness’ orders for having, in the book he had written under the pretext of defending himself, spoken so terribly of the said Villeroy, Brèves and d’Alincourt. His Holiness reserved for him a punishment that entirely satisfied Villeroy, who swiftly came to see and express his gratitude for this favor to Our Lord and […] tell me that, with respect to the punishment, he thoroughly trusted His Holiness’ decision. Yet Villeroy expressed to me the nature of the slander made against him, three times, by Reboul. And all the more learned of his desire for an exemplary punishment. In this regard, I reiterated to him the paternal affection which His Holiness has for him and emphasized the accuracy of the investigations of those who slandered, verbally or in writing, the reputation of princes and their ministers, and my desire for these occasions to serve to instruct the ministers here on how to punish those who write or speak so liberally and expansively of this Holy See, of His Holiness, his ministers and any other dignified religious person.45 He called for an exemplary punishment, and for a warning to France, so it would follow the example of the Papacy in severely persecuting not only heretics and opponents of Rome but also the crowd of anti-Roman Catholics who regrouped after Henry IV’s death and were encouraged by the diffusion of polemical literature that attacked Bellarmine’s writings.46 It was said that Paul V wished for Reboul’s death to put an end to, or at least reduce, the tensions between Rome and France following the murder of Henry IV. It would likewise serve to protect English Catholics being threatened by James I Stuart’s policies. The exemplary punishment was not delayed and notice of the “justice” quickly spread throughout Europe. On 29 September 1611 an avviso informed its readers that “signor Guglielmo Reboul, a French nobleman, incarcerated for 45 Ibidem. 46 Retracing the origin and successive developments of the polemics, Sylvio Hermann De Franceschi, “La genèse française du catholicisme d’état et son aboutissement au début du ministériat de Richelieu,” Annuaire-Bulletin de la société de l’histoire de France (2001):1963; Sylvio Hermann De Franceschi, La crise théologico-politique du premier âge baroque. Anti-romanisme doctrinal, pouvoir pastoral et raison du prince: le Saint-Siège au prisme français (1607-1627) (Rome: École française de Rome, 2009). The Author, who analyses with great attention the polemic literature, does not know the Roman court sources which add significant elements to the discussion.

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three months, who, while composing the chronicles of France, so as to publish them, had written pamphlets against French princes and others in Rome, was decapitated before sunrise last Monday in Tor di Nona and placed in public view.”47 However, someone in Europe continued to be hopeful. On 7 October 1611 Marco Welser wrote to Faber stating that “the gazette reported […] that signor Reboul had been condemned to death and then granted life imprisonment. But since you heard from Monsignor Paulino that this is not the case, we shall continue to hope.”48 Welser was certain that Faber would intervene with the Cardinal of Lorraine and other curia members, like Scipione Cobelluzzi, but added that, “if this news is still current, I believe that whoever cares for signor Reboul cannot do more to his benefit than negotiate further […].”49 But, in Rome, the French polemicist’s fate had already been sealed. The six consolers from the Archconfraternity of San Giovanni Decollato charged with the task of convincing the man to “die willingly” (morire volentieri) kept Reboul company in the Tor di Nona prison the night prior to his execution.50 Four priests, likely Oratorians, also took part in the consoling. A long written account of these hours was quickly made and spread in manuscript form by the Oratorians as a model of a Catholic “good death” (buona morte), marked by devotion and contrition. The Frenchman became a symbol to be used in Roman propaganda, to stimulate conversion and highlight the political implications that had made him a victim of the papacy’s adversaries. Reboul was always described as “submissive” (docile) and willing to suffer while “always declaring that he was prepared to do the Lord’s will.” In the time preceding his execution he did not utter “the slightest word in his defense” but instead regretted “not having enough contrition.” In an effort to console him, he was told that you shall make more progress with heretics in death than you did in life. More shall convert after reading your texts after your death than have converted up until now. For in the past, heretics were able to say that you wrote against them, not because you truly felt that way, but because his Holiness paid you, for ambition sake, or for other mundane interests. But when they learn that you died loyal to the Holy Catholic faith, that the pope sanctioned your death, and consider all you have done for the 47 BAV, Urb. Lat. 1079, cc. 683v-684r. 48 BANL, Fondo Faber 419, c. 84r. 49 Ibidem. 50 On this topic, see Misericordie. Conversioni sotto il patibolo in età moderna, ed. Adriano Prosperi (Pisa: Edizioni della Normale, 2007), 3-70; Adriano Prosperi, Delitto e perdono. La pena di morte nell’orizzonte mentale dell’Europa, XIV-XVIII secolo (Turin: Einaudi, 2013).

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Catholic faith, and that you wished to die faithful to her, they will not but be able to reply that the same happened to the Holy Apostles and Holy Martyrs, who likewise died for the faith they preached […].51 When Reboul arrived at the place “where they were to cut off his head,” the condemned man repeated the name of Jesus aloud, and “with this most Holy name being pronounced from his mouth, his head was sliced from his neck. And it was noted by those nearby that the head continued to utter the Holy name of Jesus even after it had been removed.”52 As expressed in his will, he was buried in the church of Trinità dei Monti, in Rome, which had been a “French” venue since the end of the fifteenth century. It was entrusted to the Friars Minor of St. Francis of Paola to whom he left 100 scudi, “asking them to pray for his soul.” In an attempt to perhaps minimize the political aspects of Reboul’s execution, desired by France and the pope, a comment was added to the report of his death. It stated that although the descedent’s property needed to be confiscated, “His Holiness, upon the request of the French ambassador, released the inheritance to his heir.”53 The Discorso sopra la morte di Reboul, a title which appears in one of the two manuscript copies, was clearly the product of a well conceived re-elaboration intended to celebrate, and broadcast, the convert’s martyrdom and free him from the accusations of being a writer in the pocket of Rome. The Oratorians, who had helped the Frenchman since his arrival in the Eternal City, now defended him from the Protestant world and from the French milieu he had criticized in his writings. Though errors circulated regarding Reboul and his work, the echo of his execution reverberated between Catholics and Protestants for several years. According to the Mercure françois, the pamphleteer had been a victim of Roman cruelty for having written satires of the pope and the court. For others, like Isaac Casaubon, it was the satire of James I that had led to his condemnation. For others still, who were more knowledgeable of the complex affair, it was his polemical and derisive writings against Villeroy, containing “atrocious and bloody things” (choses atroces et sanglantes) that had determined his fate. In October of 1611, the Mercure erroneously reported the existence of another of Reboul’s letters, aimed at bearing witness to the myth already created around him as a Roman citizen and “papal librarian” (bibliothecaire papale). It was claimed that Reboul had written to a French friend foretelling his death, the result of a vendetta, along the shores of the Tiber, 51 52 53

BV, ms Gall. 19.I.14, c. 624rv. Ibidem, c. 627r. Ibidem, c. 632v.

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which would only have garnered him further fame. During the course of his interrogation, the papal prosecutor pressed him to confirm if his satirical works had circulated in France. This would corroborate the statements made by individuals who had been insulted and had sent the petition to the pope. He admitted to having written to French friends and having confided in them.54 But it is unclear if he also knew that the vendetta would be sanctioned by those who, up until a short time before, had helped and used him. Reboul had always been a troublesome and restless figure and was viewed with suspicion. But the French convert became uncontrollable and dangerous when his writings jeopardized the subtle political and diplomatic strategies of the Papacy in Rome. The accounts of the goldsmith Fischer, the physician Johannes Faber, and the French pamphleteer Guillaume Reboul – analyzed closely and linked to the figure of Faber – intertwined with European events which, in different ways, influenced and altered their destinies. Their personal experiences revealed the difficulties faced by converts, the different levels of integration available for those who, foreign or neo-Catholic, had come to Rome, and their roles of mediation, which were often dangerous and contested. Converts sometimes became victims of their own zeal and, even when their social position guaranteed stability, they remained liminal figures. Others who, in Roman society, abandoned their heresy to embrace the Catholic faith, by necessity or choice, left little trace of their presence. Meanwhile, the problem of foreign heretics in papal territories, university cities, ports and Italian courts intensified during the seventeenth century. And every attempt to exclude and expel people, as well as that which they brought with them – objects, books, ideas – would be futile. The monitoring of foreigners in the capital of the Papal States, and the call to arms of bishops, inquisitors and nuncios was constant in the peninsula. The persistent call to enforce the papal bulls – from the In Coena Domini (1568) to Gregory XV’s Sovrani Pontificis (1622) – was met with doubts and complications on the part of the missives’ recipients. But, in their letters, the reference to politics and the entities that hindered the invasive inquisitorial demands became all the more explicit. The threat was felt and struck the economy, culture and mobility. A look at Italy in fact reveals how the frequent Roman attempts to maintain order clashed with realities that were all the more elusive and quite often hostile. 54

ASR, Tribunale criminale del Governatore, processi sec. XVII, vol. 98, ins. 46, c. 1930v.

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CHAPTER 6

Unsettling Mobility: Foreign Heretics in Italy 1

The Inquisitor’s Doubts

In the Italian States, the confusion of the custodians of faith regarding the mobility of suspected heretics and the growing popularity of fashion of travel – now prevalent among those who also traveled for pleasure and no longer limited to work or study – is clearly expressed in a letter sent to the cardinal padrone, the Cardinal Nephew Francesco Barberini, from fra’ Giovan Michele Pio, the Inquisitor of Milan, in June of 1627. He wrote that, “the wars of the Milanese State, the grandeur and opulence of this city, noble emporium of the surrounding areas, its proximity to Germany and France [and] the desire of foreigners to see the beauty of Italy leads me to believe that many heretics set foot in this State which is, so to speak, the first Italian threshold, or nearly, thus obliging myself and other inquisitors to be most vigilant.”1 The Duchy of Milan and the Kingdom of Naples were both under Spanish rule and strategically defined the peninsula’s geopolitics. During those years, the Milanese territory was a stage for military operations and frequented by armies on their way to repress heretics in the Valtellina. From Milan imperial troops would be deployed to the War of Monferrato and then to the Duchy of Mantua. German troops plundered, caused destruction, brought the plague of 1630 and, as the inquisitor feared, also disseminated the “heretical plague” (peste ereticale). He wrote that he was not afraid of merchants with an “apostolic concession” (concessione apostolica) allowing them to engage in business. Nor did he fear “the soldiers whose presence is tolerated because of the wars, provided they avoid scandal and the mention of doctrines, but not those hidden heretics who do not request permission from this Tribunal.”2 Instead, he asked how “am I to handle those heretics […] who, in order to visit Italy, or meet other impermissible ends, come here illegally, yet in good faith (bona fide).”3 These were casual travelers who thought they could obtain permission from the inquisitor to stay for a few days, a notion founded upon an interpretation of Gregory XV’s bull, “which appears not to prohibit them from coming but only from living and staying there.” The inquisitor also feared that the severe treatment of these 1 ACDF, SO, St. St. M 4-b (1), cc. 349r-443v. 2 Ibidem. 3 Ibidem.

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travelers, “who were generally nobles,” would have negative consequences for many “Catholic Italians living on the other side of the mountains.” He therefore implored the Roman Congregation to find a solution to avoid “capturing and punishing them, for it cannot be denied that it is easier to reason with them, than with hidden heretics, since the former present themselves in “good faith (bona fide) and request permission from the Tribunal.”4 In responding to the doubts expressed in the long letter on how to “manage,” the problem, the Congregation of the Inquisition reaffirmed the shutting out of foreign heretics. These doubts would continue to be expressed in the correspondence of local inquisitors and Rome, especially regarding the interpretation of Gregory XV’s bull. This called for the forceful removal of these heretics, because the presence of individuals capable of contaminating “good Catholics” (bonos catholicos) could not be tolerated.5 The Inquisitor of Milan’s letter emphasized the confusion of those beyond the Alps vis-à-vis Italy, inquisitorial procedures, and the somber, intolerant climate now viewed as an obstacle to overcome through acquaintances, recommendations, or the intervention of influential members of religious orders – in this case, the Jesuits. The response from Rome in fact clashed with a reality in continual flux and a group, that were becoming more itinerant and uncontrollable. Inquisitorial reactions would be, by and large, theoretical and supported by regulations that were problematic to enforce. But the Roman congregation’s firm stance can also be explained by the difficult position in which the pope found himself at the beginning of the Thirty Years’ War. The military actions that took place in Italian territory – the War of Monferrato, the War of the Mantuan Succession, and the sack of that city (18 July 1630) – had upset the delicate balance that Urban VIII aimed to defend as the “common father” (padre comune), in his difficult position of neutrality. But orthodox purity also required protection from the scandals provoked by German troops who, when drunk in taverns, often mocked the pope and Catholic faith. It was moreover feared that, along with their wares, merchants were transporting dangerous books (libri perniciossimi), like the noble travelers coming to Italy to admire her beauty and antiquities, but also, it was suspected, to deride the Church and her pontiff. It was in this climate of suspicion, spanning the 1620s and 1630s, that the doubts and fears of local inquisitors were made known. These figures were often hindered in their repressive duties by a lack of collaboration on the part of secular authorities and, in some cases, even the bishops themselves.

4 ACDF, SO, St. St. M 4-b (1), cc. 439r-443v. 5 Ibidem, c. 443v.

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The custom of young Northern European aristocrats traveling to the peninsula out of “curiosity” or to study in Italian universities, though not as popular as prior to the Reformation, truly never waned, nor did the humanist tradition. In the second half of the sixteenth century, precisely due to this widespread heritage, the difficulties stemming from division, intolerance and reciprocal diffidence between religions and cultures, North and South, would be not completely overcome. But despite these difficulties, travel for work, study, or curiosity more and more frequently would permit for the exchange and circulation of ideas, books, objects, styles, deportments and manners.6 The frequenting of Italian cities and universities undoubtedly bridged the gap between the North and South. But it also taught heretic students and travelers to hide, dissimulate and maintain a low profile to avoid being caught by Catholic authorities who could persecute, or even worse, convert them.7 The tradition of traveling and studying in Italy continued to exhibit features of irresolvable ambiguity: it was attractive, useful and, at the same time, dangerous. As Gregorio Leti observed, the journey of young nobles could also be an opportunity to get away from religion. The writer also stressed the dangers for young Protestants traveling in Catholic countries and in these warnings he took up many commonplaces of contemporary apodemic literature.8 While the educational advantages for young nobles were inarguable, there was always the risk that a stay in a foreign Catholic land could result in a change of religious affiliation. This becomes more evident in the seventeenth century

6 On the topic of cultural and religious “exchange”, see Religion and Cultural Exchange in Europe, 1400-1700, ed. István György Tóth and Heinz Schilling (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006); for greater elaboration on the economic and artistic problems, see Cities and Cultural Exchange in Europe, 1400-1700, ed. Donatella Calabi and Stephen Turk Christensen (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007). On the interreligious contacts, see Frontiers of Faith: Religious Exchange and the Constitution of Religious Identities 1400-1750, ed. Eszter Andor and István György Tóth (Budapest-New York: Central European University Press, 2001); Living with Religious Diversity in Early Modern Europe, ed. C. Scott Dixon and Dagmar Freist, Mark Greenpass (Farnham: Ashgate, 2009); Cecilia Cristellon, “Mixed Marriages in Early Modern Europe”, in Marriage in Europe 1400-1800, ed. Silvana Seidel Menchi (Toronto: Toronto University Press, 2016), 294-317. 7 Justin Stagl, “Ars apodemica: Bildungsreise und Reisemethodik von 1560 bis 1600,” in Reisen und Reiseliteratur im Mittelalter und in der Frühen Neuzeit, ed. Xenja von Ertzdorff, Dieter Umkirch (Amsterdam-Atlanta, GA: Rodopi, 1992), 170-171. Cf. Daniel Carey, ‘Advice on the art of travel‘, in The Cambridge History of Travel Writing, Nandini Das & Tim Youngs eds., (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2019), 392-407. 8 Gregorio Leti, Istrutione a’ Cavalieri Protestanti che viaggiano in Paesi Cattolici, in Li segreti di Stato de i Prencipi dell’Europa…parte seconda (Bologna: per Camillo Turchetto, 1671), 3-14.

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travel logs, kept by tutors who often accompanied young aristocrats during their travels to monitor their behavior and safeguard their religious identity.9 The world of students was well structured and difficult to control for the authorities that monitored orthodoxy. Since the Middle Ages, students attending Italian universities constituted a privileged group which was governed by time-honored rules and agreements. These regulations were often renewed after lengthy negotiations with local authorities and territorial princes. During the seventeenth century, along with the trouble of preventing, adequately controlling and removing heretic students, local authorities were faced with yet another concern. They felt that religious intolerance could lead to the alienation of oltramontani students, have serious repercussions on the economy, and taint the reputation of the peninsula’s major centers of study. Thus an open and occasionally ambivalent policy was adopted for the granting of privileges. This politics – permission and surveillance – would be followed, albeit differently, in the universities of the Papal States, like Bologna and Perugia, which were in competition with the University of Padua, whose students were not required to profess the Catholic faith10. In the Italian States, the nuncio was also involved in monitoring the presence of foreign travelers and students. On 31 January 1625 Alfonso Giglioli, the nuncio of Florence, informed Cardinal Gian Garzia Millini of a Saxon physician in Siena “who, I am made to understand, is an avowed and scandalous heretic.” Some weeks later the nuncio, wishing to learn more, went to Siena and shortly thereafter reported his findings to Rome. The person in question was “Ludovico Herniceo, a native of the State of the Landgrave of Darmstadt whose studies have, for a year’s time, been financed by the landgrave himself and he has resided in the house of a Saxon called Hesler.”11 He was a “disguised heretic” (heretico occulto) who practiced medicine in Siena’s German nation and was the cause of “many troubles” (molti mali). The nuncio wanted to be sure that he was not only prohibited from living in Siena but within the Grand Duchy.12 The nuncio in all likelihood reproached the Inquisitor of Siena, Clemente Egidi da Montefalco, for his negligence and inability to remedy the scandal. 9

Michael Mauer, “Voraussetzungen und Grundlegung eines europäischen Bewußtein im konfessionellen Zeitalter”, in Petrus Canisius S.J. (1521-1597) Humanist und Europäer, ed. Rainer Berndt, I (Berlin: Akademie Verlag, 2000), 247-250. 10 Paul Grendler, The Universities of the Italian Renaissance (Baltimore-London: The John Hopkins University Press, 2002), 190-195. 11 ACDF, SO, St. St. M 4-b (1), cc. 262r-263v. 12 Ibidem.

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There were many complications and the inquisitor sought to exonerate himself and request aid and collaboration because “he could not be certain that the oltramontani, who come here under the pretext of studying, would not bring prohibited books, since their chests and trunks are not opened upon arrival, nor are any measures taken.”13 It was an observation of precisely how difficult it was to monitor foreigners and especially students. Indeed, the local institution’s controls remained superficial to avoid discouraging young foreigners who were still attracted to the vibrant University of Siena.14 In the ­Tuscan city, where there had been a strong German presence since the Middle Ages, local authorities, particularly the Savi allo Studio, showed little interest in investigating and prosecuting suspicious matters of faith. Inquisitors could not always rely on their collaboration and the intellectual milieu itself concealed currents of religious dissidence dispersed among members of the nobility.15 The presence of privileged groups in university cities tested the rapport between civic magistratures and ecclesiastic authorities including bishops and inquisitors and was undoubtedly influenced by politics. In Bologna, the German nation was not only a privileged interlocutor of the ultramontani students but also a powerful community capable of requesting and obtaining privileges throughout the seventeenth century. In 1611 the nation succeeded in lodging a complaint against local authorities for not having been informed of the “fraudulent Germans’ arrivals and departures.”16 This reaffirmed the natio’s privileged position and prevented undesired inquisitorial investigations of the new arrivals’ religious affiliations.17 In Perugia the politics for ultramontani heretic 13 Ibidem. 14 On aspects of the Sienese education, see Giovanni Minnucci and Leo Košuta, Lo Studio di Siena nei secoli XIV-XVI. Documenti e notizie biografiche (Milan: Giuffré, 1989) and L’Università di Siena. 750 anni di storia (Siena: Monte dei Paschi, 1991). 15 A deep investigation has yet to be done on the aspects of seventeenth century Sienese culture. Some interesting observations can however be found in Vincenzo Lavenia, “L’arca e gli astri. Esoterismo e miscredenza davanti all’Inquisizione (1587-91),” in Storia d’Italia, Annali, 25, Esoterismo (Turin: Einaudi, 2010), 289-322. 16 “Germanorum adventum et transitum […] per fraudem.” Natio germanica Bononiae, II, Annales 1595-1619, ed. Silvia Neri and Carla Penuti (Bologna: CLUEB, 2002), 251. 17 “La nazione degli studenti alemanni di Bologna tra fine Cinquecento e primo Seicento”, in Natio germanica Bononiae, II, Annales 1595-1619, ed. Silvia Neri and Carla Penuti (Bologna: CLUEB, 2002), 11-21, a superficial reading of the acts “reveals that the absence of a reference for the complicated events taking place in the Germanic world during the period leading up to the Thirty Years’ War, as well as the lack of signs of intolerance towards religious practices whereas the fact that the countries of some students became Lutheran or reformed would lead one to suppose that there was a certain unease” [ibidem, 20-21]: the “silence” of the source can also be interpreted as a manifest sign of the acquired ability to dissimulate to avoid scandal caused by suspected, or manifest displays, of heresy.

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students also employed a bipartite approach, both on the part of the civic magistratures and the pope. The repeated requests for the German nation to be granted the same privileges accorded to the universities of Bologna and Padua led the magistratures of Perugia to send a memorial to the pope, in 1604, but to no avail. Attempts to pressure the pontiff were again made in 1614, 1627 and 1638 and resulted in the granting of several concessions, including the request of a scholar of the German nation to be awarded a free doctoral degree. Towards the end of his papacy, Urban VIII granted other privileges and stipulated the removal of the German nation from under the purview of the city’s criminal and civil justice authorities.18 In the past, the pope had avoided granting privileges, and not only because he feared that other student nationes might follow the German example. Rather, he was likely to have been influenced by the wars fomenting in Europe and by the pressure of opposing forces on Barberini politics marked with neutrality in the Thirty Years’ War. From 1622 the Congregation “de Propaganda Fide” was especially active in the enterprise of conversion and reconquest of heretical European territories and worked alongside the Inquisition and the Congregation de iis qui sponte veniut ad fidem (a congregation of those who spontaneously return to the Catholic faith) on matters of conversion. But they would not always share the same methods and procedures established by the inquisitors. From the end of the sixteenth century, when the papal monarchy’s temporal and spiritual government had been reconstructed by the reforms of pope Sixtus V (1585-90), the Roman curia became a system of congregations all facing the same problems. Confirmation of this is found in the documents which outline the emergence and development of a conversion strategy during this period. The Papal States were governed by a structure of standing committees (congregations), whose membership significantly overlapped (i.e. a single cardinal could be member of several congregations). This circumstance was commonplace throughout the ancien régime and consequently led to temporal and spiritual affairs being limited to a restricted circle of curia members. Very often these individuals were directly connected to the papal court, friends and even relatives. But that did not mean there was always agreement between the curial entities involved in resolving problems and, in the case of conversions, there would be many disagreements. In 1625 several missionaries involved in the re-catholicization of Northern Europe sent the “Propaganda Fide” an Istruttione to include in letters sent to the Illustrious Legate of Bologna, the nuncios of France, Naples and Florence 18

Giuseppe Ermini, Storia dell’Università di Perugia, I (Florence: Olschki, 1971), 382-287.

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and to Monsignor the Bishop of Padua.19 In it, they expressed their belief that, to achieve lasting success in their work, it was important to “attract the nobility.” This strategy had been faced in conversion politics since the late sixteenth century, especially from the time when Rome established new nunciatures “of the Reformation” in the imperial territories.20 The missionaries felt it was important to adopt a different policy for young nobles attending Italian universities and aristocrats traveling to the peninsula for leisure, or to learn skills needed to establish themselves in the European princely and royal courts.21 The education of young nobles from “Denmark, Saxony, Brandenburg, Sweden, Pomerania and other nearby provinces” at Italian universities could be an opportunity to mold them into Catholic missionaries par excellence in their homelands. The project, however, required a multipointed articulation: firstly, it was a matter of efficiently discovering the heretic foreigners, and not only through the network of spies who, experience had shown, were easily corrupted and not always reliable. The authors of this conversionistic project proposed that “authorities be assigned to each of the cities to diligently oversee the arrivals of foreigners, especially from Germany, and learn if any of the aforesaid youths were among them.”22 But the “discovery” of a heretic did not immediately require his appearance before the Tribunal of Faith, as it would be good to coddle them with displays of affection, so they become amenable to, and grow fond of Catholics. It would be helpful to find a judicious and educated cleric who knows the German language, or at least Latin, since many of the nobles in those countries speak it well. He should frequent them often, and show them the city’s most noteworthy places and, when speaking to them, find an opportune time to introduce 19 “Istruttione da mettersi nelle lettere che si scrivono all’Ill.mo Legato di Bologna, alli nuntii di Francia, Napoli e Fiorenza et a mons.re Vescovo di Padova.” ACDF, SO, St. St. TT1-b, c. 123r. 20 On the topic, see Irene Fosi, “Procurar a tutt’homo la conversione degli heretici”. Roma e le conversioni nell’Impero nella prima metà del Seicento, Quellen und Forschungen aus italienischen Archiven und Bibliotheken, 88 (2008): 335-368. 21 The Catholic effort to win over the nobility, and the awareness of the frequent unsuitableness of the missionaries’ cultural tools, are the main concerns of some of the many successful writings of the Capuchin Valeriano Magni and of his conversionist project presented to the “Propaganda Fide” in 1653. Georg Denzler, Die Propagandakongregation in Rom und die Kirche in Deutschland im ersten Jahrzehnt nach dem Westfälischen Frieden (Paderbron: Schöning, 1969), 185-212. On Valeriano Magni, see Alessandro Catalano, “Valeriano Magni, il cardinale e il teatro del mondo,” eSamizdat, 1 (2003): 217-223; Domenico Caccamo, Roma, Venezia e l’Europa centro-orientale: ricerche sulla prima età moderna (Milano: Franco Angeli, 2010), 365-413. 22 ACDF, S. O, St. St. TT1-b, c. 123r.

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religious ideas. For it would not be difficult to win someone over from that calm natured people, capable of true virtue, and convert some who, upon returning to their homelands, would be successful and lead the way for missionaries to disseminate the Catholic religion among the converts’ relatives, compatriots and friends.23 This optimistic feeling about the reconquering of lands infected with heresy was certainly bolstered by Catholic victories during the first phase of the Thirty Years’ War. However, the system of control proposed in the Istruttione also needed to be activated upon the departure of young nobles from the cities in which they had been staying. To this end, it was added, “it would be advantageous that, when the aforementioned youths leave one of the cities, the deputy alert the authorities in the cities to which they are traveling, so that the work begun in one can be perfected in another.”24 The chain of communication and control would function with the help of legates and governors, like those of Bologna and Perugia, and the nuncios or bishops, like the Bishop of Padua, Pietro Valier, who was explicitly named in the text. The secretary of “Propaganda Fide”, Francesco Ingoli, communicated the missionaries’ instructions to the Holy Office and to the Bishop of Naples, Lorenzo Tramallo, “so that you might appoint individuals who adhere to the requisites therein contained.”25 The Nuncio of Florence, Alfonso Giglioli, having learned of the Istruttione, informed the secretary of the Holy Office in Rome that he had consulted with “signor Vasoli, the prior of San Lorenzo, and audited many nuncios in Ger­ many to find a person of “quality” capable of teaching the young nobles “in a Catholic manner.” Baccio Bandinelli was identified as “a religious person with a good knowledge of Latin, and familiar with the nation, having traveled to most of the Northern countries. But, above all, he is well versed in the ecclesiastic polemics and, on other occasions, strove to convert heretics.”26 Never­ theless, Giglioli recalled that the ban on entry into Italy was still in effect for 23 24 25 26

This instruction is specifically referred to in Acta S. Congregationis De Propaganda Fide Germaniam spectantia 1622-1649, hg. Hermann Tüchle (Paderborn: Bonifacius-Druckerei, 1962). ACDF, SO, St. St. TT 1-b, c. 123r. Ibidem, c. 121r (26 March 1625). On 28 May 1625 Alfonso Giglioli “ad iuvandas missiones septentrionales deputasse D.num Baccium Bandinellum virum in controversiis doctum”, who, according to what was established by the previous instruction, “iuvenes Germanos” haereticos ad Florentiam convenientes ad catholicam fidem perducere tentaret, ut illi conversi in patrias suas revertentes missionari usui esse possent.” Ibidem, c. 122r. On Baccio Bandinelli, see Nicola De Blasi, “Bandinelli, Baccio”, in Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani, 5 (Rome: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, 1963), 692-693.

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ultramontani heretics, in contrast with the ideas suggested in the Istruttione. The Holy Office was therefore charged with the difficult task of finding a ­solution to the problem. The proposal showed that problems regularly presented themselves throughout the seventeenth century. These included the missionary action in Northern European territories, the cultural exchange with local nobility, and the often overly lamented unpreparedness of the missionaries, who not only lacked a theological background but also a basic education. In a 23 May 1625 letter sent to Lorenzo Tramallo, the Nuncio of Naples, Francesco Ingoli, secretary of “Propaganda Fide” since its inception,27 wrote that the Istruttione did not provide for the granting of “residence permits to heretics in Italy but only the means to discover them while they were traveling in the said cities and convert them.”28 Ingoli emphasized the “goodness” (bontà) of the missionaries’ proposals but added that, “if this order were to be revoked it would cause much damage; first, because the appointed person makes it easier to discover heretics that come to Italy; second, because much is accomplished with that order.”29 As proof of this success he produced the “note” sent to Rome by the Bishop of Padua, Pietro Valier, discussing 34 conversions between January and April, “among which those of 9 important and educated persons.”30 While Ingoli reiterated the need to confirm the ban on heretics entering Italy, he also stated that a declaration from the Holy Office would be sufficient, affirming that “the Istruttione inhibits heretics from residing in Italy but cannot stop them from passing through, especially since they come disguised; thus the guidelines mentioned in the said Istruttione can prove useful.”31 Every decision was therefore placed in the hands of the Holy Office and “the judiciousness of the signori who know more than I.”32 In effect, a compromise was suggested that, notwithstanding the ban on heretics entering Italy, opened a channel for the recovery, or perhaps intensification, of the peregrinatio academia – student trips to different universities, as usual in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance – on the part of young ultramontani.

27

On Ingoli and his work within the Congregation, see Giovanni Pizzorusso, “Ingoli, Francesco”, in Dizionario Bibliografico degli Italiani, 62 (Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italia, 2004), 388-391. 28 ACDF, SO, St. St. TT1-b, c. 124rv. 29 Ibidem. 30 ACDF, SO, St. St. TT1-b, c. 124rv. 31 Ibidem, c. 124v. 32 Ibidem.

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Merchants in the Duchies of Mantua and Savoy

The Congregation also needed to consider the great numbers of problematic travelers in the context of local situations reported in the correspondence of inquisitors, ordinaries (usually bishops) and nuncios. The letters revealed a diversified world, in constant flux and movement, and playing host to merchants, artisans, artists and diplomats with their entourages. This put a strain on the Tribunal of Faith’s agenda to control, convert and expel foreign heretics. The voluminous files “against heretics residing in Italy,” on the one hand, reveal the persistent concern for central control via the inquisitorial network which was spread throughout the Italian States.33 On the other, the letters sent to Rome indicate how difficult it was to carry out the Congregation’s directives. Continual requests were made for instructions on how to proceed in different situations, and reflected the tragic events taking place in Europe up until the mid-seventeenth century. But there was not always a coherent and definitive response from the inquisitors and their entities in the peninsula and in the Papal States. Man power was lacking, and the power to sequester property and deport people was missing. While both undoubtedly occurred, the impact of inquisitorial repression on the economy was not a major factor in its decline. Following the devastation in Monferrato and Mantua caused by armies in 1630, many people moved to Mantua from the Swiss cantons, from Savoy Piedmont, and from the Duchy of Milan. Among them were not only merchants but an uncontrollable and dangerous population flottante that would continue on to the papal legations of Bologna and Ferrara and were a constant threat, not only for the local inquisitors because of their potentially heretical beliefs, but for the social order and for the daily peace and quiet of local communities. Whereas some successfully passed for Catholics, through prudent dissimulation and the protection of local Catholic merchants interested in safeguarding 33

Contra haereses in Italia degentes: ACDF, SO, St. St. M 4-b, 1-2. The problem of the presence of foreign merchants in Italy and the rapport with the Inquisition has been treated in a number of scholarly writings: Schmidt, “L’inquisizione e gli stranieri,” 365-372. The complex archival structure of these documents, testifying to the difficulty faced by the Roman tribunal in proceeding against privileged entities granted power in the territories, is underscored by Peter Schmidt, ‘Fernhandel un die römische Inquisition. “Interkulturelles Management” im konfessionellen Zeitalter,‘ in Inquisition, Index, Zensur. Wissenskulturen der Neuzeit im Widerstreit ed. Hubert Wolf, Bd. 1 (Paderborn: Ferdinand Schoningh, 2001), 105-120. On the circulation of merchants in Northern Italy, see Julia Zunckel, “Esperienze e strategie commerciali, di mercanti tedeschi fra Milano e Napoli nell’epoca della controriforma,” in Commerce, voyage et experience religieuse XVIe-XVIIIe siècles, ed. Albrecht Burkhardt (Rennes: Presses Universitaires de Rennes, 2007), 231-255.

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their business interests, others inevitably found themselves before the Inquisition. The condemnation of foreign heretics, their imprisonment, the attempt to convert them, their deportation and the sequestration of their property were not rare occurrences and were favorably reported to Rome. Yet, although the local inquisitor was triumphant, he often remained wary of the potential interference of the civic magistratures, or rulers, who readily issued passes (salvacondotti), licenses and other permits allowing foreign heretics to continue their mercantile activity, travel and reside in his States. This is revealed in the documents arriving from Rome, the Duchy of Savoy, Mantua, Florence and Naples. These documents also show how challenging collaboration was between inquisitors, bishops and nuncios, as well as the varied interpretations of “tolerance,” order and scandal. Even if they followed the approved steps for “correcting” foreign heretics who had been caught and brought before the tribunal, inquisitors still had reservations about their repressive actions and sought support and confirmation from Rome of the aptness and utility of these procedures. In the north of the peninsula, which, during the first half of the century, had been devastated by the Thirty Years’ War, the influx of merchants forced local inquisitors to uphold and reinforce the regulations emanating from Rome. This politics included the impeding the inhabitants and local merchants of all contact with their foreign counterparts and their families, who had warehouses in the major cities and continued to openly collaborate with local agents, middlemen and merchants, as well as supply artisans’ workshops. Letters from the Roman Congregation raised procedural questions regarding the prohibitions reaffirmed by Gregory XV in his Romani Pontificis bull of 2 July 1622. The disparity of opinions about the repressive actions against foreign merchants and jurisdictional rivalry between inquisitors and local princes also became evident, such as between the Dukes of Mantua and Savoy. Cases of the Holy Tribunal’s jurisdiction similarly assume political relevance with respect to the balance of power, and conflicts, which went beyond mere religious and devotional matters. This became indicative of a growing tension between State powers and the Roman Church that was intensified by the shutting out of foreigners, as reaffirmed by the Gregorian bull. In some cases, this conflict anticipates the jurisdictional defence of the States’ supremacy over power of the Church. In 1622 the Inquisitor of Casale, Giovan Battista Boselli, wrote to the Roman Congregation “regarding those two heretics imprisoned here” but did not receive a prompt reply. They were two merchants “who sell textiles and other wares,” and who had been established in the city for some time developing strong ties to local merchants as well as those in nearby cities like Alessandria

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and Turin. Boselli wrote again, obtained instructions on how to proceed, and followed the de formali abjuration, penance but was not overly convinced of his procedure and indicated that, “I shall await that which shall be resolved by the goodness of this Holy Congregation. And I reply that, even if they display a voluntary acceptance of the faith, regret the past years, seek forgiveness, claim they have been raised this way, and thank the Lord for enlightenment, I nevertheless believe that, morally speaking, they would return to their homeland, where there is neither a Catholic home, nor church nor religious support,”34 and would again fall into heresy. He added that, if they remained in the Duchy of Savoy, they would become impoverished because “they would have no security of any kind” and would quickly regret their conversion, when it occurred after de formali abjuration.35 The inquisitor hoped for an act of clemency from Rome and doubted the sincerity of their conversion. Moreover, he feared the merchant’s impov­ erishment would lead to marginalization and further enlarge the group of mendicants and vagabonds. He emphasized the “good-disposition” (buona disposizione) of the penitents (penitenziati i.e. they renounced their heresy and will embrace the Catholic faith) who implored his mercy and recognized that “as this Inquisition does not have a comfortable jail they truly suffered.”36 Shortly thereafter, he was called to appear before the Governor who, “in the name of his Royal Highness informs me that his Highness wishes, upon the request of Aldighera (the Duke of Lesdiguières), that I release those two jailed heretics, let them go, and grant them passage. He showed me the Duke’s letter, which was folded in half, but I was unable to see the extent of his words.”37 The Governor replied that the decision did not depend on him, but on the Roman Congregation, and that he would inform the duke, through the Inquisitor of Mantua, to whom he had promptly written. Thus Giovan Battista Boselli attempted to justify his position in Rome and hoped that his fierce defense of the inquisitorial prerogatives would be recognized, vis-à-vis the pretentions of temporal power and the governor’s excessive tolerance of foreign heretics. “I have strained myself – he wrote – to convince them of the spiritual and temporal damage caused by their business activity and told them they were im­ prisoned not for simply having passed through, but for having freely operated 34 ACDF, SO, St. St. M 4-b (1), c. 172r. 35 Ibidem. 36 Ibidem, c. 179r. The terms ‘good-disposition’ and ‘penitents’ appear in contemporary documents. 37 Ibidem, c. 177r. He is referring to the pressure from the Marshal of France and, from 1612, Governor of Dauphiny, François de Bonne, duke of Lesdiguières (1553-1626) a Huguenot, later converted to Catholicism.

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their business and sold merchandise in this State for upwards of 10 years.”38 Giovan Battista Boselli realized that he could not count on the collaboration of the secular authorities, the guardians of their jurisdictional privileges, who were careful not to harm their economic interests. The following year, on 16 December 1623, he again wrote to Rome emphasizing his vigilance concerning the problem of heretic merchants and the efficacy of the network of “friends” and spies upon whom he could rely. “A friend of mine told me that those heretic merchants from San Gallo, who had already been sent away from this jurisdiction, appeared in this city and went to the Duke of Mantua […] I quickly summoned some secret and zealous religious counselors and authorities on the matter of how to proceed. For in his constitution, Gregory XV not only specifies they cannot live here but that they cannot remain here either. Yet I was advised to do nothing, for given the duke’s sources of information, it would have been unfruitful and risked the despondency of the office […] I am also told that the duke finds it absurd that they stay in Turin and not here. And appearing as though his Highness is not receiving adequate information, all of my actions shall be in vain, for he has ministers who effectively convince him of this, even if I am unable to justify such things, and greatly they despise me.”39 Attached to his long letter was a printed copy of Carlo Emanuele’s edict of 23 December 1622 which, in conformity with Gregory’s XV’s constitution, prohibited heretic merchants from living, owning businesses and trading within his territories. The reality, however, was different and local authorities had less strict criteria. The counselors understood that it was ill advised to enter into a fight which the Tribunal of Faith could not be expected to win. The affairs stemming from, and related to, these and other heretic merchants in San Gallo show how inquisitorial demands were ostensibly met. They had, in fact, closed their warehouse but lodged with families at the inn “under the premise of collecting their debts,” as the inquisitor wrote from Turin on 2 June 1624. His “friends” also informed him that the very same merchants kept a store open in Casale.40 During the pontificate of pope Urban VIII, in order to compel the Duke of Mantua to banish heretic merchants from Monferrato and the city of Mantua, Cardinal Gian Garzia Millini asked the nuncio of Florence, Alfonso Giglioli, to liaise in this conflict that was now no longer inquisitorial in nature. In reporting the results of his mission to the Holy Office the diplomat was unable to conceal the profound discord between the Dukes of Mantua and Savoy and the 38 ACDF, SO, St. St. M 4-b (1), c. 177r. 39 Ibidem, c. 184r. 40 Ibidem.

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local inquisitors.41 He in fact reported that the duke claimed to have taken measures, despite “the prejudice and detriment to his people,” but had specified that the merchants had resided neither in Casale nor Monferrato, but were only passing through “to review their accounts and, while living there, maintained a Catholic appearance, obeyed the rites of the Roman Church and never spoke of faith.” The inquisitors could not proceed too stringently because the Duke of Savoy would have lamented “being treated more severely than other princes, since the Duke of Savoy, who was profiting from their ­presence, had received them in Turin, where they lived, practiced and traded publicly.42 The Duke of Mantua was afraid of permanently compromising business relations with the Swiss merchants who supplied canvases and other raw and semi-finished products to San Gallo. In fact, he indicated to the nuncio that the deported merchants were “recommended by the nation as they were among the best and greatly esteemed.”43 The problems arising from the presence of foreign merchants would nevertheless continue as revealed in late seventeenth century correspondence with Rome.44 At the end of 1663 the inquisitor wrote from Alessandria to the Roman Congregation informing that the merchants in San Gallo kept merchandise in warehouses both there and in Casale, “through the agency of Catholic merchants.”45 He resolved not to permit further abuse of the papal regulations and the orders of the Congregation, “to whom he intended to defer and informed the said merchants that he would await a reply, intimating that if it were negative, that they should close the warehouse, as many of the transient heretics and Catholic agents promised to do.”46 But the inquisitor’s doubts did not end there and, it was noted, on the back of a letter sent to Rome, it remained to be seen if, once the property was removed, “whether heretics and Catholics from faraway could tolerate the simple correspondence of items or policies, as is seemingly practiced everywhere, while all kinds of wares arrive in Italy from Holland and other heresy ridden places.”47 The powers of control seemed to drown in the unstoppable flow of men and merchandise from Northern Europe which fueled the peninsula’s economy. The same inquisitor 41 Ibidem, cc. 216r-218v. 42 Ibidem, c. 217r. 43 Ibidem. 44 Other conflicts with the Duke of Savoy would emerge at the end of the seventeenth century: ACDF, SO, St. St. L7-d, e. (1686-1730). 45 ACDF, SO, St. St. M 4-b (2), cc. nn. 46 Ibidem. 47 Ibidem.

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had informed the Holy Office that, during the fair, he was amazed to have two merchants from San Gallo spontaneously appear before him, something that in his six years as an inquisitor had never occurred. He had given them time to settle their accounts with Catholic merchants but learned they had inherited a warehouse from their Catholic agent, Ottavio Bobba. Thus he prohibited them from keeping merchandise in those of San Gallo; “after having made out the inventory of items in the house of the aforesaid Bobba, he established the time in which to either sell the wares, or remove them from the jurisdiction, and prohibited the selling thereof through Catholic agents. Having sold part of it, and the rest being packed away and closed with the seal of the Holy Office, they were banished from the jurisdiction.”48 The Roman Inquisition suggested abiding by what had been decided without altering the business relations between Catholics and heretics, and instead turn a blind eye.49 However, the sequestration of property, deportation of merchants and the dismantling of warehouses no doubt occurred. Individuals and entire families were removed from their jobs and forced to either emigrate or go back to their heretical homelands. They would return with memories of the intolerance of the Inquisition and the trauma of being stripped of their property and persecuted for their religion. But inquisitorial repression was often impeded by the political context in the Italian cities, the resistance of Catholic merchants, and a lack of resources. This would render the Inquisition incapable of enacting the systematic grand scheme against heretic foreigners, students, merchants and travelers. At the local level, the perception of foreign heretics progressively dissipated along with the negative perception that continued to be ascribed to them by the Tribunal of Faith and its officials. In these cases, as in Rome, reports to the inquisitor came not only from the usual spies, sniffing out scandals, often purposely provoked, but by neighborhood quarrels, arguments between colleagues or rivals, and scuffles and brawls common in daily urban life, and especially in port cities. Late seventeenth century correspondence seems to reveal a growing gap between the Roman regulations and the “tolerance” displayed towards foreign heretics. This gap diminished at a local level vis-àvis the flow of people drawn to the fashionable Grand Tour, the flourishing commerce in the cities of Genoa, Naples and Ancona, and attraction of the Italian courts, especially the papal one.

48 Ibidem, cc. nn. 49 Ibidem.

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At the Border of the Papal States

In Modena the inquisitor, Giacomo Tinti, complained of Duke Alfonso III’s lack of collaboration in supporting his efforts to control the presence of heretic merchants in the Estense State.50 He was also concerned by the burdens continuously placed on clerics and the violation, by the duke’s authorities, of the immunity granted to convents and churches. And he could equally not remain indifferent to the suspicious ideas touted by the duke’s confessor, Father Ruffino da Reggio, who, during a conversation, scandalized him “with these words of Luther, Calvin and other early heretics, that is what do you think Father Guardian, did St. Peter, who was made the first pope of Christ, possess all the territories and riches which the popes have now? […] May this Holy Congregation make of this what it may. As God as my witness, it is only because of my eagerness for these countries not to become slowly infected that I am moved to write as I have.”51 If there was no hope for legitimate collaboration with the duke’s entourage, the inquisitor proposed combatting the infiltrations and heretical behavior through his vicars. But the results were far from reassuring since “there are heretic soldiers in this State and I am unable to resolve the scandals, like eating meat on prohibited days, and patience must be had. And I was again informed that they preached like Calvinists and Lutherans.”52 Tinti complained to the duke of this and other problems and then wrote to the vicars who “replied that there was no disorder, only that some had gathered at a certain inn, where they lodge, and read I am not certain what book.”53 This vague information was provided by someone who preferred to turn a blind eye and tolerate suspicious, and sometimes scandalous, activities to avoid eliciting the dreaded, and recurrent, violent reactions of the soldiers on the rural population. Indeed, it was the soldiers who were feared to cause the most scandal. In a 1643 trial summary, the negation of the articles of faith, on the part of soldiers, was confirmed by the fact that the dragoni quartered at Nonantola “greatly misinterpreted the sacrament of penance and blasphemously recited the Litanies of the Madonna.”54 50

On this figure, see Christopher F. Black, “The Trials and Tribulations of a Local Roman Inquisitor: Giacomo Tinti in Modena, 1626-1647” in www.giornaledistoria.net.(uploaded 17 November 2012), last accessed 15 July 2019; id., Relations between Inquisitors in Modena and the Roman Congregation in the Seventeenth Century, in The Roman Inquisition, 91-117. 51 ACDF, SO, St. St., M 4-b (2), ins. 3, c. 191v. 52 Ibidem. 53 ACDF, SO, St. St. M 4-b (2), ins. 3, c. 191rv. 54 Ibidem, ins. 3, cc. 186r-192v. On the problems posed by the presence of soldiers and their behavior, which were often unorthodox, see Alle frontiere della Lombardia. Politica, Guerra e religione nell’età moderna, ed. Claudio Donati (Milan: Franco Angeli, 2006); Wietse De

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The papal territories also faced the problem of whether to monitor and “tolerate” the presence of foreign merchants or deport them, which could have serious repercussions on the local economy. In many cases, the approach used was limited to a reiteration of regulations and bans which were then difficult to enforce. On 15 April 1626, in Ferrara, the Inquisitor Paolo de’ Franci had the papal order published in the city and territory of the legation to observe the eating habits of the merchants in the canton of Grisons, “who went to the inns and taverns and wanted meat and dairy products on prohibited days.”55 A few years later, along with the concern for the presence of heretic merchants, greater anxiety would arise from the German soldiers who would devastate the territories of the Duchy of Mantua and threaten areas as far north as the Legation of Ferrara. The recollection of the Lutheran armies that had sacked Rome, insulted the pope, and destroyed churches was evident in the letters written during those years by the Legate of Ferrara to Rome who was afflicted by the stings of war and the plague which traversed borders and threatened the papal territories.56 The same problems and the same doubts arising from heretics active in business and owning warehouses and workshops were highlighted in a letter from Cardinal Roberto Ubaldini, Legate of Bologna from 1623-1627, to Cardinal Gian Garzia Millini, an eminent member of the Holy Office, along with a deposition on the advantages of the presence and activity of heretics in the city. While the case in question specifically regarded the Tellarit – this was the name of the family from San Gallo – and their ongoing commercial activity in the city, the deposition nonetheless outlined general concerns, such as the economic benefits which might derive from possible religious tolerance. It was also written that many Italian merchants benefited economically from the presence of foreign merchants in the city and the possibility of doing business with them.57 Bologna was an important stop on the route taken by foreigners, and not only merchants and students, who were generally residents and therefore more easily controlled. It was more difficult to discover the religious identity of transient foreigners returning from Rome after embarking upon the classic Grand Tour. Their intentions and agendas eluded even the watchful spies stationed in the city’s hotels and inns. Nonetheless, the spies and the Holy Office’s collaborators (famigli) informed the inquisitor who, in turn, wrote to Rome requesting detailed instructions on how to proceed. In November of 1627 the

55 56 57

Boer, “Soldati in terra straniera. La fede tra inquisizione e ragion di stato”, Studia Borromaica, 23 (2009): 403-427. ACDF, SO, St. St., M 4-b (1), c. 355r. La legazione di Ferrara del Cardinale Giulio Sacchetti, ed. Irene Fosi and Andrea Gardi, 2 voll. (Vatican City: Archivio Segreto Vaticano, 2006) ad indicem. ACDF, SO, St. St. M 4-b (1), cc. 220r (10-16 August 1624).

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inquisitor Paolo de’ Vicari communicated that he had “found that at the moment, oltramontani arrive in these cities from entirely heretical countries like Saxony, Silesia and other places, who lodge at the inns for four or five months, sometimes longer.”58 Their religious affiliations were unclear and also in this case the inquisitor asked “if I should proceed against them, and how, or tolerate them since presently there are three who have from Rome and Naples and are traveling through Italy, and my spies have informed me that they intend to lodge here until next Lent. They are housed at inns and I have them observed to learn if they do anything against our Holy Faith.”59 De’ Vicari received a response from the Congregation favoring the removal of foreigners and was instructed to determine if they were Catholic. If their religion remained uncertain, and they had caused no scandals, he was to direct them to leave the city. If they disobeyed, the inquisitor was to prosecute them. In similar, and frequent, cases recorded in the numerous memorials sent to the Congregation, the Roman position remained unyielding. The annotations on the back of documents are indicative of a continual search for signs of religious affiliation, the authenticity of which needed to be examined by the local inquisitor via spies, “friends of the court” (amici della corte) and other informants. Eating meat on prohibited days or purchasing large amounts in the days prior – considering the impossibility of preserving it – hinted at the organization of decadent Friday banquets. The possession, or absence, of a rosary or Ufficio della Madonna could serve as sufficient proof of either a foreigner’s heresy or allegiance to the Catholic faith. Careless theological assertions were made on occasion, often upon the provocation of inquisitorial spies. Foreigners had indeed learned to defend themselves, dissimulate, attend Catholic functions, speak well of Rome and the pope, in order to hide and remain in Italy. But not everyone partook in this judicious act of Nicodemism. Others, perhaps confident in having obtained local approval, status and prestige, or the protection of the host city, were not afraid to provocatively flaunt their heresy. In cases such as these, the vigilant monitors of the faith could not idly stand by. 4

From Leghorn to Florence by Way of Siena

The free port of Leghorn was an uncontrollable point of entry and con­­­cerned religious and inquisitorial authorities in Tuscany.60 Conflicts were not 58 Ibidem, c. 150r. 59 Ibidem. 60 On the presence of foreigners in the Tuscan port, see Livorno 1606-1806. On the Jewish community in particular, see Lucia Frattarelli Fisher, Vivere fuori dal ghetto. Ebrei a Pisa e Livorno (secoli XVI-XVIII) (Turin: Zamorani, 2008); Francesca Trivellato, The Familiarity of Strangers: The Sephardic Diaspora, Livorno, and Cross-Cultural Trade in the Early Modern

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­ ncommon nor always prudently hidden by judges, inquisitors, diocesan ordiu naries, the religious orders monitoring foreigners’ souls, nor the declared or disguised heretics who made their way from the Tuscan port to Pisa, Lucca and Florence, where they would frequently establish themselves.61 While many of those who came before the Tribunals of Faith voluntarily (sponte comparentes) were forced to abjure their heretical beliefs publicly in order to continue their business activity, (and so free, one may assume, to privately continue in their original faith) others left the inquisitorial authorities perplexed about their “true” religious identity. From the perspective of the inquisitors, these were dangerous figures who needed to be investigated and dealt with. But the task was not always easy, given the overlapping competencies, conflicting viewpoints, and the silence of colleagues and neighbors, more often concerned with their own affairs rather than those of faith and orthodoxy. For instance, a family of German merchants who had been living for some time in Pisa caught the attention of the local inquisitor. On 4 March 1624 Angelo Maria Tolomei from Osimo wrote to Cardinal Millini that “they outwardly live as Catholics, attend mass, have crucifixes in their home, as well as images of the Blessed Virgin and the Saints, but I have yet to find anyone who has heard or seen them confess. The parishioners, with whom I have only spoken once, told me that during Easter they were often away from the city on business.”62 Was this annual absence strategic so as to avoid Easter? At any rate, this was one among many cases of dissimulation and nicodemistic behaviour of merchants re­ ported in the ­letters of inquisitors sent to the Holy Office during the seventeenth century. And while all of the external signs were visible, as alleged by the preposto of the Barnabiti “who is informed of them,” they were still missing Easter communion and lacking certification from Pisan religious authorities of their “Catholicness” (cattolicità). The strategy adopted by the family of German merchants was in all likelihood enabled by the complicity of residents, neighbors and colleagues, and seemingly founded on a careful and studied practice of dissimulation which impeded – or at least attempted to hinder – pressures and displays of intolerance. During the seventeenth century, the grand duke’s court held a strong fascination for visiting travelers, merchants, nobles and artists intending to spend

61 62

Period (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009); La città delle nazioni. Livorno e i limiti del cosmopolitismo (1566-1834). Studi dedicati a Lucia Frattarelli Fischer, ed. Andrea Addobbati-Marcella Aglietti (Pisa: Pacini, 2016); Villani, Stefano. “To Be a Foreigner in Early ­Modern Italy. Were there ghettos for non-Catholic Christians?”, in Global Reformations: Trans­ forming Early Modern Religions, Societies, and Cultures. ed. Nicholas Terpstra (Abingdon: Routledge, 2019), 115-133. An abundance of information regarding the presence of merchants, foreign “heretic” sailors, especially Englishmen and Flemings, can be found in ACDF, SO, St. St. M 4-b (2). ACDF, SO, St. St. M 4-b (1), c. 297r.

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long periods of time in Florence and in other Tuscan cities. The Congregation of the Inquisition received notices of princes passing through, on their way back from Rome,63 and other ultramontani aristocrats who would shortly thereafter head to the Eternal City along with their entourages. As has been seen, the Holy Office possessed a network of informants so that it could better rally its forces and defend good catholics from heretics, denounce, convert or send them away. However, it was not always an easy task and necessarily ever a complete one. The presence of a large and stable English community in early seventeenth century Florence was repeatedly noted by the inquisitor and described in detail to the Roman tribunal. For the most part, they were nobles and “all good Catholic men,” some of whom had abjured in Florence, like fourteen-year-old Edoardo Palet, who lived “as an example.” Others were merchants whose religious identities were highly dubious, and their reputations were scrutinized in order to be better understood. It was said of Guglielmo Gunnel, his family and collaborators, that “they go to mass and outwardly live as Catholics, but their countrymen did not consider them to be very sincere Catholics.”64 The national community, though divided by religion, nonetheless seemed to want to keep secrets and protect the necessary dissimulation of its residents, while also aiding inquisitorial investigations but avoiding open denunciations. As seen, even in Rome, the English national community and its institutions were an undisputed hub of conversion and integration into Roman society and provided financial support for those who decided to return to their homeland.65 In some cases, troublesome presences within the English community led to a bypassing of the local inquisitor, Cornelio Priatoni da Monza, to directly request for help from Rome. On 7 February 1610 the Congregation received a letter from the Jesuit Claudio Sacripandi, voicing the concerns of English Catholics residing in Florence. He warned that Stefan Lussuro has returned to Florence, after having been here a year and a half, as ambassador to the King of England, to negotiate disagreements between the merchants and the court, precisely which I am not certain. Yet, in reality, he was a spy for the Celio Gran Cancelliere, and the 63

“That prince of Anhalt who was in Rome at the opening of the Holy Door took up a house in Florence where he lived with seven or eight German servants, near the Jesuits who observed their movements…and thus it is known that they live with modesty and decorum,” wrote the nuncio of Florence, Alfonso Giglioli, to cardinal Millini on 4 March 1625. Ibidem, c. 298rv. 64 Ibidem, c. 242rv (17-20 June 1624). 65 See supra, pp. 33-42.

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ruin of Catholics in these groups. This is a most dangerous heretic from Geneva who rose from his low station thanks to his heretical zeal, and is found everywhere, and on every occasion, furious and angry with Catholics. He speaks of the pontiffs, of this court and of the Catholic religion with more insolence than is done in his homeland. He gave the English Catholics pestilent books to read, one of which I sent to signor Personio66 (who, it is said, is indisposed and ought to not be written to), called Aphorismi Doctrinae Jesuitarum67 in which terrible things are said of the Catholic doctrines. In England he has caused as much damage as he could to the Catholics residing there, and even here he has attempted to lead some into heresy. Now, upon returning to Florence with more authority, and remaining for a longer period, greater damage can ensue. The Inquisitor of Florence, who is most zealous, is unable to do anything. Thus your Excellency is beseeched to impede the passage of the individual, who is shortly due to arrive in Bologna, and quickly strip him of his status.68 On 26 February 1610 the Congregation in Rome resolved to write to the grand duke and request that he prevent the undesirable Englishman from residing in his States. Yet, perhaps expecting that the request would not be granted, a letter was also sent to the nuncio and inquisitor, ordering them to observe whether the English heretic spoke or acted out against the Catholic faith. This assumed he would in fact be coming to Florence, and is exactly what took place.69 During the seventeenth century, collaboration between sovereigns of the Italian States and the Inquisition was neither consistent nor strong, and 66 67 68 69

Robert Persons, who at the time was the rector of the English College in Rome. He would die shortly thereafter, see supra, pp. 34-38. The polemical Aphorismi doctrinae, to which the Jesuit Martin Becan responded with Aphorismi doctrinae Calvinistarum (1608). ACDF, SO, St. St. M 4-b (2), c. 96r. ACDF, SO, St. St. I 20-n: in the copies of the Decreta (sub voce Haeretici) there are numerous decisions regarding English already present in, or on their way to, Florence and Rome. Some of them had sent requests to the Holy Office so as to avoid being harassed (non molestari). This “privilegio” was naturally not granted if their intentions were to continue living in heresy (c. 56r). While the desire to convert and force them to convert remained strong – as made evident in the instructions for the Florentine inquisitor (c. 493) – a different strategy is employed, based on the social condition of the heretic and likely influenced by the tense climate that during those years between the Papacy and the English court. On 27 April 1609 it was, for instance, decided that “there is a heretic noble Englishman in the city who was advised to appear before the Holy Office, where he abjured before Bellarmino and was absolved in foro conscientiae.” Ibidem, c. 59.

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there were many conflicts.70 Rome did not back down from its defense of orthodoxy and local inquisitors needed to grapple with the authority, jurisdiction and economic interests of secular rulers. The Holy Office continued to request, and receive, detailed information on the foreigners in Italian cities and, in this case, the Tuscan ones. The desire to investigate their customs and scandals prompted by their behavior was often motivated by the reporting of the more blatant cases which took place in the city. Otherwise, students, merchants, travelers and artists were protected by Nicodemism, and tactful dissimulation, either within the populous national communities or in the host city itself. In Siena, where oltramontani students continued to be monitored, other foreign and transient presences caught the attention of both the local inquisitor and the Roman Congregation. In September 1669 the inquisitor Giuseppe Amati informed the Holy Office that “here there are a few heretics who generate much scandal among the faithful of the city.” He provided a separate memorial containing details on the “quality” and behavior of these individuals, while asking, as usual, how he ought to proceed. He also requested to publish an edict, de propalandis hereticis, in order to foster denunciations and find a remedy for these scandals.71 It was clear that the request for an ad hoc intervention by the Roman Congregation was tantamount to an open condemnation of the omissions and transgressions of the papal regulations apropos foreign heretics. The bans on conversing with heretics and the obligation to report them to the local inquisitor had been overturned by complicity, local financial interests and omertà. Even in Siena it was difficult to pinpoint their presence and the inquisitor, along with his request for the Congregation’s intervention, sent a “report of the heretics in Siena, that which had occurred up until now, and what is known.” The title itself was revelatory of the difficulties faced by the Roman Tribunal in obtaining a clear understanding of the “heretic” presence in the Tuscan city and the related dangers. The inquisitor wrote, “there are eight or nine, the majority of whom are young, some nobles, and others of lower stations, living in rooms and not at inns. The scandal they caused is more public than private. They are irreverent towards the Church, frequent prostitutes, eat meat on prohibited days and disseminate “false propositions.”72 Thus there emerges the image of a cohesive community that was not secluded from the rest of the city, but which nonetheless threatened public order for its having formed a clique (in conventicola). This made the task of 70 For an overall elaboration, see The Roman Inquisition. 71 ACDF, SO, St. St. M 4-b (2), cc. nn. 72 Ibidem: Circa hereticos degentes in civitate Senarum, die 18 september 1669.

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monitoring more arduous and conversion consequently became more difficult. Social venues, like apothecaries and private homes where foreigners lodged, were all viewed with apprehension. Yet, at the same time, they were considered impenetrable fortresses where, despite everything, scandal and heresy resisted inquisitorial control and were protected by the complicity or silence of patrons, the aristocracy and even civic magistratures.73 In his report, Inquisitor Giuseppe Amati da Massafra recalled that the scandal arising from the presence and behavior of foreign heretics in the cities didn’t end at their death. Some had even converted, though not very convincingly, to perhaps keep the peace and avoid inquisitorial unpleasantries. The prior of the convent of San Domenico, Tommaso Bozzi, recounted the cases of two recently deceased heretics. One, a Swedish nobleman, wished to die a member of his religious group (setta) and with a sum of money succeeded in bribing the friars to bury him in the church of San Domenico and even have “a tombstone with an inscription visible to all who passed by.” The other was a German Lutheran baron who had converted but also desired “to die a member of his religious group […] and his body was brought to the same location as the former, passed through the cloister of the said Dominicans, and was accompanied by four lit torches and candles carried by some Christian lads, and afterwards everyone drank happily at the convent.”74 For those who had welcomed them in their country, for the inquisitor who failed to reclaim their soul, and for those who had accompanied them, the burial of a heretic became a moment of celebration with food and drink. There was no trace of the polemics that had marked the experience of heretics who died in Catholic territories.75 Even the religious orders that needed to collaborate to “purge the city of heresy” succumbed to the temptation of money, and perhaps to the pressure of local authorities who were unamenable to persecuting foreign heretics, especially nobles and students. 5

Naples: a Port City

In seventeenth century Naples, inquisitorial duties were performed by the diocesan archbishop and the Roman Congregation often turned to the nuncio for details on foreign heretics in the city, particularly merchants and sailors. As in the case of Ancona and Leghorn, the information furnished by the nuncio, 73 Ibidem. 74 ACDF, SO, St. St. M 4-b (2), cc. nn. 75 On the problem of burying heretics see, infra, pp. 200-208.

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Bernardino Rocci, indicated that the difficulty was due to the activity in the port. In 1666, Alessandro Crescenzi, the Bishop of Bitonto, sent a report of the denunciation “of Giorgio Respor, a German Lutheran heretic, who was an ebony worker in Naples, where he had a shop for five years and lived as a heretic.”76 Crescenzi added that he took the opportunity to obtain secret and extrajudicial information about how the Archbishop of Naples Ascanio Filomarino, a leading figure of Neapolitan politics,77 handled the issue of heretics in the city. He was informed that the archbishop, who had jurisdiction in inquisitorial matters, traditionally tolerated them since it was a port city where Englishmen, Dutchmen and Germans come to sell their wares, with the caveat that they not engage in secular rites, nor argue, nor do anything that might bring scandal upon Catholics. Crescenzi wrote to the Neapolitan archbishop requesting information about the denunciation, and to the nuncio to learn if it were true that heretics live freely and are tolerated in Naples. The nuncio informed Cardinal Nephew Francesco Barberini of “all that I need to understand […] regarding the tolerance of heretics in that city.”78 The report underscored the tradition of tolerance that was dictated by business interests and supported by the “royal guarantees” (garanzie regie) which protected English and Dutch merchants. The nuncio later sent a copy of the trade agreements between Spain and England, wherein it was stated that “the subjects and inhabitants of the provinces of the said king, who come to the territories of the said States, shall need to conduct themselves with modesty in public displays of religion and avoid causing scandal, either in action or words, and without uttering blasphemous statements. The same shall be the case of the subjects and inhabitants of the provinces of the said Sr. statholders, who come to those of the aforesaid sovereign.”79 Many heretics – he wrote – are found in Naples, and 76 77 78

79

ACDF, SO, St. St. M 4-b (2), cc. nn. (29 June 1666) Giuseppe Mrozek Eliszezynski, Ascanio Filomarino. Nobiltà, Chiesa e potere nell’Italia del Seicento (Rome: Viella, 2017). ACDF, SO, St. St. M4-b (2), cc. nn. On the presence of foreign heretic merchants in Naples, see Gigliola Pagano Devitiis, Mercanti inglesi nell’Italia del Seicento. Navi, traffici, egemonie (Venice: Marsilio, 1990). For the eighteenth century, see the recent scholarship by Roberto Zaugg, “Judging Foreigners. Conflict strategies, consular intervention and institutional changes in eighteenth-century Naples,” Journal of Modern Italian Studies, 13 (2008): 171195, along with the abundant bibliography provided; on the different privilegio di foro for foreign merchants in Naples between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries see id., “Mercanti stranieri e giudici napoletani. La gestione dei conflitti in antico regime,” Qua­ derni Storici, 133 (2010): 141-146. ACDF, SO, St. St. M 4-b (2), cc. nn: copy of the Capitolo XVIIII della pace d’Olanda col Potentissimo Monarca Filippo IV Re delle Spagne tradotto dal spagnolo in italiano dedicati all’Altezza Serenisima del Sr. Don Giovani d’Austria l’anno 1648.

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the main reason they are traditionally tolerated is because it is a maritime city, which welcomes their business and benefits from the merchandise they transport there. The English, in particular, reside in the city with the permission of the King of Spain, precisely due to the aforesaid business with their nation, and under the condition that they outwardly behave as Catholics. They must kneel before the Holy Sacrament, be uncovered in church and partake in all rituals practiced by the faithful. They eat meat every day at home, have strict orders, and are prohibited from conversing or being involved with women. In the event they should fall ill, the archiepiscopal court sends guards (guardie dei cursori) to the house so that none of their compatriots may enter, only the pastor and priests to attempt to convert them with spiritual exhortations. After their deaths, if their souls have not been saved, the said guards accompany the body outside of the city walls to the location where they are buried.80 It was not easy to calculate the number of heretics present in the city and the nuncio observed that, to respond to Rome’s requests, “it would have been opportune to involve the parish priests, but for fear of overpublicizing the urgency of such information and causing jealousy among the royal ministers, and so as not to threaten their authority nor peace with the heretics I have abstained.”81 Crescenzi also attempted to excuse the failed execution of the inquisitorial order and claimed full willingness to adhere to it in the future. Meanwhile, he wished to save time and not compromise relations with the Spanish ministers. In Crescenzi’s opinion, the greatest danger came from those who lived among Catholics and risked contaminating them with scandalous behavior and heretical propositions. This was especially true of “some German heretic solders and Flemish and Dutch merchants who, it was claimed, had previously lived in secret. Now, it was said, they live in the homes of the faithful, especially artisans, and display prejudice and scandalize the Catholic religion, as reported by a religious German from the Order of San Domenico who shows himself to be well informed.”82 He felt that neither the archbishop nor other members of the clergy took the proper measures to separate heretics from Catholics and expel them for causing scandal: With regards to the advice requested on this matter, it is indicated, with all due respect, that the rationale of the Cardinal Archbishop and senior members of his tribunal, should be willingly considered so as to better understand the reason for the aforesaid tolerance, and if grave scandal 80 ACDF, SO, St. St. M 4-b (2) cc. nn. (29 June 1666). 81 Ibidem, (16 October 1666). 82 Ibidem.

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arises from the said business activity, which has not been carried out, for not having been undertaken, it nevertheless appears that at least these heretics, who do not reside there legally, like the English, should be separated from the Christians and tolerated for a short time, and if they do not convert to the faith, as some do, that they be sent away from the city, so that their continued business activity, and custom of eating meat in Christian houses, not cause detriment to Christian souls; and also, with respect to the English, when the aforesaid convention is deemed acceptable, they could be ordered to live separately from the Catholics, and entrust the ecclesiastic court to continuously surveille and see that the practices of the said persons not bring detriment or prejudice upon the Holy Faith:83 The Congregation’s reply came very late and with an air of circumspect resignation vis-à-vis a situation wherein the “tolerance” of heretic foreigners was clearly based on political and economic factors, and not only in the Parthenopean city. On 7 January 1671 the cardinals “decreed that the archbishop surveille and avoid giving rise to scandal.” It was, therefore, not possible to exact a widespread control, nor employ repressive measures in a polymorphic environment that had always been marked by mobility, interculturality and exchanges. The problems were numerous but, at the end of the seventeenth century, jurisdictionalist resistance and tensions hampered inquisitorial work and not only with respect to foreigners. The cracks in the system of control were evident and within a year’s time Pietro Giannone would become the interpreter and spokesperson for a century old disagreement. 83

Ibidem, (7 January 1671).

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Between Intransigence and Tolerance 1 Alexander VII: New Conversion Politics On 7 April 1655 Fabio Chigi was elected pope after a long and complicated conclave and took the name Alexander VII. He had lived for a long time in Germany, as nuncio to Cologne from 1639 to 1645, mediator pacis in Münster until the “infamous peace” of 1648, and then in Aachen.1 His many years spent in the imperial territories had a profound effect upon his understanding of conversion and the role of missionaries. Chigi had directly witnessed the problems afflicting the German lands and recognized the complications of the Catholic reconquest, which was not always successful. Moreover, he deemed the preparation of the local clergy entirely inadequate for undertaking the important missionary tasks or for effectively combatting the “heretic preachers” (predicanti eretici). He well knew that the ban on reading prohibited books hindered the training of priests and theologians who needed, at all times, to resist the attacks of controversialists with valid arguments. They also needed to defend themselves daily from those who derided the ceremonies, dogmas and worship of the Catholic Church. Fabio Chigi was moreover aware that an education system was being implemented beyond the Alps not only to transform the preparation of theologians and pastors, but the entire population that had turned to the reformed religion. On the other hand, he was convinced that there were difficulties on the Catholic front and that the discord between religious orders, the lack of clear directives, or struggle in effectively implementing them, contributed to impeding progress. This was made clear, and not only at an official level, in his copious correspondence.2 Thus conversion strategies needed to be reconsidered and adapted in light of a changed 1 On diplomatic activity in Germany, see the contributions of Konrad Repgen, Krieg und Westfälischer Friede. Studien und Quellen (Paderborn: Schöning, 1998); Alexander Koller, “Fabio Chigi, Päpstlicher Nuntius,” in Als Frieden möglich war. 450 Jahre Augsburger Religionsfrieden, hg. Carl A. Hoffmann, Markus Johanns, Annette Kranz, Christof Trepesch and Oliver Zeidler (Regensburg: Schnell und Steiner, 2005), 372-373; id., “Fabio Chigi. Nunzio e mediatore in Germania,” in Imperator und Pontifex. Forschungen zum Verhältnis von Kaiserhof und römischer Kurie im Zeitalter der Konfessionalisierung (1555-1648), (Münster: Aschendorf, 2012), 195-210. 2 See, for instance, the letters from Fabio Chigi to Giulio Sacchetti: BAV, Chigiano A. II. 27, cc. 39r-346r and Nuntiaturberichte aus Deutschland, IX Nuntius Fabio Chigi (1639 Juni-1644 März,) hg. Maria Teresa Börner (Paderborn: Schöning, 2009).

© Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2020 | doi:10.1163/9789004422667_009

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political order and a denominationalized society, which clearly exhibited signs of an “invisible border.”3 Also, Rome needed to be the champion of this new conversion strategy. But even prior to the “Innocentian turn” – the reform politics in the administration of the Papal States and of the curia under Innocent XI (1676-1689) – there was an openness towards reformed Europe, albeit a cautious and wary one, that developed from the firsthand experience of papal diplomats. Near the end of the century this would lead to the more decisive discovery of the North European world, of Protestant culture and piety; one that was not totally negative, even if it were marked by heresy.4 Upon his return to the papal curia, in 1651, Chigi quickly rose through the upper ranks of the ecclesiastic hierarchy, thanks to his dutiful and taxing diplomatic service in Münster and Cologne, which would ultimately lead to his becoming pope. He was made a cardinal in 1651 and then Secretary of State the following year. By now, the Sienese prelate enjoyed prestige at the court of Innocent X that allowed him to coordinate the decisions and procedures of different congregations. Evidence of Chigi’s direct involvement in the missionary action are, for instance, revealed by the numerous and frequent requests for alms or funds on behalf of converts that were presented at meetings of “Propaganda Fide.” 5 Also important were the personal connections Chigi had made with several converts in Münster, like Barthold Nihus, to whom he thought of assigning the reorganization of the missionary and pastoral tasks in Northern Germany.6 Similarly decisive for the understanding of the German world and its culture, was the confessional politics within the Holy Roman Empire and the various motives for conversion that led territorial princes to embrace the catholic faith, the would be the relations with other converts, from Lukas Holste to the Landgrave Ernest of Hesse-Rheinfels, whose conversion was facilitated by the Capuchin Valeriano Magni between 1650 and 1652. The landgrave’s conversion initiated a conciliatory effort between the Christian churches which involved philosophers, men of letters and clergymen in an important epistolary exchange spanning all of Europe during the second 3 Etienne François, Protestants et catholiques en Allemagne. Identité et pluralism, Augsburg, 1648-1806 (Paris: Presses de l’Université de Saint-Etienne, 1993). 4 On the topic, see Mario Rosa, “Curia romana e “repubblica delle lettere,”” in Papes, princes et savants dans l’Europe moderne. Mélanges à la mémoire de Bruno Neveu, ed. Jean-Louis Quantin, Jean-Claude Waquet (Geneva: Droz, 2007), 333-349. 5 See Die Protokolle der Propagandakongregation zu deutschen Angelegenheiten 1622-1649, hg. Hermann Tüchle (Paderborn: Bonifacius-Druckerei, 1962). 6 Jürgen Stillig, “Konversion, Karriere und Elitenkultur. Profile kirchlicher Konvertitenfürsorge: Ludolf Klencke und Barthold Nihus,” in Konversionen in Mittelalter und in der Frühneuzeit, 85-132.

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half of the seventeenth century.7 Personal relationships therefore served to mediate and disseminate conciliatory ideas within a multifaceted cultural climate that continued to be hostile, like the German one, but also contributed to the gradual acceptance and tolerance of the numerous heretics arriving and staying in Rome. It is clear that the conversionist strategy modeled in Rome beginning in the mid-seventeenth century was aimed at an elite milieu, comprised of noblemen and princes from aristocratic families, for whom the Eternal City was an inevitable stop on the Grand Tour. Foreigners continued to come to Rome for work, to have fun, and wander about, therefore increasing the numbers of a dangerous population flottante. Yet they experienced the attempt to control, via regulated assistance, education and conversion, made by the Congregation de iis qui sponte veniunt ad fidem, founded in 1600, under Clement VIII, which would come to full fruition in 1673 with the establishment of the Ospizio dei Convertendi.8 The Congregation de iis qui sponte veniunt ad fidem, founded in the Holy Year 1600, continued to exist, or rather survive, during the Barberini and Pamphili papacies. While it certainly became subordinate to “Propaganda Fide” and Inquisition, it was also connected to the tight knit circle of the pope’s collaborators, the cardinal nephew and his family. In this context it aimed to address, and conceivably resolve, issues arising from the conversion of foreign heretics: their acceptance, conversion and education in the new confession and, in case of need, support with financial aid, reflected a new politics of “caresses and courtesy” (carezze e cortesie), and thereby showed the universal power of the Roman church. The name of the Congregation was changed to the Congregation to help converts (Congregation de conversis ad fidem adiuvandis), and its structure and activity were reformed in more precise and incisive terms during the papacy of Alexander VII. It was also fashioned as an in­strument to address the problems of order and control in the city. In fact, the reorganization of the city’s urban planning, with its diverse and elaborate transformations thus offered a triumphant, universal and eternal image of 7 On Ernest of Hesse-Rheinfels and his rapport with contemporary philosophers and theologians, see Heribert Raab, Reich und Kirche in der frühen Neuzeit. Ausgewählte Aufsätze (Fribourg: Univesitätverlag, 1998). 8 Anu Raunio, Conversioni al cattolicesimo a Roma tra Sei e Settecento. La presenza degli scandinavi nell’Ospizio dei Convertendi (Turku: University of Turku, 2009). According to the author, there would be no continuity between the foundation of the Congregation de iis qui sponte veniunt ad fidem – later renamed by pope Chigi – and the creation of the Ospizio dei Convertendi. The author further maintains that the Congregation founded in 1600 by Ancina “failed shortly after its founder’s departure from Rome” (ibidem, 52) thus supporting the conclusions made in the studies by Pagano and Fiorani: conclusions that were largely disproven by documents in ACDF, SO, St. St. M 4-a.

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itself.9 This was clearly a direct response that the Catholic capital wished to give to the European powers following the Peace of Westphalia – which was defined as the ”infamous peace” since it took no account of papal authority and so was not accepted by the Papacy as was shown by Innocent X’s brief Zelo Domus Dei (26 November 1648). A disastrous and unexpected event – the plague which afflicted the city between 1656 and 1657 – seemed to quash the optimism and hope raised by Fabio Chigi’s election, and not only in Rome.10 From the very beginning of his papacy, Alexander VII surrounded himself with people who supported his political approach. They were “friends” and counselors, trustworthy individuals and patrons with whom he had established profound and profitable connections since his arrival in Rome during the pontificate of Urban VIII. It was to these people – such as Sforza Pallavicino, Giulio Sacchetti, Virgilio Spada, Francesco Albizzi and Giovanni Battista Scanaroli – who represented continuity between the Barberini and Pamphili pontificates that Alexander VII entrusted the running of the most important congregations. Precisely by surrounding himself with these people, and benefitting from their experience, the pope endorsed the project to redefine, and practically reestablish, the Congregation intended to aid those who converted to the Catholic faith, and not only giving a financial support. Indeed, on 28 November 1658, during a session of the feria quarta, (i.e. Wednesday), the Holy Office resolved that the Congregation be reinstated to assist those who returned to the womb of the Church.11 The reestablishment of the Congregation was needed following the plague that had upset Roman life. The conversion of Queen Christina of Sweden to Catholicism in 1652 led to her abdication to the throne in favour of Charles X. Christina left Sweden and, after having stayed in the Netherlands and Brussels, where she made her first profession of faith (24 December 1654), went to Inns9

10 11

On the topic, see the important writings by Richard Krautheimer, The Rome of Alexander VII. 1655-1667 (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1986). On the numerous aspects of Alexander VII’s urban and artistic planning, see Alessandro VII Chigi. Il papa senese della Roma moderna (1655-1667), ed. Alessandro Angelini, Monika Butzek, Bernardina Sani (Siena: Protagon, 2000) and Aloisio Antinori, La magnificenza e l’utile. Progetto urbano e monarchia papale nella Roma del Seicento (Rome: Gangemi, 2008). For an elaboration of the problems and consequences connected to the epidemic, see “La peste a Roma (1656-1657),” ed. Irene Fosi, Roma moderna e contemporanea, 14, special issue (2006): 3-274. “To again establish a Congregation for assisting heretics who convert to the Catholic faith, and their Eminences took part in the meeting, and resolved to contribute alms each month, if it pleases His Holiness, and resolved to implore the Protector P. Caravita who, along with the most Eminent Ginetti, discussed the matter, and the Holy Father has appointed an Assessor.” ACDF, SO, Decreta (1658), c. 233r.

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bruck and there she officially and solemnly made her profession of faith (3 November 1655). Alexander VII, who saw the conversion of Christina as a useful topic of Catholic propaganda, had sent Lucas Holste to Innsbruck to pay homage to the convert and take her to Rome, where she arrived on 20 ­December 1655. Had the presence of the converted Christina, Queen of Sweden, and the entourage that followed her example, been influential? The historical sources are lacking in answers. Nonetheless, the return of Gustav Adolf’s daughter to the womb of the Roman Church was not devoid of controversy. As is known, the Queen’s extravagance, her court, and her ambiguous sexual identity – it was said she was a eunuch – impeded the positive recounting of her conversion.12 A singular, albeit impressive and important example does not suffice to explain the establishment of a program that had operated in the shadows and struggled to perform its functions. Conversely, Fabio Chigi’s experience in the German territories, his contact with heretics, which had proven both unavoidable and beneficial: the direct and deep knowledge of the controversies that marked the conversion of princes and nobles in the imperial territories were the basis for his conversionistic politics. From the beginning of his papacy, Alexander VII and his trusted advisors elaborated a new political approach to conversion that began in Rome and was directed at the areas of Europe he had come to know, and they proposed a communicative and pedagogical model which sought to persuade, communicate and convert. In Rome, the effects of the epidemic – the impoverishment of the population, but also the resurgent flow of foreigners no longer afraid of contagion – likely led to a reactivation of almsgiving to foreign paupers. Even in the past, the problem of finding adequate resources repeatedly challenged the good intentions of those who strove to convert foreigners. During this period the reestablished, or in any case revitalized, Congregation de conversis ad fidem adiuvandis, needed to be overseen by high ranking members of the Alexandrian court. While the role assigned to Cardinal Marzio Ginetti needed to show continuity with the past, the allocation of important tasks, such as that given to the Jesuit Pietro Caravita (1584-1657) of finding a more substantial and secure financial source, revealed the deep connection Alexander had with 12

For a rich bibliography on Christina and her stay in Rome, see Susanna Åkermann, Queen Christina of Sweden and her circle: the transformation of a Seventeenth-century philosophical libertine (Leiden: Brill, 1991); Marie Louise Rodén, Church politics in Seventeenth-century Rome: Cardinal Decio Azzolino, Queen Christina of Sweden, and the Squadrone Volante (Stockholm: Almqvist and Wiksell, 2000). For a summary, see Marie-Louise Rodén, Queen Cristina (Stolkholm: Svenska institutet, 1998); Roma e Cristina di Svezia. Una irrequieta sovrana, ed. Gaetano Platania (Viterbo: Sette Città), 2016.

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members of the Ignatian order and especially those with prolific missionary experience. But Caravita was unable to carry out the delicate task and died a few months later. The later reports on the origin and life of the Congregation, in the years preceding Alexander VII’s papacy, reveal the desire to resurrect its memory and establish continuity. But they also show how, for the first half of the seventeenth century, the documentation appears fragmented and intermittent. It does not, however, appear that the papal desire to revive the Congregation led to more orderly and systematic documentation. Annotations revealing questions and doubts about practical problems appear during the first few months of 1659, such as “who must enforce the mandates […], where and when they should assemble, document which occurs daily as well as the profit earned and the success of the converts.”13 Nevertheless, it was necessary to show good will, immediately and concretely, towards those who had become Catholic. And on 26 April 1659 it was established that “given the need to provide for and aid converts, and as we cannot await the congregation, may Monsignors Rinaldi, Albritio, Vizzano or two of them grant the alms they deem appropriate.”14 The meetings were held every Tuesday in the apartment of the papal majordomo, Cardinal Girolamo Boncompagni, Archbishop of Bologna, in the presence of the Assessor of the Holy Office, Emanuele Vizzani, who was secretary and a “most diligent director.” Other influential members of the ­Chigian entourage also attended the meetings, like Giovan Battista Scanaroli,15 Virgilio Spada,16 “Mons. Albritio,”17 secretary of the Congregation “Propaganda Fide”, and Ferdinand von Fürstenberg, Bishop of Paderborn.18 Likewise present were the laymen Giuseppe Conti and Federico Lucht, a “palace squire who ordinarily distributed to the Congregation the majority of the t­ opics to be discussed” and Monsignor Febei, Commendator of the Hospital Santo Spirito.19 Thus, from the mid-seventeenth century, the Congregation is presented as an entity strictly connected to the pontiff, both with regard to spatial proximity, between the meeting places and papal rooms, as well as the presence of 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

ACDF, SO, St. St. M 4-a, c. 244r (21 February 1659). Ibidem, c. 247r. Giovan Battista Scanaroli (1579-1665), Bishop di Sidone since 1630. Virgilio Spada (1596-1662), Oratorian, brother of Cardinal Bernardino, erudite and collector, see Giuseppe Finocchiaro, Il museo di curiosità di Virgilio Spada: una raccolta romana del Seicento (Rome: F.ll Palombi, 1999). Mario Alberizzi (o Alberici) was secretary of “Propaganda Fide” from 1657 to 1664, see Armando Petrucci, Alberizzi, Mario, in Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani, 1 (Rome: Istituto dell’Enciclopedia Italiana, 1960), 661-662. Ferdinand von Fürstenberg, Bishop of Paderborn from 1661 to 1668. ACDF, SO, St. St. M 4-a, cc. 469r-474v. Francesco Maria Febei (Orvieto 1616-Roma 1680), Commendator of Santo Spirito in Sassia, Archbishop of Tarso from 1667 until his death.

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members of a prominent group of Chigi’s friends and counselors. This restructuring did not permit for a resolution of the problems that had always marked its existence and conditioned its activity, originating from the lack of resources. Moreover, and perhaps more profoundly, this was due to the complex and ambiguous rapport between the city, curia and foreigners, as well as the different courses of action taken by the Holy Office and “Propaganda Fide.” Requests and petitions also came from this Congregation to favor and monitor the conversion of heretics who came to Rome. With respect to the need to “adopt a missionary mentality […] in the State of the Church,” it was added, in an annotation of a 1657 memorial, “in Rome missions could be founded or at the very least men could be assigned to convert the foreigners who arrive there.”20 The hopes and efforts to pursue an operative program of control, persuasion and conversion were made futile by a surplus of conflicting interests, compromises and corruption. 2

Difficult Control

The conversion program needed to follow different directions, which were constantly repeated in memorials, and would slowly arrive at a more coherent definition after the pontificate of Alexander VII. In fact, there appeared a greater need to direct and coordinate the activities, to remedy the numerous défaillances, as experience had shown. New regulations were therefore established for those entering the Congregation, solidified by a sworn commitment. There was a reiteration of “Propaganda Fide”’s obligation to pay 50 scudi in alms to converts. But there was also a more coherent search for trustworthy individuals capable of discovering foreigners and leading them to the Holy Office “to abandon heresy.”21 The new provisions revealed the bipartite approach to foreign heretics who needed to be observed, and welcomed in order to be converted, yet remained potentially dangerous figures. The provisions also sought to address the difficulties arising in the past decades from the attempt to control the flow of foreigners into Rome and expedite conversions. Faith and religious affiliation needed to be brought to the fore, in a climate of pervasive indifference which masked profit-making interests. These were the initial attempts to centralize, reunite forces, and control and balance the practices that would later lead to the foundation of the Ospizio dei Convertendi. Meanwhile, the conversion politics progressed and the main point of reference was 20 21

APF, Miscellanee varie II, c. 99r. ACDF, SO, St. St. M 4-a, cc. 321r-321v.

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the Congregation de conversis ad fidem adiuvandis, the papal entourage and “Propaganda Fide,” while the main protagonist continued to be the Holy Office. Monitoring needed to be enacted on multiple fronts, but first, the list of “oltramontani gentlemen” hosted at Roman hotels and inns needed be registered so that their presence could be reported to the Congregation. It was warned that the inns should not exceed their already high charges , nor should the foreigners’ stay be scandalized by the frequenting of rooms and houses across the street by women of ill repute, some of whom, being more brazen, were incarcerated or evicted from the houses in which they lived. It was fitting to attempt to dispel the persistent misbehaviour of dishonest innkeepers and eradicate Roman harlotry. Prostitution was one of the more serious scandals in the city and certainly the most well-known and feared. It could infect both parties involved, bred disorder, and confirmed the negative image of the Rome/Babylon.22 It was also difficult to eradicate the practice of married women who occasionally engaged in prostitution, traversing a boundary between lawful and illicit. It was, in fact, observed that “some things greatly scandalize the said signori, such as that in certain parishes of S. Carlo nel Corso, S. Lorenzo in Lucina, S. Andrea delle Fratte and Madonna del Popolo, married women prostituted themselves in certain parishes; that the said prostitutes lodge in houses across from the inns so as to bring great ruin upon the said signori.”23 The corruption of foreigners arriving in Rome therefore needed to be avoided, since the “coachmen meddling in these oltramontani gentlemen’s affairs” bring them to hotels where they receive tips from the owners. Once settled into hotels and inns, travelers fell prey to a group of nefarious characters that the members of the Congregation hopelessly sought to combat. It was well known that in Rome there reside some persons, under the pretext of serving as interpreters for Catholic and heretic oltramontani who arrive here, corrupt their willpower so as to con them, as they wish, into frequenting inns, orgies and brothels and, with the fear 22

23

On prostitution, its different manifestations and many social implications, see Monika Kurzel-Runtscheiner, Töchter der Venus. Die Kurtisanen Roms im 16. Jahrhundert (München: Beck, 1995); Elisabeth S. Cohen, “Courtesans and Whores: Words and Behavior in Early Modern Rome,” Women’s Studies, 19 (1991): 201-208; “Seen and Known: Prostitutes in the Cityscape of Late Sixteenth-Century Rome, Renaissance Studies, 12 (1998): 392-409; “Back Talk: Two Prostitutes’ Voices from Rome c. 1600,” Early Modern Women: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 2 (2007): 95-126; Tessa Storey, Carnal Commerce in Counter-Reformation Rome (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008). ACDF, SO, St. St. M 4-a, c. 319rv.

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of losing the profits which they accrue from this practice, endeavor to keep everyone from speaking or dealing with the said signori, and particularly the Italians.24 The monopoly of this profitable trafficking enterprise was overseen by two dubious characters: Tobias, born in Swabia, married, and described as a “false man who is a friend of wine and quick to become drunk” and Giovan Battista di Anversa, “an erudite and courteous person who was however denigrated for keeping a woman in his house for many years with whom he had children.” They were not merely interpreters. Their task was, in fact, much subtler and more difficult to monitor since – it was emphasized – “they take every opportunity to worm their way into their [the foreigners’] service, guiding them as they are very familiar with Rome, to see the main churches, the most solemn celebrations in the papal chapel, the most noteworthy gardens, palaces and important antiquities.”25 This was a struggle destined to be lost and the Congregation’s repeated warnings to these men were unsuccessful in requesting “that they perform their work with rectitude and precision, and not divert them to less than honorable places, nor collude with artists and other persons generally in the habit of contacting foreigners and profiting from their untainted naïveté.”26 Their presence could also dissuade parish priests from demanding reports on Easter communion from their Catholic roommates. This would hinder the impact and function of the vital tool for disciplining the faithful, with the intensification of the urban population’s complexity. Other methods were preferred for approaching, monitoring and persuading the “oltramontani gentlemen.” The report emphasized some of the features of pope Alexander’s conversion strategy, expressly aimed at gentlemen and nobles who were capable of receiving, appreciating and publicizing the message of courteous reception and charity, and of the positive representation in the court and city. However, the reality was different, less inspiring, and the monitoring of pilgrims and travelers was generally unsuccessful. The flow of foreigners into Italy became more intense during the middle of the seventeenth century. Since the wars troubling Europe had come to an end, Italian cities became attractive destinations, not only for knights, artists and nobles on the fashionable Grand Tour, but also for artisans, students, or socalled scholars, unemployed soldiers, and a large group of people who simply 24 Ibidem, c. 396r. 25 Ibidem, c. 396v. 26 Ibidem.

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lived in the moment, in a precarious state, hidden by the charity of confraternities, and hoping to find a place in the multifaceted society that Rome offered, even if only temporarily. Monitoring, enquiry and vigilance were requisites for the conversion of heretic travelers and their reeducation in the Catholic faith. However, these preconditions were never compatible with the financial interests of hotel owners, innkeepers, prostitutes and procurers, antique dealers and counterfeiters. Indeed, they were all the more sought after by those embarking on the Grand Tour, that is, by those who benefited from the resources of an economy bolstered by the presence of foreigners, pilgrims and travelers drawn to the Roman court and to the protean urban context.27 Attempts were made, through the observation of external signs, to uncover the identity and origin of travelers, in order to insert them into an expansive network of control. In a letter to Emanuele Vizzani, Virgilio Spada expressed how difficult it was to monitor foreigners at inns and, above all, establish contact with them, “given how highly suspicious they are of us Italians.”28 They were suspicious of an identity that, on the other side of the Alps, was viewed negatively and fostered by reformed religious propaganda the Italian-papist connotation that shaped a hostile image.29 This hostility and suspicion needed to be mitigated not only by means of a more organized system of control, of the innkeepers and hoteliers who were often considered brusque and violent, but with an approach of availability, courtesy and respect. And this intervention could not be solely external but instead enacted within the hotels and inns. It was therefore necessary for Virgilio Spada to designate, for every hotel and inn, an individual assigned by the Congregation to tend to those inns so that foreigners are treated well, and see that scandalous individuals not happen upon such places, and be instructed to frequent them to ensure this does not occur, and see that foreigners are 27

28 29

Renata Ago, Economia barocca. Mercato e istituzioni nella Roma del Seicento (Rome: Donzelli, 1998); ead., “Rome’s Economic Life, 1492-1692“, in A Companion to Early Modern Rome, 1492-1692, ed. By Pamela M. Jones, Barbara Wisch and Simon Ditchfield, (LeidenBoston:Brill, 2018), 184-198. ACDF, SO, St. St. M 4-a, c. 275r. For the religious connotations of the different representations of the “enemy”, see Wolfgang Harms, Feindbilder im illustrierten Flugblatt der frühen Neuzeit, in Feindbilder. Die Darstellung des Gegners in der politischen Publizistik des Mittelalters und der Neuzeit, hg. Franz Bosbach (Köln-Weimar-Wien: Böhlau, 1992), 141-165. On the negative images of Italy of which travel literature was filled during the period, see Wolfgang Altgeld, Das politische Italienbild der Deutschen zwischen Aufklärung und europäischer Revolution von 1848 (Tübingen: Niemeyer, 1984); Stefan Oswald, Italienbilder. Beitrag zur Wandlung der deutschen Italienauffassung 1770-1840 (Heidelberg: Carl Winter Universitätsverlag, 1985).

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well taken care of, and speak to those gentlemen, instructing them to keep this and other orders, but also inform if there is any outrage or fraud committed against them, as His Holiness desires that whosoever arrives in Rome, from those nations, be treated well, and is kept abreast, so that they continue to be served, and so that words might be put into action, and quickly bring an end to suspicion, such that our men shall easily integrate and collaborate.30 Upon their arrival in Rome, foreigner travelers were offered concrete proof of the unique Roman climate in the form of courtesy, “caresses,” and dialogue. These displays of reception were no longer simply for the occasion of the Holy Years but during the second half of the seventeenth century had become part of daily life. Nonetheless, this policy was a very challenging operation to bring to fruition and clashed with the difficulty of finding people willing and able to exercise this control and regulate internal affairs in the inns and taverns. This also needed to be accomplished while overcoming the reticence of the innkeepers who were prepared, at all costs, to profit from the numerous foreign patrons. Profitmaking conflicted with the Congregation’s proposed program of regulated reception. The “discovery” of a foreigner in these venues, but also in the streets and Roman piazze was, above all, achieved through a deciphering of external signs, such as their dress and manners. However, these were made more abstruse by the common practice of traveling incognito or even in cassocks to blend in among the innumerable Roman clerics. The wearing of different clothes likewise aided nobles, princes and sovereigns traveling incognito to avoid paying for luxuries that were generally required of people of their rank.31 It also served to evade controls and conceal sexual identity, as in the case of women who dressed like men to enjoy greater freedom and avoid danger and aggression. But the clothing of “others” was also an instrument for entering into a world, in order to spy, deride and comprehend its secrets. Identity could even be changed to commit crimes, as revealed by the criminal trials wherein camouflage was itself a crime or, at any rate, an aggravating factor thereof. Society interpreted social status through external displays like clothing, gestures and signs. To alter these identificatory signs was therefore tantamount to a violation of a rule that regulated a social order.32 30 31

32

ACDF, SO, St. St. M 4-a, c. 275r. For instance, see the different tricks used by the Habsburgs in concealing their identity during travels to Rome, Elisabeth Garms-Cornides, “Assenza e non presenza. Gli Asburgo a Roma tra Cinque e Seicento,” in Gli archivi della Santa Sede e il mondo asburgico nella prima età moderna, ed. Matteo Sanfilippo, Alexander Koller and Giovanni Pizzorusso (Viterbo: Sette Città, 2004), 119-145. On identity and detectability in the Modern Age, see Valentin Groebner, “Describing the Person, Reading the Signs in Late Medieval and Renaissance Europe: Identity Papers,

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More so than their names, which were often fictitious, it was the age, apparel, entourage and company kept by individuals that could arouse suspicion, or else reassure, the authorities planning a religious conversion intervention. The condition of travelers who lodged at inns continued to be perceived as dangerous and ambiguous. Whether traveling alone, or with friends or ­servants, they did not allow themselves to be integrated into the confraternal system like pilgrims. Their independence aroused suspicion, they were undefended by the community, and consequently they were more susceptible to being led astray. The society of the ancien régime was suspicious of travelers and although it tolerated their presence, it sought, at all costs, to decipher their movements, intentions and identity. Travelers perceived the danger to which they were exposed in Catholic territories, as well as the snares from which they needed to defend themselves. They became distrustful and protected themselves either by remaining in groups or by disguise. They would go to Church and externally feign to profess the Catholic faith and had been well prepared by travel guides and literature, and by the wealth of pamphlets and clichés against to the pope, Italy and Catholic wiles. There were publications, in the reformed world, that informed those embarking upon a trip to Italy who would find themselves entwined in papist sociability, in a web of Roman cultural academies, and in their relationships with nobles in what was a fascinating world but one intended to introduce doubts of faith in order to convert foreigners. In the second half of the seventeenth century a copious travel literature was circulated, that copied and transmitted clichés that were destined to enter the mindset of visitors.33 Works were published, like those of Johann Friedrich Mayer, which cautioned those who ventured into the papal territories.34 This was an indication of how, in the reformed world, instructions circulated for those embarking on the Grand Tour in Catholic territories, especially

33

34

Vested Figures, and the Limits of Identification 1400-1600”, in Documenting Individual identity. The Development of State Practices in the Modern World, ed. Jane Caplan and John Torpey (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2001), 15-27; id., Der Schein der Person: Steckbrief, Ausweis und Kontrolle im Mittelalter (München: Beck, 2017). On travel literature and the travel to Italy there is an abundant bibliography, aside from the previously cited volume Grand Tour, see Attilio Brilli, Il viaggio in Italia. Storia di una grande tradizione (Bologna: Il Mulino, 2006) and, in English, John Stoye, English Travellers Abroad, 1604-1667: their influence on English Society and politics, revised edition, (New Haven/London: Yale University Press, 1989) and Edward Chaney, The Evolution of the Grand Tour: Anglo-Italian cultural relations since the Renaissance, revised edition (Abingdon: Routledge, 2000). Johann Friedrick Mayer, Der an päbstliche Örter. Der an päbstische Oerter reisende und daselbst wohnende Lutheraner, wie sie beiderseits wider die päbstliche Verführungen sich sollen verwahren damit ihren die Crohne der Gerechtigkeit nicht geraubet werde (Leipzig: Gleditsch, 1686)

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Rome and Italy. The Hofmeister and other tutors accompanying young aristocrats on this formative journey advised having no contact, if possible, with the papist rites, ceremonies and superstition. But these recommendations were generally unheeded as indicated in the letters sent by young travelers to their parents. Curiosity, even on a religious level, was a dominant motivation for those embarking on this experience. Curiosity: during the sixteenth century, the Roman congregations exhibited a fear of those who came to Rome out of curiosity. Now, it was precisely these travelers’ curiosity that gave the Church an opportunity to show itself in a different light – welcoming, cultured and benevolent – in order to stimulate conversions through persuasion rather than by force. But danger was always lurking: drunkenness, provocations, brawls, the frequenting of prostitutes protected by violent procurers, and extortionists could lead unfortunate and naïve foreigners to utter dangerous and irreverent words. These might be accompanied by provocative gestures that would ultimately reveal their true identity. And eyes were always peeled, while others could often be opened by financial compensation. Innkeepers and hoteliers knew their work would be compromised if they scrupulously investigated their lodgers, and their zeal would have quickly exposed to the travelers the papist net used to attract foreigners with their superstitions. Consequently, the denunciations of innkeepers were unreliable, and the Congregation employed trustworthy spies and “friends of the court,” capable of lurking around hotels, taverns and inns. They were to carefully observe, spy and report, and were experts who “worked” for other Roman tribunals. Spies and “friends” of the Holy Office were an undetectable network, without a name or face, whose operations permitted authorities to identify, arrest and punish. In the iconography and treatise writing of the times, the baroque city is described and depicted as being full of ears and eyes. And ­authorities monitored, listened, and sought to understand in order to govern and punish.35 Rome perfectly corresponded to this image, widespread in the European apodemic literature.36 The many tribunals, with similar and often overlapping jurisdiction, were intent on maintaining – partly successful, considering the nature of the city – public order, and above all moral order.37 The authorities therefore needed to rely on people willing to keep an eye on foreigners and report their movements to the Holy Office, “gentlemen united to 35

36 37

Diana Trinkner, “Von Spionen und Ohrenträgern, von Argus’ Augen und tönenden Köpfen. Anmerkungen zu Kontrollmechanismen in der Frühen Neuzeit”, in Zeremoniell in der Krise. Störung und Nostalgie, hg. Bernhard Jahr, Thomas Rahn, Claudia Schnitze (Marburg: Jonas-Verlag, 1998), 61-77. See, for example, Leti, Istrutione a’ Cavalieri Protestanti, 23. For an overview, see Fosi, Papal Justice.

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win over the souls of the ultramontani who arrive at their inns.” They were called upon by the Tribunal of Faith to undertake a difficult task, subject to the blackmail of hoteliers, who preferred to maintain clients rather than save souls, as well as threats from the legal entities for whom they worked. These individuals could not be considered true Holy Office personnel such as the Patent-holders of the Holy Office, who, as is known, some considered to be odious.38 Other people occasionally collaborated with Holy Office and Roman tribunals, and they were viewed as profitable since they hoped to benefit from the fame of the tribunal for which they worked and earn respect and honor in society. Serving the Inquisition meant gaining prestige and providing a protective immunity from intervention by other lay or ecclesiastical tribunals. The Holy Office also received anonymous letters in which “friends” and trustworthy persons provided information on travelers who arrived in the city. These included location details such as homes and rooms, physical attributes such as height, hair color, clothing, and social status symbols like the number of servants and the presence of a tutor. Above all fame and the testimony of neighbors became valuable in characterizing the identity of foreigners and reported their potential dangerousness. Assertions like “I hear” and “it seems” were recurrent in letters, which often initiated the mechanism of persuasion needed for conversion. An anonymous letter was sent to Monsignor Vizzani containing detailed information, but also generic claims, regarding the identity of presumed “heretic” travelers: “I hear from someone that it seems there a great number of gentlemen from Saxony, and possibly from the court of the duke, and that there is one in a priest’s cassock, by the name of Marco Antonio, along with two others, called Michele and Christoforo.” They had rented a “white house” (casa bianca) near the hospital of San Giacomo degli Incurabili, while another “seven or eight” lived “at an inn at the sign of Fortune near the Spanish embassy, others near San Carlo al Corso in the home of a German barber. Supposedly there are a total of 30 who are good-time Charlies, who speak badly of Rome, and attempt to befriend nuns; may one of them show interest in becoming Catholic.” This news could have been true since it had been reported by a young man “who is upstanding and of good condition.” And the letter urged that if that which had been proposed during the Congregation’s meetings were put into practice, entrusting these new guests to the care of trustworthy persons “to cultivate these kinds of people, it would have, and would, enhance the service to God.”39 38 39

Irene Fosi, “Conflict and Collaboration. The Inquisition in Rome and the Papal Territories (1550-1750)”, in The Roman Inquisition, 49-56. ACDF, S O, St. St. M 4-a, c. 276r.

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On 5 November 1659 the hotelier of the “Three Kings” (Tre Re) reported the arrival of “Wolfgang Count of Auersperg, a twenty-year-old of “average stature from Vienna in Austria,” accompanied by a servant and “signor Ernesto Sigismondo Count of Zerindorf’ eighteen years of age, brown hair and of average stature”, who along with Giovanni Andrea Calenfels, his servant, and “signor Ercolano Count of Lambergh, blond hair, of tall stature, and 21 years old” and another three Austrian nobles, accompanied by their servants, visited Rome with the intention of “stopping at a college.”40 3

A Cultural Conversion Project

The idea of barging into the rooms of the “more suspicious ultramontani” to search their belongings was abandoned, which certainly would not have helped to promote a welcoming image of the pope and Rome. Instead, a less violent and more persuasive strategy was proposed during the sessions of the Congregation. Foreigners, first and foremost, not only needed to be accompanied to “the city’s most important libraries,” but it was also important that they “engage in friendships and conversation with exemplary religious persons and other likeminded individuals. Among such figures were Lukas Holste, the Cistercian Ilarione Rancati and Cardinal Giovanni Bona, “General of the order of St. Bernard.”41 It was reiterated that, the primary concern [of the Congregation] is to not leave the oltramontani, and particularly heretics, who arrived in the city of Rome, without some direction from authoritative and respected persons, and immediately dependent upon the Palace and pope, who not only seeks to remedy the scandals, as much as possible, which the said oltramontani could be subjected to by the city and court of Rome, but without any pretense, display this courtesy, such that they should only leave this city satisfied by the kindness and prudence of the pope’s ministers, as well as administer a small aid to the needier and more meritorious, and according to their hardship, funds from the Congregation.42 40 Ibidem. 41 Ibidem, c. 472v. Like many other Cardinals, G. Bona welcomed converted nobles, subjects of the Empire, at his court as he proudly reported to the Congregation, ibidem, c. 640r. On the Cardinal, see Lucien Ceyssens, Bona, Giovanni, in Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani, 11 (Rome: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, 1969), 442-445. 42 ACDF, SO, St. St. M 4-g, cc. 470v-471r.

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This trusted group of “gentlemen” capable of saving foreigners from the wiles of innkeepers and audacious guides also needed to be adept at preventing and remedying inevitable scandals, through the use of foreign language and via a culture which combined a knowledge of classical antiquity, the many wonders of modern Rome and unassailable dogmatic certainty. Thus there was a need to master and acquire the cultural instruments of the courtier, namely prudence and sprezzatura. These skills, and particularly the latter, would be useful following a period of controversy, closure and hostility that had contaminated even the courtiers, and especially those at the Roman court. Particular attention needed to be paid to monitoring the production and circulation of printed texts. In Italy and Europe, Rome was an important hub of communication and information. Copiers and other professionals, such as printers, and the evermore numerous agents and informants of foreign sovereigns at the Roman court, who were generally official and accredited, had multiplied and rendered the circulation of printed texts uncontrollable, more so than the manuscript reports and notices regarding members of the papal court. The distinction between political information and that for which blame could be attributed to the pope and his court, either blatantly or subtly, was, even for the most attentive censors, fluctuating and dangerously ambiguous. Since the Cinquecento the civic and religious authorities had found it difficult to regulate the circulation of printed texts which had altered the instruments of communication as well as perceptions of events. Manuscripts, which were more fragile and precarious, and not only from a graphic point of view, continued to circulate through different channels of communication. Sometimes these were addressed to a restricted public, to contexts characterized by their specific tasks in society. But they were also directed at private “collectors” attentive at gathering intriguing information, like chronicles, that were often fierce and scandalous. Manuscripts allowed people to evade censorship as well as the watchful eye of civic and religious authorities. More than printed texts, they permitted for the joint participation of the reader, his commentary, reflections, expressed in marginal annotations and the deliberate underlining of words and sentences. The curia and Congregation were well aware of the massive circulation of this dangerous material and the interests that fueled it. During the sessions it was therefore established, albeit repeatedly and in vain, that foreign heretics and paupers should never get their hands on “secret communications, court reports or other writings which are, by and large, full of slander, by virtue of which the entire North has been infected with terrible concepts of the Roman court, and seeing as how those writings are much sought after,

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there are many people in the city who, for their utility, and due to their malignant nature, do not widely distribute them to just anyone.”43 While the circulation of news was uncontrollable it was instead possible to personally monitor the stay of foreigners who, at any rate, were not supposed to stay in the city for very long “seeing that their staying for more than one season was not without mystery, nor was it considered suitable for heretics, after having satisfied their curiosity, to remain longer in Rome, even under the pretext of business or other negotiations, and this suspicion was furthered by the knowledge that occasionally many of them congregated.”44 In effect, there was no longer a discussion of prohibiting heretics from entering, even if the strict prohibitions, as espoused by the bulls, continued to remain in force. There was instead a focus on monitoring and limiting these individuals’ stay in Rome. Reducing their time spent in the city meant lessening the danger of contagion, the possibility for them to communicate with others, establish relations and disseminate the errors that foreigners displayed no desire to abandon. It was an interim solution and also revealed the many complications of the conversion politics elaborated in the Congregation and curia. The redesigned city, with its “modern” magnificence, to welcome and amaze foreigners was not the only influential component of the program. The apostolic palace and papal court would open their doors, particularly those of the Sala Regia, to exhibit the symbolic universality of the Church of Rome and the triumphant power of its sovereign.45 There were no shortage of good examples provided by prominent members of the curia and papal entourage. The pope’s majordomo, Girolamo Boncompagni, would meet with these foreigners, in the Sala Regia of Quirinale palace, spend time with them and sometimes, in accordance with the rules of etiquette, reciprocate by going to visit them “in their own houses.” If and when these “oltramontani gentlemen” fell ill, “they would 43

44 45

ACDF, SO, St. St. M 4-a, cc. 471v-472v. On the circulation of these many dangerous materials, both manuscript and in print, see Sabina M. Seidler, Il teatro del mondo. Diplomatische und journalistiche Relationen vom römischen Hof aus dem 17. Jahrhundert (Frankfurt: M. Lang, 1996), 189-205. On the circulation of news, Avvisi, pamplets in early modern Europe: The Politics of Information in Early Modern Europe ed. Brendan Dooley and Sabrina A. Baron (London and New York: Routledge, 2002); The Dissemination of News and the Emergence of Contemporaneity in Early Modern Europe, ed. Brendan Dooley (Farnham-Burlington: Ashgate, 2010); News Networks in Early Modern Europe ed. Joad Raymond and Noah Moxham (Leiden-Boston: Brill, 2016). ACDF, SO, St. St. M 4-a, c. 472v. On the Sala Regia: Opher Mansur, “Picturing Global Conversion: Art and Diplomacy at the Court of Paul V (1605-1621)”, Journal of Early Modern History, 17 (2013): 525-559; Mayu Fujikawa, “Pope Paul V’s global design: the fresco cycle in the Quirinal Palace”, Renaissance Studies, 30 (2014): 1-26.

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call upon the palace physicians and use other courtesies which were greatly appreciated.” But the foremost expression of courtesy was “to grant them an audience with His Holiness, from whom they received unparalleled generosity and clemency and left most satisfied.”46 Specially minted gold medals “bearing the effigy of His Holiness would be gifted to the more deserving foreigners who, in returning to their homelands, with this small token from the pope, would help to eradicate from the minds of their countrymen erroneous perceptions of Rome.” Along with this strategy of culturally conquering heretic foreigners, editorial operations would likewise mark Roman culture of the late seventeenth century. The publication of Christoph Rantzau’s letters to Georg Calixt was a concrete example of the propagandistic use of a conversionist text intended for immediate dissemination, even in Germany.47 On the editorial scene, help and collaboration were requested of “Propaganda Fide”, suggesting that there be printed “some spiritual books, which shall instruct on Confession and Holy Communion, such as that of Thomas Kempis in the German language.”48 It was further added that heretics justified their possession of books written in their mother tongue because “as they know no other language, nor are able to find Catholic spiritual books in many countries, in their language, they claim it is better to keep them rather than remain without any.”49 The invitation to publish and circulate texts in the German language which is “generally known by the Danes, Swedes and Norwegians,” also led to a complaint about the lack of book distribution in Rome. The cause of this shortage was certainly due to the censorship practiced by the Congregation of the Index, revealing how it was not always easy to find certain texts. Christoph Rantzau’s letters were referenced in particular and difficult to find in Roman bookstores yet “always sought by oltramontani gentlemen, Catholics and heretics alike, as well as those who recently turned to the faith.”50 In Rome there developed a “missionary strategy based on books” aimed at 46 47

48

49 50

Ibidem, c. 473v. Christoph Rantzau, Epistola ad G. Calixtum, qua sui ad Ecclesiam Catholicm accessus rationes exponit (Rome: 1662). On the correspondence and rapport between the German nobleman and the theologian, professor at Helmstedt, see Jürgen Stillig, Jesuiten, Ketzer und Konvertiten in Niedersachsen: Untersuchungen zum Religions- und Bildungswesen im Hochstift Hildesheim in der Frühen Neuzeit (Hildesheim: Bernward Verlag, 1993). Thomas von Kempen (Thomas a Kempis 1379?-1471), a German mystic, indicated as the author of the anonymous work titled De imitatione Christi libri quatuor (1418), which was extraordinarily successful, even during the seventeenth century, and also influenced paths to conversion, particularly under the guidance of the Jesuits. In 1607, in Antwerp, the Jesuit Somalibus published the opera omnia of Thomas von Kempen. ACDF, S O, St. St. M 4-a, cc. 322v-323r. Ibidem, c. 322r.

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heretic travelers. Since 1626, the year in which the Tipografia Po­liglotta was founded, this editorial and cultural strategy had marked the ­establishment of “a strong center of editorial production at the center of C ­ atholicism, where texts were well examined and attentively printed.”51 Since the second half of the sixteenth century, in the multifaceted Roman cultural and political context, images of the Ecclesia triumphans were developed, aimed at the world. The Vatican library played a fundamental role in this development. But access to study in the papal library was difficult to obtain and granted only to a select few, as confirmed by many scholars and intellectuals, but also by travelers and inquisitive people who visited Rome during the seventeenth century. It was instead much easier to consult books and manuscripts in other Roman libraries, like those of Queen Christina of Sweden. On 6 February 1685, Claude Estiennot wrote to Mabillon that, “we work tirelessly at the queen’s library.” This juxtaposed royal generosity with the prudent suspicion of the papal librarians. Other Roman libraries opened their doors to travelers, like those of Cardinal Altemps and Cardinal Baronio, described as “une des belles et riches de Rome.”52 The willingness to welcome and display the multifaceted, and positive side, of late seventeenth century Roman culture, the magnificence and glorious compassion of the court and pontiff towards heretic foreigners who arrived in the city, especially high-ranking ones, was not a gift in and of itself. It was a strategic reconquest of the heretic lands, of their princes and their subjects. Yet, until the mid-seventeenth century, religious divisions had bloodily stained European borders and foreigners in Rome were faced, in principle, with a position of intransigent closure and even of persecution, albeit modulated and nuanced according to different political European circumstances. The papal politics reflected the changes taking place in the European context, and, after the “infamous” Peace of Westphalia, left hope for a cultural reconquering of the reformed world, also possible by means of a message from Rome which the travelers themselves needed to convey. Conversion, especially at a high social level, became, above all, a cultural conversion, intended to regain an intrinsic

51 52

Giovanni Pizzorusso, “I satelliti di Propaganda Fide: il Collegio Urbano e la Tipografia Poliglotta. Note di ricercar su due istituzioni culturali romane nel XVII secolo,” Mélanges de l’École Française de Rome. Italie et Méditerranée, 116/2, (2004): 471-498 (citation on 485). Correspondence inédite de Mabillon et de Montfaucon avec l’Italie, contenant un grand nombre de faits sur l’Histoire religieuse et littéraire du 17e siècle suivie des lettres inédites du p. Quesnelles à Magliabechi, bibliothècaire du Grand-Duc de Toscane Côme III, et au Cardinal Noris, ed. Valery, (Paris: Jules Labitte, 1846), 51; 55.

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religious meaning, precisely through culture, and marked the beginning of a process that would reach its apex in the eighteenth century. The rituals and ceremonies of the Roman court, which presented a message of triumphant power and universality could become effective instruments of persuasion. It was, however, observed that these solemn manifestations, like the expression of artistic genius and generous papal and ecclesiastic patronage, could actually confirm the negative image of the pope and Rome that was already impressed upon the foreigners’ minds. Self-auto-censorship was therefore necessary in propagating a vision of a triumphant Rome in all of its magnificence. Lascivious or ambiguous images did not appear to aid in converting heretics, and other works of art, even if inspired by the Scriptures, could foster negative criticism of lavish papal magnificence, so far away from evangelical pattern and mission. Moreover, their location within the sacred palaces could appear, to the biased eyes of foreign observers, to promote mundane courtliness rather than devout adoration, such as, for instance, “the figure of the Eternal Father who gives the law to Moses depicted on the floor of the Royal Room at the Monte Cavallo, exposed to the trampling of men and dogs, let alone, a figure of a very nude female saint on the main altar of S. Quirico and the Last Judgment of Michelangelo painted in the Papal Chapel of St. Peter’s, with many figures who are entirely nude”.53 After a century, Michelangelo’s Last Judgment, which had already been criticized by Daniele da Volterra and other painters for its “obscene” representations, was still potentially capable of arousing scandal among visitors.54 Foreigners needed to admire, and be impressed by, the solemnity of the ceremonies. But it was more difficult to comprehend the covert language, the theological significance, and accept the long duration of the Roman rituals, considered by the noble Northern European guests to be an offense to their honor. Different ceremonial languages, and disregarded precedents, could provide a pretext for malevolent criticism of the court, of the slow rhythm and complexity of the ceremonies, and therefore validate the negative stereotypes already circulating in their countries. It was observed that, “it greatly irritates those said gentlemen to wait so long with Catholics and heretics who wish to be granted an audience with His Holiness. Some do not want to wait and depart with great disgust.” The travelers who chose instead to wait, were brought 53 54

ACDF, SO, St. St. M 4-a, c. 576r. For the image of the saint, see the painting depicting the martyrdom of St. Quirico and St. Giulitta, of the Domenichino school, Mario Bosi, SS. Quirico e Giulitta (Rome: Marietti, 1961), 31. On the Sistine Chapel, see, Cristina Acidini Luchinat, Michelangelo pittore, (Milan: 24 Ore Cultura, 2011).

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before the pope and could describe the majesty of the Vicar of Christ and bear witness to his glory, they “often left rejoicing with gold medals and great satisfaction.”55 The exemplary behavior and sensitivity of Alexander VII towards those who came from the German world, with which he was familiar, continued to be remembered during his pontificate and afterwards. In light of this positive receptivity which was displayed by the Roman court towards foreign ultramontani, it was proposed that cultural languages and communication be employed to pave the way to persuasion and conversion. And, “with respect to the treatment of the said signori it would be good to invite them to an academy of letters and subtly introduce the dogmas of faith.”56 Precisely during the 1670s, Rome played host to old and new academies that were viewed with both curiosity and interest all throughout Europe.57 However, precisely the insistence with which this approach was delineated, since the Chigi papacy, reveals, on the one hand, the closure of Roman academies vis-à-vis foreigners and, on the other, the very diffidence of foreigners in assimilating into the Roman cultural world. That which occurred in Rome was known throughout Europe and, as planned, benefits were reaped from refashioning the positive image of the Papacy and city. In June of 1622, Cardinal Barberini happily reported the progress of heretic conversions of which he had been informed by the nuncio of Cologne. With regard to the conversion of the Count of Salm, it was affirmed that, although the Jesuits had had a great influence, “credit must primarily be given to Prince Ernest Landgrave of Hesse, who had led him to Rome, where the slander that those ministers circulate in Germany against the ecclesiastic order and this court was disproven, and he was most satisfied by the kindness with which the heretics are treated and now informs that the ministers are deceiving all of Germany.”58 The example of a prince who converted to Catholicism upon his journey to Rome, demonstrated that personal influence and the magnificence of the city were much more powerful tools than polemics, in winning over others and converting them to the Roman faith.

55 56 57 58

ACDF, S.O, St. St. M 4-a, c. 315r. For the relevant meaning of the audience in the court’s ceremonial: Die Audienz. Ritualisierter Kulturkontakt in der Frühen Neuzeit, hg. Peter ­Buschel-Christine Vogel (Köln-Weimar-Wien: Böhlau, 2014). ACDF, SO, St. St. M 4-a, c. 315r. On the academies of this period, see Maria Pia Donato, Accademie romane: una storia sociale (1671-1824) (Naples: ESI, 2000). Die Protokolle der Propagandakongregation 1622-1649, hg. Hermann Tüchle (Paderborn: Bonifacius-Druckerei, 1962), 118-119.

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Indeed, favors and kindness towards high ranking neo-Catholics were largely offset by a politics adopted by some European sovereigns, as in Denmark, that were favorable to Catholics. The Oratorian Virgilio Spada, who was involved in the conversionist politics advocated and implemented by Alexander VII, and traditionally practiced by his order, recalled having aided a Norwegian gentleman “favored by his Majesty” who, along with his family, was suffering as a result of the Siege of Copenhagen, and not only with a generous bestowal of alms. In Rome, the gentleman was helped through an intervention by the Congregation for converts, of which Spada was a member, by Cardinal Boncompagni and Prince Borghese. Furthermore, it was underlined in a letter that Monsignor Vizzani “did many favors for the said gentleman, keeping him protected and […] upon returning to his homeland he quickly informed his King of the gifts and gracious treatment received from the Holy Prelates of this Court.” Virgilio Spada honored him with a gift of “a painting with an image of St. Jerome, along with special instructions to present it to that King, who was not only grateful for the painting but also satisfied by the benevolence shown to the said gentleman in Rome, and eagerly said that the prelates of the said court were most kind.”59 The kindness displayed to the Danish gentleman also had positive political effects. The Dane succeeded in avoiding retaliation against Catholics in Copenhagen at a time when the sovereign wanted to seek revenge for an affront that had occurred in Vienna during a ceremony “to the ambassador of Denmark, who was greatly offended.”60 It was further added that the friendship and affection “of the said gentlemen must be highly valued since, with his protection, more approval can be had in the Kingdom.” The kindness, and the tangible proof thereof, through the receipt of gifts and recounting of the experiences in Rome, contributed to projecting a polite image of the city and court to reformed Europe and to reformulating and spreading a message of Roman hospitality and kindness even towards non-Catholics. A few years later, confirmation of the success of this Roman politics of “caresses and courtesy” (carezze e cortesie) and of cultural receptivity towards foreigners, came from Denmark. The protagonist of this positive Roman experience was the painter Michael van Haven.61 He was “an upstanding person, short of money, and hired by the King of Denmark during the war ­between the sovereign and Sweden,”62 and was aided by the Congregation. Monsignor 59 60 61 62

ACDF, SO, St. St. M 4-a, c. 323rv. Ibidem, c. 323v. Michael Van Haven (1625 ca- 1679), son of Salomon, was with his brother Lambert in Rome between 1653 and 1657, when he returned to Denmark and worked with his brother Lambert in decorating the castle of Federikborg. The war between Frederick III and Charles X (1657-1660).

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Vizzani “did him many favors and fervently protected him from certain painters who persecuted him.” The painter also received help from Cardinal Boncompagni, who succeeded in obtaining commissions from Prince Borghese. Prior to leaving for Denmark, he was hosted for several days by the pope “and honored with kindness by Monsignor Majordomo, now Cardinal Boncompagni.” Even in this case, the uplifting story of his Roman experience was fundamental in spreading word of Roman hospitality abroad. “After returning to his homeland, he recounted to the king all of the favors and honors granted unto him by the Papal court, which very much delighted the sovereign (as the painter informs me) and the king was likewise pleased with a small painting sent to him by Monsignor Spada and stated that he had not believed that Roman prelates were so kind. The aforesaid painter is today in such great favor and esteemed by the king that the sovereign often goes to his house to observe him working and hear him recount his experience in Rome, since the painter was here for around four years, and, as a result, the king commissioned a large painting, of one hundred ungari, and the painter informs me that he desires to see it quickly finished, and requests that I facilitate. The artist commissioned to make the aforesaid painting is Valenthuomo, a German Catholic and good friend of the king’s painter, who greatly wishes to have the protection of Cardinal Chigi. He is envied and continues to have disagreements with certain Flemish painters. The Congregation or signor majordomo should call upon him, caress him a bit and tell him to take care that the painting please the said king, and thus day by day he shall become closer to the Catholic faith and also gain Catholics in the service of the King.”63 Though this letter was also unsigned it was undoubtedly written by someone very close to the Chigi court, who was well aware of the Congregation’s activities for helping converts and was capable of using exceptional case of the painter as an instrument of propaganda within the curia. The German painter named in the document was Hermann Allerding, as stated in a memorial, in the form of notes, wherein it specified the strategy for improving the reception of heretic travelers by making use of those already living in Rome. It was ­written that, “in via Margutta, behind via del Babuino, there is a painter called Hermanno Allerding, who three years ago was commissioned to make a ­painting for the King of Denmark, to be paid one hundred thalers by a painter [Michael van Haven], who is favored by the sovereign, was in Rome at the time and the recipient of much kindness. The painting has yet to be completed and the king very much desires to have it […] such that he added another hundred thalers to the purchase price. Thus in light of the kindness shown to the said 63

ACDF, SO, St. St. M 4-a, cc. 484r-485r.

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painter, and the fondness displayed by the king to Catholics, it would be opportune to urge the shipment of the painting.”64 This emphasized the important role of mediation played in the court by artists who, often unwittingly, transmitted messages and carried out missions that extended beyond the purview of their jobs. The multifaceted world of foreign artists in Rome was often viewed with suspicion and fear by the authorities, who knew that therein nested heretical germs, manifested in provocative and disorderly behavior, blasphemous and irreverent words and the possession of “very dangerous” books. Yet the world of foreign artists could become an instrument for transmitting the new image of the Papacy to Europe as well as its policies toward foreigners who came to Rome. In short, the Alexandrian program was based on communication through images, objects, words and personal experiences. 4

The Heretic’s Language

Though incomprehensible to most Romans, the language spoken by a for­ eigner represented their most important means of assimilation among their compatriots in Rome and into one of the various communities that firmly maintained their identity far from home. Language protected new arrivals and separated them from the rest of the host society. A common language allowed foreigners to understand, via their community and compatriots, the positive and negative aspects of the city, its inhabitants, the pope and the Roman court. Therefore, for those charged with the task of monitoring foreigners, it was imperative to know these languages, to fully understand what images of Rome were being propagated by foreigners within her walls and to know which negative ideas were circulating in their homelands and perhaps being reiterated and reinforced by compatriots living in the city. The knowledge of a foreigner’s language allowed them to be approached at a moment when they were isolated from their entourage and thus offered an opportunity to begin the process of reeducation and conversion. It also allowed the opening of new avenues for compensating the losses that would have inevitably arisen from their choice of religion: such as the loss of personal effects, the affection of friends and relatives, the social solidarity enjoyed in their religious milieu of origin, and loss of their personal identity constructed and entrenched in social networks. Knowledge of the languages spoken in foreign communities led to ­other considerations of the role and significance of the group in question. The foreign nationes that had been present in Rome since the Middle Ages, as we 64

Ibidem, c. 578v.

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have seen, retained their attraction as vehicles for integration, or at least traits d’union between foreigners and Roman society, well into the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Yet while the English College was more easily controlled due to its function in educating clergy and the roles played by the cardinal protectors and other curia members in the College, the rapports with other foreign presences and their institutions were significantly more complicated. The Congregation and the Holy Office fostered diffidence towards the large German community in Rome, repeatedly described as “scandalous” and a surefire repository for heretics. In Roman society the natio had exhibited ambiguous traits, because the difficult language to understand: they were seen as dangerous. It was stressed that aside from contact with artists – considered eccentric individuals who frequently led less than desirable lives – many of the “oltramontani heretics most inclined to abjure were led astray, diverted by ­language speakers of the same sect living in Rome.” Indeed, serious damage was caused by “German bakers who, with their licentious and scandalous lives, divert from the path of righteousness many of the foreigners who come to this city to confirm the dogmas which ministers in their countries propagate against Rome.”65 As such, it was opportune to intervene within the German national church to “introduce into the Chiesa dell’Anima, at every feast day, a homily in the German language, not only for the edification of foreigners, but also for that of the bakers themselves.” In fact, those individuals “whose curiosity was at times piqued” would attend these sermons in their language and, with the vigilance of “good priests and their exhortations, it would certainly be easy to convince them to frequent the congregations and oratories, like those of Jesus or of St. Francis Xavier.”66 The church of Santa Maria del Campo Santo Teutonico was a religious and devotional point of reference and aggregation for the large community of artisans, bakers, cobblers and other members of the German lower class. Conversely, the upper class, constituted by curia members, more or less official representatives of territorial Catholic princes and wealthy merchants gravitated around the national church of Santa Maria dell’Anima. Sermons could also be given in Latin and therefore alienate a group that continued to speak its own language. In the eyes of the pope’s collaborators and members of the Holy Office, Santa Maria dell’Anima needed to become a regulated and safe center of reception, persuasion and conversion. During its meetings, entry into the Congregation was repeatedly requested by the administrator of Santa 65 ACDF, So, St. St. M 4-a, c. 643v. 66 Ibidem.

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Maria dell’ Anima, Johannes Emerix. Whereas in the first decades of the century the work of the Lincean physician, Johannes Faber, had been prominent, it was now Emerix who seemed to be a vital mediator between the German community and the curia, a person able to enforce and apply the papal conversionist politics. His munificence, of which there are many examples, his solid theological preparation and, last but not least, his numerous connections with the upper offices of the Roman curia gave hope for bringing “that German nation to serve converts.”67 The church, and the surrounding community, especially certain leading members, both ecclesiastic and lay, officers of the Rota, physicians, students and artists, all served as strategic and reliable figures for monitoring transient oltramontani, travelers and other compatriots who would remain in the city in search of employment, perhaps in the curia, or simply to admire the antiquities. The program of courteous reception clashed with the trouble of finding people willing to lead foreigners to the Holy Office “to abandon and abjure heresy.” Even the effectiveness of the most solid and time-tested instruments of conversion – like confession – appeared to falter given the trouble in communicating with those who spoke another language. The penitentiaries of St. Peter, for instance, complained that they “were often impeded either in catechizing at home or in church, not having other fathers [and] therefore could not quickly attend to the said heretics who were ardently desirous to relieve themselves of this heavy weight upon their souls and then better attend to their other concerns.”68 Language barriers were coupled with other problems, such as the precarious financial situation and troubled organization inside the Congregation, that regularly marked the institution and conditioned the incisiveness of its activities. The discussion of language and the possibility – or rather necessity – of communicating became more intense and precise in the second half of the seventeenth century, when the decision was made to follow a conversion strategy founded upon the power of words. Memorials presented 67

68

Ibidem, c. 619r. On J. Emerix, see Joseph Schmidlin, Geschichte der Deutschen National­ kirche in Rom S. Maria dell’Anima (Freiburg-Wien: Herder, 1906), 479, 483, 502; Noack, Das Deutschtum in Rom, I. Bruno Indekeu, Emerix, Johannes, in Biographisch-­Bibliographisches Kirchenlexicon, XXIV (Nordhausen: Bautz, 2005), 562-567 and the related bibliography. The documents housed in the archive of the church of Santa Maria dell’Anima offer a rich panorama, which still needs to be examined in detail, of the function, not only devotional and charity related of the German institution in Rome. Of particular interest, both for the role played by certain high ranking membes, like Theodoro Ameyden or Lukas Holste, see Decreta (1590-1638) and the miscellaneous volumes: ASMA, A V, t. 4; V, t. 6. ACDF, SO, St. St. M 4-a, c. 312r. On the crucial role of confession in the conversion process see Adriano Prosperi, Tribunali della coscienza. Inquisitori, confessori, missionari (Turin: Einaudi, 1996).

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during the mid-seventeenth century not only repeatedly propose a politics based on “courtesy,” using words and cultural persuasion to refashion a new image of Rome and of its sovereign and Catholic culture. The memorials also rang out with accusations against the intensification of polemic in theological works and controversialist texts, that had marked the Roman position in the seventeenth century. It is therefore no coincidence that, precisely from the second half of the seventeenth century, there was, in both Catholic and reformed territories, pressure for interfaith dialogue. For instance, the following important seventeenth century irenical discussion, though certainly incomplete, had among its most active protagonists Leibniz, who had described ­Alexander VII as a “liberal humanist” (humanista liberale) and Ernest of HesseRheinfels too.69 Indeed, it was warned that, it is no longer necessary for the congregation that speakers of the Italian language, guides, interpreters and innkeepers primarily depend upon our majordomo as its prefect. Four language speakers, gentlemen, or two erudite Christians shall make more progress in converting heretic gentlemen than would 50 famous theologians […] Great service can be done for the Catholic faith by language speakers. I do not refer to those who are Mercenaries who know only how to teach the language. Sometimes an oltramontano gentleman is found to have squandered everything in corrupt conversation and, in order to continue this life, approaches the first neophytes who arrive in the city and corrupts many good temperaments. Ordinarily, the language speakers and guides are highly esteemed and trusted by these said signori and the greatest connection they have to Rome, and the condition of all the cardinals and major prelates receive from these speakers: yet, in my opinion, it would be very good for our majordomo to call upon them all one day, with his graciousness, and recommend that the said gentlemen in their care be counseled, shown charity, and shown or given good examples, and carry out the great good found in Rome, and also introduce them, or that is, have them converse, with upstanding men who the said teachers inform.70 The aforementioned “Rules for those entering the congregation,” written after 1667, specified the procedure to follow with regards to the increasing number 69 70

André Robinet, Leibniz iter Italicum mars 1689-mars 1690 (Florence: Olschki, 1988), 96. On the rapports established in the Roman milieu between the landgrave and the philosopher, see 56-66. ACDF, SO, St. St. M 4-a, cc. 315v-317r.

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of “signori oltramontani” present in Rome. It also highlighted the shortcomings and contradictions of the system of Roman congregations, designed to address and conceivably resolve, the issues arising from the conversion of foreigners, as revealed by the frequent conflicts between “Propaganda Fide” and the Holy Office during the course of the seventeenth century. Problems including how to contain mounting poverty became all the more urgent and the Congregation’s diverse positions are made clear vis-à-vis ultramontani gentlemen and nobles, on the one hand, and, on the other, travelers, workers, vagabonds and those who could not rely on adequate resources to sustain themselves. During the meetings the need to find “some sustenance to help the poor neophytes during the time in which they are catechized,” was regularly repeated. The “poor” convert remained a dangerous, liminal, figure who was, perhaps, not entirely convinced of his choice and still devoid of an identity that would permit full integration into the new community. Thus the problem of “reliance” emerged and of finding adequate financial resources which were necessary for connecting neo-Catholics with their new faith, since “the poor converts truly leave everything behind for the Holy Faith and come to Rome, sometimes nude and crude, without knowledge of the language or any familiarity with worldly matters, and worse still, desperate and curse those who persuaded them to come to Rome.”71 From the beginning of this century and particularly during the suppression of beggary, the Congregation reaffirmed that “this freedom does not allow for heretics to convert to the Catholic faith.”72 Begging on the part of those who had abandoned their error would have been a setback for the Church. Indeed, it would have made the Church appear incapable of creating “normal” conditions for the convert, to compensate for the loss of their former ‘protestant’ identity. The new identity – the catholic – was not yet (and perhaps never would be!) completely internalized, cultivated by their conversion and officialized by a report issued by the Holy Office. Thus if, on the one hand, the need to control, detain and catechize poor converts became all the more pressing, on the other, it was essential to proceed with prudence and courtesy, and use courtly manners to introduce foreigners – nobles and gentleman – in the “great theater of the world.” For “it would be good for the oltramontani gentlemen, Catholics and heretics alike, to follow the recommendations of the Apostolic Palace and of other pleasant-mannered and influential men.” Should individuals with “vile and evil souls dare to oppose them,” it would be

71 72

Ibidem, c. 313rv. ACDF, SO, St. St. I 2-e, c. 417v: like, for instance, in 1620 and 1660.

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enough for two or three “gentleman to be appointed to care for and protect those said signori.”73 In the second half of the seventeenth century, and as a consequence of Alexander VII’s politics, other problems developed, such as the issue of burial of foreign heretics who roamed, stopped and if by chance died in the Eternal City. In the view of the curia and papal court, reeducation of these foreigners was imperative for leading them to completely abandon their error while alive. The desired result could be achieved if accompanied by hospitality and material assistance, especially for the most vulnerable. At this point, conversionist politics were tied to the larger strategies of reclusion and assistance, which were also in place in Rome. But it was not enough to tend to foreigners and provide them with a convincing and engaging welcome during their stay in the city. This could all be thwarted by the certainty of a dishonorable burial, which was a stain not only on the honor of gentlemen and nobles, but above all on the Roman Church in Europe which was establishing dialogue between Christian denominations, albeit with reluctance and difficulty. The debate over the honorable burial of heretics could therefore not be allowed to be a logical consequence of the politics of open-mindedness towards the “Christian non-Catholic gentlemen,” as an anonymous author labeled those individuals who, up until then, had simply been called “heretics”.74 73 74

ACDF, SO, St. St. M 4-a, c. 314r. ACDF, SO, St. St. M 4-a (2), cc. nn.

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Petitions, Enclosures and Burials 1

Petitions and Intermediaries

Since its foundation, one of the Congregation’s most pressing concerns was that of providing new converts with initial and necessary financial aid, all the more so after Alexander VII’s decision to revive the institution and better define its goals. Yet financial resources had always been scarce and dependent upon the generosity of individuals, the bequests of nobles and clerics such as the 2,000 scudi donated by Virgilio Spada and also on debt houses, and the monthly allowance of fifty scudi granted by “Propaganda Fide.” In fact, the income failed to compensate even those who, for years, with their knowledge of the “ultramontane languages,” had liaised between foreigners, the curia and the papal court. Such was the case of the Dane, Federico Lucht, who had converted to Catholicism, become a priest, and oversaw the revenue of the Congregation de iis sponte ad fidem veniunt. After many years of service, he entreated the Holy Office and “Propaganda Fide” to provide him with a monthly allowance, seeing as he had been employed for sixteen years in the service of the Holy Faith, as an interpreter for the oltramontani converts, had catechized them, and confessed some in the northern languages, which were understood by few confessors. He had visited them when they ailed and provided them with various forms of aid. And he liaised with the Roman authorities on behalf of the oltramontani gentlemen such that they would be content with the goodness of the Roman court, and depart from the city happy. The entreater desires that grace so as to be all the more enthusiastic in his undertaking of these tasks and be better able to receive the said gentlemen who come looking for a room, whereas at present he is impoverished.1 Federico Lucht was ultimately granted an allowance of ten scudi.2 A sizeable number of petitions were forwarded to the Congregation for converts, the Holy Office, “Propaganda Fide,” cardinals and even the pope himself, by those 1 ACDF, SO, St. St. M 4-a, c. 482r. Another of his petitions to obtain a stipend, c. 588r. 2 Ibidem, c. 482v.

© Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2020 | doi:10.1163/9789004422667_010

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who had abjured their heresy. But petitions were also sent by people who, like the Danish prelate, had actively collaborated with the Congregation as interpreters and now demanded tangible proof of papal charity. As is known, petitions touted a stereotype depicting the petitioner as impoverished, disadvantaged and honest, so as to elicit pity and, in this case, financial aid.3 Aside from the recurring emphasis on misery, peril and illness, the petitions of those wishing to begin a life in Rome, elsewhere in the peninsula, or return to their homelands with a new religious identity aid in understanding the difficulties of assimilation and the hopes and frustrations arising from the decision to change one’s faith. The receiving of alms, the possibility of employment at court, or in a city were not only concrete forms of aid but also confirmed one’s choice of religion. Nevertheless, there were instances of fraud which, when they occurred, were reported to the Congregation. Finally in 1670, precisely to remedy such schemes, Federico Lucht was charged with the task of verifying the “truth” of the poverty claimed in the petitions.4 For those living as liminal neo-Catholics a sponsor, if and when available, was a potential guarantee for escaping a condition of marginality and uncertainty. Those who wrote recommendations aided both in identifying petitioners and the veracity of their destitution. The first step for individuals arriving in Rome claiming to be “naked and hungry” (nudus et famelicus), but intent upon returning to the true faith, was to forward a petition either to the Holy Office or “Propaganda Fide.” On rare occasions, the petition was accompanied by a letter of recommendation bearing the name of the sponsor, a cardinal or member of the Roman congregations. Otherwise a letter might be endorsed by a Catholic nobleman, or clergy member, the petitioner had met either in his homeland or during his travels. In their petitions the supplicants spoke of the former identity they had willingly abandoned along with significant financial and material loss. The use of Latin served as an immediate guarantee of the necessary preparation and acculturation that would favor their admittance into the new society. In other instances, Latin was mixed with Spanish, leading members of the Congregation to compose extensive summaries in Latin which, in their own way, were 3 For an analysis of these texts, of the documentary value, see Irene Fosi, ““Beatissimo Padre”: suppliche e lettere nella Roma barocca”, in Suppliche e gravamina. Politica, amministrazione, giustizia in Europa (secoli XIV-XVIII), ed. Cecilia Nubola, Andreas Würgler, (Bologna: Il Mulino, 2002): 343-365. An analysis – which adds little at an interpretive level to what is elaborated in the aforementioned volumes – of petitions forwarded to the Holy Office is done by Albrecht Burkhardt, “Suppliques et recommandations dans la pratique du Saint-Office,” in La politique par correspondence. Les usages politiques de la lettre en Italie (XIVe-XVIIIe siècle), ed. Jean Boutier, Sandro Landi, Olivier Rouchon (Rennes: Presses Universitaires de Rennes, 2009), 223-247. 4 ACDF, SO, St. St. M 4-a, c. 590r.

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letters of recommendation, supported by a detailed description of the hardships, abilities and social status of the petitioner, the latter of which was being seriously threatened. For example Ludovico of Auspert wrote that Twenty months ago, [he] having abjured the heresy of Calvin, as indicated in the testimonies and certificates from Cardinal Ginetti, signed by himself, was, by his mother and other relatives, fraudulently stripped of all his possessions and, having found himself in need came to Rome to receive from Your Lordship some relief from his miseries. And when he did not receive said relief, he did not know what to do, since, on the one hand, some of the relatives show him many possessions he shall have if he were to return to heresy and, on the other, his need became so great that he was tempted by the comfort he had known in the past, as per his ancient nobility, which prevents him from requesting alms, as he is known as such, and was for fifteen years captain of a cavalry company in France.5 Detailed descriptions of the past, with hope for better future, are common. In some cases, the letters written by converts to the Roman congregations recapitulated their religious choices in the usual tragic tones. Giovanni Virtù, for instance, “of the valle di Lucerna in Piedmont,” requested material aid “to support his life in the service of His Divine Majesty and of the Holy Apostolic See, so that the heretics do not deride him and so that those among them who are predisposed to convert not lose interest upon seeing neo-Catholics reduced to panhandling and starvation.”6 This was the Congregation’s fear and is frequently repeated in the peti­tions – almost as if blackmail – by those who had accepted and likely suffered as a result of changing religious faith. To obtain material aid, petitions and letters were also sent to the Congregation “Propaganda Fide” and then forwarded to the Holy Office. On 9 May 1667, during a session of the Tribunal of Faith, aid was requested for the Saxon convert Johann Siegfried Goebelin. He was recom­ mended by the Bishop of Namur, the rector of the local Jesuit college and the Count of Montfort, “under whose command he had been a standard bearer.” Johann Siegfried had come to Rome “out of devotion” and did not wish to return to Flanders. Yet, “seeing as it was not possible to live in any other manner, as he had made enemies of all his relatives, and particularly his mother, who

5 ACDF, SO, St. St. M 4-a, c. 439r. 6 Ibidem, c. 456r.

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went crazy upon learning of his conversion,” he was granted 10 scudi.7 Even in these instances social differences were clear and decisive. It was parish priests who recommended poor converts, to reassure the authorities, and especially the Holy Office, of the sincerity of their conversion, and request alms to temporarily deter them from the danger of vagrancy and trial before the Roman tribunals. Some mistakenly wrote to the Holy Office, having been informed by others of its fame and, fearful and ill-advised, turned to the supreme Tribunal of Faith to resolve more complex situations. A woman from Amsterdam, for instance, “who had converted to the Catholic faith” attempted to explain in “disjointed sentences” that, due to her “extreme poverty,” she had married a heretic nephew. Now, so as to not compromise her soul, and perhaps save that of her nephew-husband, she requested a dispensation. Since the petition was unclear and written in very poor Latin the inquisitors requested further clarification.8 “Catherina flandra” had instead come to Rome from Rimini and asked for “permission to eat dairy products” (licentiam vescendi laticinis) during Lent. The cardinals however responded that the request “would not be considered by the Holy Office.”9 The petitions, generally accompanied by recommendations, were sent to the Congregation or curia members by nobles and gentlemen who had converted to Catholicism during their stay in Italy or had participated in this “Roman” ritual as the final step to the conversion undertaken in their homelands. In the second case, they could present letters from important Northern European Catholic figures, like German bishops and princes, and Jesuits and Capuchins, involved in the re-Catholicization of the territories that had fallen into heretic hands.10 For those who instead partook in this experience in Rome letters were written by illustrious converts already assimilated into the Roman society and court. Lukas Holste, Christina of Sweden, Cardinal Frederick of Hesse and Philip Thomas Howard, Cardinal of Norfolk, were among the more regular sponsors who, thanks to their extensive networks, could secure temporary or permanent positions at the Italian courts. However, many were unable to obtain the assistance of powerful protectors, and their requests for aid became self-recommendations, thus eliminating all typological differences between the two forms of writing. Robert Vatson, “a Scottish convert,” for instance, declared to the Holy Office that he had lost his property “and suffered 7 8 9 10

Die Protokolle der Propagandakongregation zu deutschen Angelegenheiten 1622-1649, hg. Hermann Tüchle (Paderborn: Bonifacius-Druckerei, 1962), 204. ACDF, SO, Decreta (1705), c. 216v. ACDF, SO, Decreta (1610), c. 90v. On the topic, see Irene Fosi, “Roma e gli ‘ultramontani’: conversioni, viaggi, identità,” Quellen und Forschungen aus italienischen Archiven und Bibliotheken, 81 (2001): 351-395.

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the enmity and indignation of his relatives and friends.” He therefore petitioned for “some assistance to support himself and was eager to engage in some form of honorable servitude.” Vatson was granted six scudi, but there is no way of knowing whether the intercession of Cardinal Frederick of Hesse, to whom the petition was sent as “protector of the German Nation,” had been effective.11 The fear of being derided by non-Catholics consistently appear in the petitions and especially those of nobles who had been deprived of property, and whose honor and social prestige had been impacted by their religious affiliation.12 A nobleman from Hannover, Giusto Enrico Barnsdorf, had been in Rome for eight months, “having abjured his Lutheran errors before Christmas and having become Catholic as per the testimony of the father inquisitor, whose change of religion leaves no hope for him to receive any assistance from his father to live as he had before.”13 He was accorded six scudi, which was no doubt insufficient for ensuring a dignified existence either in Rome or in his homeland. For convert Maurizio Herling of Dortmund, the requested assistance would serve to obtain dignified employment. Like many others, he had decided to stay in Rome and wished to join the company of German soldiers stationed at Capo le Case. But “not being able to procure honorable clothing, due to his extreme poverty, and with the tattered and torn clothes he wears today, he was excluded.”14 On 25 February 1671 he too was granted six scudi. Noblemen who had served in a prince’s military could certainly count on receiving recommendations. And these would prove particularly effective if, through a series of calculated moves, they happened to arrive in the hands of influential members of the Roman court. Now that the wars which had devastated the imperial territories were over, it was common, during the second half of the seventeenth century, to find unemployed soldiers, occasionally with their spouses and children in tow, who, persuaded either by fellow soldiers, Catholic superiors or religious zealots, had converted in their countries and come to Rome, spurred on by hope for a better future. In these writings, some of the soldiers who had served in European countries included references from foreign patrons boasting of their meritorious military accomplishments or “ancient noble lineage.”15 Giacomo Bernardo van Huys, an aristocrat from Brandenburg and lieutenant colonel of the infantry “in the war of Germany,” had abjured his Lutheranism, as affirmed in a declaration made by Cardinal Harrach. He had come to Rome “to satisfy a vow 11 12 13 14 15

ACDF, SO, St. St. M 4-a, c. 651r. Ibidem, c. 590r. Ibidem, 626r. Ibidem, c. 635r. Ibidem, cc. 647r-657r.

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made during his conversion and, along the way, was robbed of that which he had brought with him on his journey, and was left to suffer, especially since no one had aided him in returning to Germany.” Aside from material aid, he requested a letter of recommendation for the Legate of Bologna “to obtain justice for that which had been stolen from him.”16 His petition contained stereotypical traces of both the récits de conversion and biographical accounts summarized in the abjurations made by sponte comparentes. The vow made at the moment of conversion, the journey to Rome, and the theft of his belongings are themes similar to those found in well-known conversion stories. Was the German gentleman’s tale true? Whatever the case may be, his faith in justice, and above all in the powerful intercession of Cardinal Harrach, earned him a pittance of twelve scudi, twice the amount customarily granted. Some petitioners composed a curriculum vitae in Latin in the hopes of establishing a new and dignified life in Rome. Three scudi were allocated to “professor” Alexander Curtius who had presented himself as a “devoted servant” to the prelates of the Congregation, to whom he had been referred by “Propaganda Fide.” This was a common practice whereby requests were transferred from one Congregation to another in order to delay a definitive decision.17 Other petitioners, both from Northern Europe and elsewhere, highlighted their abilities and competencies. Such was the case of Alonso Centurione, “a Turk turned Christian, eighteen years ago, who was able to read, write and cook, and make pastries, cakes, sweets and other delicacies, having served the Duke of Tursi and his master, Ippolito Centurione […] requesting an opportunity to perform his service, stay and therefore not die of hunger.” He petitioned Monsignor Vizzani “to order the master or owner of the San Pietro factory to hire him, and he shall pray for the health and increase of his house.”18 Innocenzio Lodovico Antonio Barberini “who abjured the errors of the sect of Mohammed, and was baptized in the Catholic Faith by Antonio Barberini, also turned to the accessor of the Holy Office, Emanuele Vizzani, to ask “for work that would provide meals, so he need not cook for himself, and a room and bed, as well as other subsidies for clothing.” He promoted himself for a position regularly needed by the Roman congregations and specified that, “aside from 16 17

18

Ibidem, c. 489r. He had presented himself clearly: “sum medicus a plurimis annis, Professor etiam nuper Academica Holsatica in Germania apud Lutheranos olim etiam Gymnasij Illustris Rector, ac pluribus annis eloquentiae Professor, multarum gnarus idiomatum, totoque peregrinatus orbe. Sive in re medica (quam hactenus non infeliciter exercui) sive in scholis, sive in interpretando intra vel extra Urbem occurrat quidpiam sive tandem aliqua alia honesta sustentationis sese offerat via”: ACDF, SO, St. St. M 4-a, c. 713r. Ibidem, c. 379v.

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the Turkish and Greek languages, which he could interpret, he could perform other duties, deemed worthy of his undertaking, since he had been born a nobleman in his country.”19 His requests were also aimed at preserving his honor and, in some way, recovering his former social status which had been repressed by his conversion. Some petitioners, like a soldier in 1726 who had served the Duke of Mecklemburg, were unfamiliar with the Church’s abjuration procedures and insisted upon renouncing their error before the pope himself. His request was naturally denied, and the Secretary of State made it clear that he was to abjure before the Holy Office. But the tenacious soldier, having not been sufficiently discouraged, asked to be confirmed by the pope. He was again refused and only succeeded in obtaining a recommendation to “serve” the King of Poland.20 It is difficult to know what became of most of the petitioners who recounted their experiences in the abjuration forms. Some repeatedly solicited the Roman congregations while others entreated members of religious orders, like the Jesuits, perhaps on the advice of acquaintances and friends, to study in one of the city’s numerous colleges or to obtain further assistance. Others, and certainly the majority, left no discernable trace. The granting of a request was dependent upon a number of factors, one of which was undoubtedly the role of the petitioner’s patron. It was difficult to find a powerful figure willing to assume responsibility, via informal connections, letters, or even by word of mouth, for the petitions sent to the curial entities by foreign Catholic converts. During the seventeenth century, individuals close to the papal family and that of the cardinal nephew were sought after intermediaries. And, in these cases, there was a veritable coordinated push to access these elevated people. Through the pastor, bishop, or member of the local clergy, it was possible to reach a cardinal, or else, a compatriot, who had made a career in Rome, the curia or the papal court. Their intercession could prove vital and features of the society of the ancien régime played a role in designating patrons: a shared origin, service, loyalty and feudal rapports. In the case of Catholic converts, however, other factors came into play, especially if they were high-ranking. The accounts of the goldsmith Fischer, the physician Johannes Faber and the pamphleteer Guillaume Reboul, reveal the chain of protection, mediation, the partiality towards these converts, in their social roles and in the Roman court, which could prove beneficial to compatriots, “friends” or friends of 19 20

Ibidem, c. 373rv. AAV, Segreteria di Stato, Memoriali e biglietti, vol. 40 (30 September 1726). This case, like others, confirms both the diffusion of the petitions in the diverse curial congregations as well as the interwoven competencies that could foster both collaboration and conflicts.

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friends, whether still living in error or willing to renounce it. The papal court was a vital hub of mediation that, with diverse efficacies, created a wide ranging and informal network of relations.21 During the seventeenth century the cardinal protectors of the nations played an important role, not only in the diplomatic sphere. But alongside them there developed a concentric system of connections: individuals, institutions, religious orders, national communities and churches, and parish priests, with whom foreigners could enter into contact during their stay in Rome. In the multifaced Roman context of the midseventeenth century, especially influential figures, linked with the German world were Cardinal Frederick of Hesse-Darmstadt, whose name repeatedly appears in the petitions of converts requesting various forms of aid, and the German Barberini’s librarian Lukas Holste. Lukas Holste, or Holstenio, as everyone called him, died in Rome in 1661. His life had been divided between his “natural” homeland – he was born in Hamburg on 26 September 1596 – and Rome where he arrived in 1627, after having traveled to a number of European countries. He had been protected by the Barberini family, and particularly by the cardinal nephew, Francesco, whom he had met in France during his extraordinary legation. He had become the cardinal’s “familiare” and was referred to, in his recommendations, as “my servant, a person of erudition and letters.”22 He sought, though not without difficulty, to reconcile his humanist passion for literature with the diplomatic and military tasks he was assigned by the nephews of Urban VIII.23 Holste had converted to Catholicism in Paris on 15 December 1625, thanks to the intervention of several Jesuits, and had hidden this decision to avoid hurting his family. It does not, however, appear that the possibility of entering into contact with Cardinal Barberini’s court, at the time in Paris for the extraordinary 21

22 23

The bibliography on this topic is already quite rich, with respect to the informal relations in the Roma court and curia – synthesized in the concepts of “Verflechtung” and “Mikro­ politik” that guided careers, clientage, friends at the Roman court – see Wolfgang Reinhard, Freunde und Kreaturen. “Verflechtung”als Konzept zur Erforschung historischer Führungsgruppe. Römische Oligarchie um 1600, (München: Verlag Ernst Vögel, 1979); id., “Amici e creature.” For a discussion on these topics: Birgit Emich, Stand und Perspektive der Patronage Forschung, Historische Forschung, 32, (2005): 233-265; ead., “Der Hof ist die Lepra des Papsttums“ (Papst Franziskus): Patronage und Verwaltung an der römischen Kurie der Frühen Neuzeit, in Soldgeschäfte, Klientelismus, Korruption in der Frühen Neuzeit. Zum Soldunternehmertum der Familie Zurlauben im schweizerischen und europäischen Kontext, hg. Hans Kaspar von Greyerz, André Holenstein, Andreas Würgler, (Göttingen: V&R Verlag, 2018), 71-83. BAV, Barb. lat. 6485, c. 10r: letter from Francesco Barberini to the Principe di Paternò, May 6, 1637. On the topic, see Markus Völkel, Römische Kardinalshaushalte des 17. Jahrhunderts., 267306.

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legation sponsored by Urban VIII, had been pivotal in his decision to convert. The young Holste’s aspirations instead seemed to have been aimed at the imperial court, where many had attained prestigious careers by having abandoned their error and accepted the true faith. His Roman episode was, among other things, marked by his role as a trait-d’union, liaison between the North and South, between Catholics and Protestants, between truth and error, for those who abandoned the faith of their fathers and homeland and came to Rome to begin a new life. His monumental tomb in the German national church of Santa Maria dell’Anima celebrates the victory of the true faith over heresy, denoted in the famous medallion commemorating his conversion.24 In 1638 Holste accompanied the young landgrave Frederick of Hesse-­ Darmstadt, to Malta. He had converted to Catholicism in 1636 and entered into the order of the Knights of Malta, later becoming grand prior of Germany and prefect of the galleys. Frederick was the third-born son of Ludwig of HesseDarmstadt and a very controversial figure. He had kept his title, in the tradition of the landgraviate, but had neither the possibility of advancing nor sufficient resources to live respectably.25 Upon his father’s death in 1626 the title was passed to his brother Georg II and it seemed that Frederick would need to seek career opportunities elsewhere in Europe. He had traveled to France and Italy in the fashion of the Kavalierstour and went to Rome, for the second time, in October of 1635. Here, though traveling incognito for financial reasons, he quickly found himself at the center of the vibrant Barberini court, as well as those of the imperial agent, Federico Savelli and Cardinal Maurice of Savoy. In 1635 he made a brief trip to Malta where he was attracted to the order of knights, comprised of young European nobles, for its intertwining of military service and ecclesiastic careers.26 This led to Frederick’s conversion which, according to observers, had been dictated by the possibility of establishing a career in both Malta and Rome, also due to the intercession of the Barberini family and particularly Cardinal Antonio. Late in the Thirty Years’ War, his conversion would be used propagandistically to reaffirm the power of the 24 25

26

Tomaso Montanari, “Gli intellettuali alessandrini,” in Alessandro VII Chigi., 389-390. There is a lack of a complete and updated bibliography on Cardinal von Hesse-Darmstadt. For a summary, based on the extant bibliography, see Ulrich Köchli, “Trophäe im Glaubenskampf? Der Konvertit und Kardinal Friedrich Landgraf von Hessen-Darmstadt (1616-1682),” in Jagd nach dem roten Hut. Kardinalskarrieren in baroken Rom, hg. Arne Karsten (Göttingen: Vanderhoek & Ruprecht, 2004), 186-204; see also Frank Martin, “Grabkapelle-Familienkapelle-Heiligengrab. Die Elisabethkapelle des Landgrafen Friedrich von Hessen-Darmstadt in Dom von Breslau/Wroclaw,” Mitteilungen des kunsthistorisches Instituts Florenz, 50/2006 (2007): 315-366. Angelantonio Spagnoletti, Stato, aristocrazie e Ordine di Malta (Rome: École française de Rome, 1988).

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Papacy, which had been accused of halfhearted financial support of the ­Catholic armies. In 1637 performances were held in his honor at palazzo Barberini and the following year he was granted an “accademia.”27 He remained a Barberini protégé, but the family was concerned by the habits of the erratic young man, who was narrowly educated, not only in Catholic doctrine, and took little interest in his studies. He was welcomed into the Order of Malta, a mere month after his conversion, with a ceremony attended by Urban VIII. And in May of 1638 the landgrave departed for the Mediterranean island along with Holste and Athanasius Kircher, the neo-Catholic prince’s spiritual father.28 These two representatives of Northern European culture had found in Rome their new homeland and were inarguably liaisons between the court, the city, foreign heretics, and neo-Catholic converts.29 While in Malta Fre­ derick met Fabio Chigi, at the time the island’s inquisitor, with whom he established a rapport of collaboration and friendship. These relations would be strengthened by Holste and ultimately develop on the basis of the conversion politics promulgated by Alexander VII during his papacy. In Rome he lived “in splendor worthy of his birth, as he was a most generous gentleman,” as affirmed by Francesco Nerli in his report to the Duke of Mantua and confirmed by the Avvisi.30 He became Archbishop of Breslau in 1666 upon the death of Cardinal Girolamo Colonna, Emperor Leopold I named him Protector of ­Ger­many, and from 1682 was a member of “Propaganda Fide.” Though Cardinal Harrach was not especially fond of the landgrave, Frederick supported Harrach’s position during the conclaves. Frederick had always been connected to the Medici cardinals “from whom he had obtained great favors and had been loaned money.”31 He would indeed intervene with success with the Medici court, in particular with the Grand Duke Cosimo III, on behalf of his compatriots who had embraced the Catholic faith. For young German women he would write recommendations for dowries, alms, or lodging in convents, while for men he would often request military enlistment or a “provision” that would allow those who came to Florence in search of fortune to avoid becoming 27

Frederick Hammond, Music and Spectacle in Baroque Rome. Barberini Patronage under Urban VIII (New Haven-London: Yale University Press, 1994), XLV; 226. 28 Frederick always maintained a close relationship with A. Kircher, even in the following years, as evidenced by numerous letters, APUG, Carteggio del p. Atanasio Kircher, voll. 555; 556; 558; 560. 29 Holste himself underscored the unequivocal terms of his role of intermediary and protector at the imperial court in a request to obtain the auditorato di Rota: Völkel, Römische Kardinalshaushalte, 286. 30 Sabine M. Seidler, Il teatro del mondo. Diplomatische und journalistische Relationen vom römischen Hof aus dem 17. Jahrhundert, (Frankfurt: M. Lang, 1996), 316. 31 Ibidem.

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impoverished.32 Cardinal von Hesse-Darmstadt was judged by his Protestant contemporaries in a negative way and became a symbol of the opportunism that was at the basis of many conversions of German princes and nobles. His conversion was considered in Germany as a strategy for living his adventurous life comfortably in Rome. For the pope, who had initially criticized his adventures, he was later a necessary intermediary with the German world, a symbol used in the catholic propaganda. 2

Enclosing: the Ospizio Apostolico dei Convertendi

The manifest concern for finding effective solutions for the impoverishment of those who had abandoned heresy to return to the Church, which persisted throughout the century, seemed finally to be resolved by the 1673 founding of the Ospizio Apostolico dei Convertendi.33 The early events, which were challenging, from a logistical point of view, reveal how the urgent need to respond to the call for help was impeded by practical difficulties and conflicting interests. Moreover, it quickly became clear that the curia wished to watch over the institution intended to effectively, and definitively, respond to the age-old polemics aimed at Rome, the pope and the Catholic Church, from beyond the Alps. At the heart of founding and controlling of the hospital was not simply the concern of financially supporting converts and avoiding their destitution, which would be detrimental both for them and the honor of the Church. The new institution also ultimately needed to coordinate and discipline the act of conversion via a controlled educational program, one that would leave no room for dangerous personal initiatives. It was precisely for this reason that the curia, the cardinals and the pope had set their sights on the Ospizio from the very beginning. The pontiffs’ attention, and especially that of Alexander VII, was primarily directed to the “ultramontani gentlemen,” nobles, princes 32 33

ASF, Mediceo del Principato, f. 3827. The events of the first thirty years of the Ospizio’s activities were reconstructed by Pagano, “L’Ospizio dei Convertendi di Roma fra charisma missionario e regolamentazione ecclesiastica (1673-1700),” Ricerche per la Storia religiosa di Roma, 10 (1998): 313-390, who also published an inventory of the files housed in the Vatican Apostolic Archive (ibidem, 455544). This article offers a detailed examination of the functions of the Ospizio at the end of the seventeenth century. Among the most recent studies of this institution see Ricarda Matheus, “Mobilität und Konversion. Überlegungen aus römischer Perspektive,” Quellen und Forschungen aus Italienischen Archiven und Bibliotheken, 85 (2005): 170-213; ead., Konversionen in Rom in der Frühen Neuzeit. Das “Ospizio dei Convertendi” 1673-1750 (Berlin-New York: De Gruyter, 2011); Raunio, Conversioni al cattolicesimo a Roma.

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and knights. For them, a strategy of persuasion was elaborated which, through a proposed cultural program, needed to culminate in conversion. The Ospizio, on the other hand, was concerned with the education, conversion and assistance of the lower classes – sailors, soldiers, artisans, the poor and vagabonds – who were increasing the number of Rome’s impoverished residents. By the seventeenth century this population had arrived at dangerous dimensions.34 The establishment of the Ospizio was therefore connected to the program of assistance and renfermement – even if, in this case, temporary, – of potentially dangerous individuals, at a religious and social level. Like the Congregation de iis qui sponte ad fidem veniunt, founded in 1600 by the Oratorian Giovanni Giovenale Ancina, another Oratorian, Mariano Sozzini, founded a hospice in which to enclose, educate and aid those who chose to abandon their error in faith. Both initiatives appear to be linked to the two clergymen and it is certain that, in both cases, the Congregazione dell’Oratorio was capable of supporting and fostering decisions and activities in favor of converts. In the case of Mariano Sozzini too there seems to have been a recoalescence of the synergy between the Oratorio, San Giovanni dei Fiorentini and the Trinità dei Pellegrini. From the late sixteenth century, these three centers had cultivated devotional practices, and a new religiosity, closely linked to the social and cultural feature of urban context and focused on the incessant flow of foreigners who marked the city’s demography. The first two headquarters, active between 1673 and the summer of 1674, were located near the church of San Giovanni dei Fiorentini. In August of 1674 a house was purchased in via di Ripetta, but this location was abandoned the following year since it was far too remote and inconvenient to support the converts’ educational and devotional practices. The Ospizio was therefore relocated to the Apostolic Palace and, by virtue of its new location, fell under the purview of the Master of the Holy Palace. This solution was not particularly favorable to the Oratorians who wished to engage in their program of education and conversion, free from the pressures and control of the curia. The very same situation seemed to have occurred, at the beginning of the century, to Ancina’s foundation which quickly became controlled by Clement VIII and the Holy Office, which continued to be a venue for abjuration and formal returns to the true faith. However, the cultural climate of those years, with growing criticisms of inquisitorial power, also led to a limitation of his prerogatives, 34

On the problem of controlling poverty in Rome there is abundant scholarship. For a general discussion, see Fiorani, “Charità et pietate,” Confraternite e gruppi devote nella città rinascimentale e barocca,” in Storia d’Italia, Annali 16, Roma città del Papa, 431-476.

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authority and privileges.35 The conversion of foreigners nonetheless remained a powerful weapon to employ in Roman Catholic politics and propaganda. The Ospizio was a new regulated tool for welcoming those who had abandoned heresy and for eradicating prejudices against the Papacy and Rome. In 1686 the institution, founded by Mariano Sozzini, would finally enter its permanent headquarters, at the palace of Scossacavalli, bequeathed to the Ospizio by Cardinal Girolamo Gastaldi in his will. The relocation of the Ospizio from Porta Angelica to palazzo Gastaldi was celebrated with a procession that proved, to both the city and the court, Cardinal Flavio Chigi’s influential role and symbolized the continuity of the conversion politics implemented by his uncle Alexander VII. Also present was the Cardinal of Norfolk, Philip Thomas Howard, who was a point a reference for the English and their college. Both cardinals partook in the procession and were accompanied by a group of approximately one hundred converts and other members of the most important curial congregations. The celebration was not only intended to exhibit the conversion efforts to the city and foreign observers: rather, rituals like these were a commonplace in the structured life of the Ospizio. They served to confirm the success of the newly regulated efforts in Rome that had been influenced by the models adopted in France and the Sabaudian Duchy. Entry into the Ospizio was marked by a ritual washing of the feet of those who had chosen to abandon their error. This was a cathartic ritual for those who entered and a humbling one for those who welcomed the newcomers. Then “they were served at the table by some good priests who were fond of the display of piety,” followed by the important moment of education “in the principles of our Holy Religion […] [with] different spiritual exercises and rules by which to live, visits to basilicas, hospitals, forty-hours of devotional singing, oratorios, etc. With the washing of their feet upon arrival, and pious disciplining of their lifestyle, many new guests were received.” This was recounted in a memory which also recalled noteworthy conversions and generous donations.36 The hierarchy and respective tasks were well defined: the director was a priest “who needed to embody the goodness of life, charity and prudence” whereas the other “officials” – the prior, vice-prior, assistances, vicerectors, secretary and under-secretary, peace-keepers and nurses, maestro di casa, and porter who was not to permit the guests to leave nor allow women to 35 36

On the cultural climates that lead to harsh criticism of the power of the Holy Office at the end of the seventeenth century, see Andrea Del Col, L’Inquisizione in Italia. Dal XII al XXI secolo (Milan: Mondadori: 2006), 620-698. AAV, Ospizio dei Convertendi, vol. 1, c. 26r.

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enter were all laymen who had led “exemplary lives.” The task of the two lay catechists was important as they needed to instruct the foreigners in the new faith in their own language,37 using the text of Pietro Canisio.38 Mastery of the “ultramontane” languages also meant avoiding the fraud and deceits of Catholics feigning to be heretics, prepared to convert in order to escape their poverty. Catechists, in fact, needed to query “faithfully along with the assigned interrogators and report everything to the director, so that Catholics would not be welcomed as heretics, since the Hospice had been founded for converting heretics.”39 Schemes were nevertheless frequent. In August of 1676, for instance, Thomas Ridley of Lancaster had come to Rome from Flanders, where he claimed to have converted four months before. His stay at the English College was brief and he was in fact thrown out after only two days because “he seemed not to be Catholic based on some of his statements.”40 Despite having abused the sacraments, Ridley’s offensive behavior seemed to be of some relief to the College rector who, upon learning of his departure from Rome, on 2 November 1676, wrote “god speed him” in the book of pilgrims. In January of 1682 several Englishmen arrived from Naples and came to the Venerable College in search of aid. They had no witnesses capable of attesting to their “true” religion and national identity. And, due to the scarce resources available at the end of the seventeenth century, the College only granted alms to Englishmen, so their request was denied. Cardinal Philip Thomas Howard (1629-1694), the powerful protector of England and Scotland and liaison between the College and curia, having learned of their case, sent his squire with strict orders to admit the Englishmen “to the ordinary charity.” The episode was later reconstructed and recorded in the book of pilgrims to testify to the violations and difficulties related to determining the religious affiliation of foreigners. It was written that two of the Englishmen arriving from Naples, “Robert Pegh of Ipswich and John Dunmdge of London, … at their coming they gave themselves out for Catholics but were found at length to be of no religion at all. So with much difficulty they were gott into the College of the Converts [Ospizio dei Convertendi] after they had stayd 9 days and labored in our building some ten days more.”41 Other Englishmen and Scotsmen, after having transferred from the Ospizio to the College, went on to find employment. Some became tailors and, as was recorded in the book of pilgrims, one of them “works now in town 37 38 39 40 41

Ibidem, cc. 104r-107r. Likely the Catechismus parvus Catholicorum (1558), reprinted in 1602. Ibidem, c. 194v. AVCAU, Liber 283, 21-22 (August and 2 November 1676). AVCAU, Liber 283, 35 (22 January 1682).

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for a livelyhood.”42 Those who were ill were instead sent to the Hospital of Santo Spirito but then all traces of them were lost. The English College’s book of pilgrims reveals that the intense exchange between the national institution and the Ospizio dei Convertendi was, at the end of the seventeenth century, continuous and that the two institutions were closely connected. This was the case both for verifying the identity of would-be converts, or those claiming to be Catholic, as well as efforts for education and catechization. Yet, as numerous examples show, the doors of the College remained open even to those who were revealed to be “of no religion at all” and had been kicked out of the Ospizio. Nationality, and perhaps hope for an eventual conversion, continued to dictate the actions of the College, its members and the powerful cardinal protector. The language was a regulated instrument needed in order to approach foreigners, yet it was difficult to find someone qualified who could also speak in the right tongue. Knowledge of a language served not only to reveal fraud but also execute an assiduous catechism aimed at internalizing devotional practices, while marking the hours of the day to “keep [the foreigners] constantly occupied.” Free time could prove dangerous and lead would-be converts to doubt their conversion, come in contact with other guests, recount their experiences and recall memories of past errors and sentiments. A familiarity with the foreigner’s language was one of the most important requisites for the success of the conversion project proposed by the new institution. The director needed to be “versed in French, German and Latin, which is most universal for highborn oltramontani.” He must know the history “of those northern kingdoms, England, Sweden, Denmark and Holland, as well as that of the Empire, and the heresies and cultural and religious heritage to which they are subjected.” Particular attention must be paid to recent history “to demonstrate how the ancient Religion was modified in areas where heresy was introduced.”43 A knowledge of the history and the polemical writings of authors like Bellarmine would explain the difference between heresies but also aid in understanding the predilections of the guests. In this way, one could address and overcome any potential resistance or obstinacy, via a daily and repetitive educational process which paired charity and persuasion with a rigid and reclusive form of discipline. The “Rules for Catechists” (Regole per i catechisti) mandated that no one be forced to abjure and recalled that “it is a thousand times better that they leave as manifest heretics, even when they have used and abused the Hospice, rather than evil and false Catholics, for lying is not permitted in any 42 Ibidem. 43 AAV, Ospizio dei Convertendi, vol. I, c. 97r.

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Nation.” But this did not exclude the practice of torture, and converts were reminded that prior to abjuring they needed to be “suis iuris, and after their abjuration could not, even in the slightest way, diverge from the Catholic truth, and must inscribe upon their hearts the crime of Lesa Maestà Divina, the Edict of the Holy Inquisition and the penalty of being burned alive for having relapsed.”44 The lives of those dedicated to working within the institution were also dictated by strict regulations, as outlined in the “Rules for the Brothers for the proper management of the Hospice.” Aside from prayer, works of charity and weekly visits to the Seven Churches and St. Peter’s Basilica, it was established that “in one of the future congregations, each brother shall select an infidel province whose conversion he would like to keep in heart, and for which he would pray to God, with orations and other of spiritual intercessions.”45 This division sought to connect the conversion of individual foreign heretics who came to the Ospizio with that of their homeland, in a missionary endeavor aimed at Europe. The brothers, and especially the director, needed to work with other Roman congregations and colleges to find guests inclined to undertake these studies and further their theological competencies, resolve all doubts, and direct heretics to where they could find “religious men […] from different nations educated in the similar controversies to remedy them.”46 In this way, the convert’s missionary objective could be achieved upon returning to his homeland. In recalling past experiences, the redactor of a memorial, written in the 1690s, highlighted the advantages, and not only spiritual, of welcoming foreign heretics, of their conversion, and, above all, of the material aid needed for them to integrate into society without bringing shame or dishonor upon the Church. He also exalted the figure and mentality of converts who were generally capable of “a more sublime virtue than that which is scarcely found in those who are born and raised in the womb of the Holy Mother Church. The Devil, and adversaries of our Holy Faith, insinuate the difficulties of living with the vibrancy of fake promises, which confuse even the most fortunate.”47 Those who converted to the true faith would be better equipped to combat the error of their former coreligionists, as shown by famous polemicists from Shoppe to Reboul to Giusto Calvino. They, like many others, had stoked the flames of the seventeenth century disputes with the reformed world. Those 44 45 46 47

Ibidem, c. 105v. Ibidem, c. 80v. Ibidem, c. 98v. Ibidem, cc. 50r-55r: Circa un hospitio per quelli che vengono alla S. Fede.

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who saved themselves “from the ruin of error, having abandoned the riches and honors and commodities and friends, and all that which is deemed precious to men,” appeared “at the doors of the Church nude and abandoned by everyone” and solaced only by the hope of Christian charity. But charity and generosity could have benefits beyond the spiritual and have positive effects upon the Respublica Christiana and particularly upon the Papal States. By welcoming heretics, the Church was stripping these territories of able-bodied men, who exhibited their strong character with their choice to convert. Now, through education, they would discover the true faith and, with financial reassurance, would not return to their homelands disappointed and reinforce the negative image of the pope and the Church. Their example would instead foster numerous returns to the Catholic faith. The “certainty of a meal” was essential to the success of the conversion enterprise and looked to the example of Louis XIV’s politics vis-à-vis the Huguenots. The “pious, erudite, clergy of that prosperous kingdom” had decided to grant two-hundred scudi from its own annuities to all those “preachers who, having ceased spreading heresy among those populations, converted to the faith; and having done so expediently, honestly, and effectively, for the nation, in little time deprived the heretics of all of their most educated men, and with them innumerable others turned to the Catholic religion, and all confess that this was a major success for combatting heresy that has happened.”48 It was further argued that the presence and assimilation of virtuous men and experts in the arts and business, “instead of being a hindrance, shall be of relief and useful to the entire republic by introducing new arts […] and perfecting old and established ones.”49 There were many examples of this: Dutch textile merchants who converted to Catholicism, could revitalize the textile industry; booksellers and printers could similarly profit “by bringing large sums of money to Rome which today is paid to the heretics in Amsterdam for Missals and Breviaries and, by virtue of which, they make war against the Holy Catholic Faith in all parts of the world.” Once the strength of their new faith was displayed, they could also receive material aid to begin working either in Rome or somewhere else. Agriculture would likewise reap benefits, as would rural areas which “today are deserted in Italy and could be populated by expert men.”50 The memorial reiterated the proposals for remedying the widespread poverty in Rome, and the solutions proposed, and partly enacted, during the 48 49 50

Ibidem, c. 52rv. On the French politics vis-à-vis the Church, see Joseph Bergin, Crown, Church and Episcopate under Louis XIV, (New Haven-London: Yale University Press, 2004). AAV, Ospizio dei Convertendi, vol. 1, c. 52rv. “hoggi deserte in Italia si potrebbero popolare di huomini esperti.” Ibidem, c. 54r.

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papacy of Innocent XI (1676-1689) and Innocent XII (1691-1700) who had followed the model used in France during the period of the great renfermement.51 Mariano Sozzini, a “great expert on the issues of Roman poverty,” became a central figure not only at the Ospizio dei Convertendi but also in later initiatives and projects encouraged by Innocent XI.52 Aside from its acclamation in contemporary and subsequent propaganda, the experience at the Ospizio dei Convertendi, modelled after the older and well-known Casa dei Catecumeni,53 was an attempt to segregate, instruct and convert foreign heretics of the lower class, who were always in danger of becoming impoverished. This characteristic marked the lives of the majority of Rome’s population flottante. Heresy and poverty would disaffirm the politics of education and “caresses and courtesy” (carezze e cortesie) that were endorsed throughout the seventeenth century. With the founding of the Ospizio dei Convertendi there seemed to be a regularization of the path to conversion imposed upon those who chose to become Catholic. Those welcomed at the Ospizio were educated, and their desire [to convert] was put to the test via a regimented program, ultimately leading to the moment of abjuration before the Holy Office. The standardization of the abjuration “forms” redacted by the inquisitorial Congregation seemingly confirms this itinerary. Nonetheless, as we have seen, in many cases abjurations were made at the English College and later solemnized at the Tribunal of Faith. On 30 March 1682, a Dominican friar and commissioner of the Holy Office, Tommaso Mazza da Forlì, released a lengthy document, partly pre-printed as per common practice, wherein Giovan Pietro de Haijen of Amsterdam was absolved. A salutary penance was established to definitively admit him into the arms of the Catholic Church. 51

52 53

There is a wealth of scholarship on the topic. For a summary and critical discussion of the relative historiography, see Arnaud Fossier, “Le grand renfermement.” Traces. Revue de Sciences humaines, 1 (2002): . For the situation in Rome and the papal politics, see Angela Groppi, Il welfare prima del welfare. Assistenza alla vecchiaia e solidarietà tra generazioni a Roma in età moderna (Rome: Viella, 2010), 19-70, as well as the rich bibliography; Eleonora Canepari, Porteurs, mendiants, gentilshommes. La construction sociale du pouvoir politique (Rome 1550-1650), Annales HSS, 68 (2013): 729-753; Nicholas Terpstra, Cultures of Charity. Women, Politics, and the Reform of Poor Relief in Renaissance Italy (Cambridge Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2013). AAV, Ospizio dei Convertendi, vol. I, c. 38r. The following articles are dedicated to the Casa dei Catecumeni in “Rivista per la storia religiosa di Roma” 10, 1998; Marina Caffiero, Forced Baptisms: Histories of Jews, Christians, and Converts in Papal Rome (trans. Lydia Cochrane) (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2012). On other examples in the Italian cities: Matteo Al Kalak, “Converting the Jews. Inquisition and Hauses of Catechumens, from Rome to Outlying Areas,” in The Roman Inquisition, 303-321; Samuela Marconcini, Per amor del cielo. Farsi cristiani a Firenze fra Seicento e Settecento (Florence: Florence University Press, 2016).

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You Gio. Pietro son of the late Alberto de Haijen of Amsterdam, 27 years of age, as you have stated, voluntarily appeared before the Supreme and Universal Inquisition, and testified against yourself, having been born to a heretic Calvinist father, and a Catholic mother, and educated by your father in the errors and heresies of the said sect. You maintained and believed, as you said, and in particular that there exist only two Sacraments, that is to say, Baptism and Communion; that one ought not to invoke the saints, nor venerate their images; that there exists no Purgatory; that the pope is the antichrist. And you essentially claimed to have kept, and believed, all that is maintained by the heretic Calvinists in your homeland. Yet upon the occasion, as you said, that you were a soldier stationed on the Island of Corsica for a period of 30 months, you conversed with Catholics, reflected, determined that the Catholic faith is undeviating and the most ancient of all the others and thus decided to embrace it, for which you came to Rome, and now here for 3 months, and were received at the Ospizio dei Convertendi. You then appeared before this Supreme Tribunal, requested to be reconciled with the Holy Roman and Apostolic Catholic Church, in whose womb you claimed to desire to live forever and die.54 A definitive sentence of absolution followed and was pronounced “pro tribunali sedentes,” which referred to the decree issued three days before. Having obtained absolution and forgiveness he would be able to begin a new life as a spinner of Dutch silk. The rhetorical model emphasized this radical life change, the breaking away from past error and the new phase which, beginning with an abjuration, opened the doors to a new life. Following the denunciation of the errors representing the past that needed to be erased, the narration of the path that led to conversion is always introduced by the adversative con­ junction but (ma) which forcefully denoted an interruption in the convert’s biography and conversion story. This was certainly a repetitive pattern, one which, despite its rhetoric, permits an assessment of the abjurer’s social mobility as well as his motiva conversionis. While there remain some consistent features – the example and advice of Catholic friends or employers, the vow made to save one’s self from a shipwreck55 or on the battlefield, the voluntary abandoning of one’s “heretic” family, the revolt against one’s parents, perhaps for

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ACDF, SO, St. St. M 4-h, cc. 40r-41v. Such was the case of Giovanni Bauer, a thirty-four-year old captain from Frankfurt, born to Lutheran parents, and convinced that “the pope is a seducer” he takes a vow to become Catholic when his boat went adrift in the Red Sea. Ibidem, c. 242r.

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reasons other than faith.56 For others, the choice to adhere to Catholicism seems to stem from the catechism taught at the Ospizio, which was effective at dissipating residual doubts but nonetheless incapable of leading to a definitive choice. Samuel Hope, a tailor from Coventry, had worked for a Catholic employer and read books which led him to have doubts and, as written in his abjuration record by the inquisitors who interpreted his words, “started to become fond” of the Roman Church. Samuel had arrived in Leghorn, came to Rome with a desire to expand his knowledge of the doctrine, and disclosed that it was the education he received at the Ospizio that had ultimately convinced him to abjure.57 The positive qualities of the Church, emphasized in the abjurations, evoked that which had for some time been circulating in the Catholic pamphlets and polemical writings directed at the Protestants: the antiquity and unity of the Church as opposed to the fragmented reformed sects; her direct line from Christ and her not having not been founded by the “ambitions” (ambizioni) of Luther and “inconsistencies” (inconsistenze) of his sect;58 the salvific value of works; miracles and the intercession of the Holy Mother and the saints; and the value of images, as had been alleged by some women.59 The Saxon cobbler Giorgio Halinch had come to Augsburg “where Father Marco d’Aviano had previously been, and having learned that the said priest had performed many miracles there, was persuaded by other Catholics to embrace the Holy Faith and leave the false Lutheran sect.” He became “fond” of the true faith and looked for a “better opportunity” to embrace it, which could only

56

57 58

59

An exorcism, which she had witness nine years before, had nurtured doubts in Anna di Michele, a 22 year old Hungarian, but especially the vicissitudes of her Catholic mother who was forced by her husband to convert and generated in her a desire to convert, as affirmed, but which she could not do as a result of the violence of the heretic husband. Now that she was a widow she could finally go to Catholic churches and, like her brother, convert. Ibidem, c. 297r. Ibidem, c. 234r. Thus was recounted by Cristoforo Richert of Cologne, a 28 year old soldier. He was born to Lutheran parents and had served in the Brabante where he attended Catholic Churches. His fellow Catholic soliders had made him observe that “Luther had been Catholic and it was due to his ambition that he invented his sect.” He had a desire to further his understanding of Catholicism and convert but it was impossible as he was currently in service. Only in Rome and in the Ospizio was he able to bring this desire to fruition: Ibidem, c. 270r. Anna Gertruda Elisabetha Mayer, from Westphalia, recounted to the inquisitor that her first doubts came from reading a Lutheran catechism and the absence of holy images. Then, entreated by a Catholic relative to convert, she became convinced after having seen the “miracles performed by a religious Catholic.” The woman did not come to the Ospizio but voluntarily appeared before the Holy Office. Ibidem, c. 387r.

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have been accomplished by making a trip to the Eternal City.60 Some did not immediately go to the Ospizio but instead chose to live in Rome with their doubts and, perhaps through their conscience, sought confirmation on their own. Such was the case of Isaia son of Giacomo Terwest, a Dutch painter, who having traveled to Catholic cities in Germany, Mainz and Cologne, and having observed the diverse forms of ceremony there, decided to come to Rome, “not with the firm intention of leaving his religious sect but to be better informed.” For three years he lived as a heretic in the pope’s city and only later decided to abjure thanks to an Augustinian priest.61 Conversely, for Nicolò Arter, a twenty-year-old painter from Hamburg, it was the education he received at the Ospizio that had convinced him to convert. In Augsburg, he noticed the difference between the rites practiced by the local heretic sects and “due to that diversity came to Rome.” He had been advised “by compatriots who had become Catholics” to convert,62 and upon arriving in the city the painter was welcomed by his countrymen in a tradition that marked the foreigner’s initial contact with the host city. Others made connections with the court of Chris­ tina of Sweden, whose members were a powerful mediatory weapon in the conversion of her compatriots, especially soldiers. Andrea Sundach, for instance, a “bombardier,” had come to Rome by way of Leghorn where he had met religious Catholics and decided to resolve his doubts of faith. For him too the doors of the Ospizio were opened thanks to the intervention of Christina’s secretary.63 Those who were tormented by doubts of faith and had already begun a path to conversion, as a result of readings or “Catholic discussions,” justified postponing their decision to convert for years “since they had not found people with whom they got along,” or been conditioned by hostile circumstances in their families or at work. Statements such as these influenced the decision of those who praised Rome, its institutions, and the unstinting charity they displayed towards those who returned to the fold. However, this praise of conversionary politics, which differed throughout the seventeenth century, occurred before the Tribunal of Faith which both claimed, and proclaimed, its superiority to other charitable institutions such as the Ospizio dei Convertendi, the national churches and colleges. Thus, in the majority of the cases, the accounts of abjuration of the late seventeenth century underscore the vital 60 61 62 63

Ibidem, c. 288r. Ibidem, c. 243r. Ibidem, c. 393r. Ibidem, c. 309r. Always thanks to the intervention of Christina he was welcomed in the Ospizio where he “was sufficiently instructed in the teachings of our Holy Faith” Alessandro Giysenfycht (Gripenflycht) “capitain of the King of Sweden’s ships”. Ibidem, cc. 240r243v. See, Raunio, Conversioni al cattolicesimo a Roma, 68.

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function of education, assimilation and persuasion used by the institution founded by Mariano Sozzini and practiced above all by the English and their college. It likewise reveals its close connection to the Holy Office, which was, with few exceptions, the final destination on a path of conversion that had begun far from Rome.64 For those who opted to remain in the pope’s city, or in his dominion, conversion could prevent a troubled encounter with doctors or priests intent on discovering heretics on their deathbed and, above all, avoid the scandal of a dishonorable burial. 3 Burials Holy Father, the benefit of being courteous to the non-Catholic Christian gentlemen who come to our lands is so clear that evidence thereof is continuously seen, especially in those provinces where monarchies grant greater privileges to the Catholics who live among them, with the spread of the Catholic religion. Now, since it is estimated that part of that good grace is lost due to a case which causes abject horror upon the said sig­ nori, your Holiness is humbly beseeched to eliminate it, that is, when those said signori die here in Rome, that they not be buried in the shameful place of Muro Torto, along with the bodies of prostitutes, as has been done until now, but instead in honorable places as per the attached writing.65 Tellingly, the author of the petition no longer refers to the foreign oltramontani who came to visit, live, or die in Rome, as “heretics” but instead as “NonCatholic Christian Gentlemen” (Signori Cristiani non Cattolici). At the end of the seventeenth century there was an attempt to balance the politics of openness and “caresses” which had been undertaken, albeit with difficulty and confusion, beginning with the Chigi papacy. Once again, it was emphasized that that which occurred in Rome was not contained to the city but instead reverberated and had consequences throughout Europe. The increasing number of foreigners, and especially “ultramontani gentlemen” to whom these policies were aimed, also posed the problem of “scandal” provoked by the dishonorable burial of those who died in the pope’s city. The anger of relatives back 64 65

Exceptions were often made for nobles who made their abjurations before the Holy Office without passing through the Ospizio like, for instance, “Gio. Gioachimo baron of Schonfeld of Branswich Luneburg [Braunschweig-Lüneburg]”. ACDF, SO, St. St. M 4-b (2), cc. nn.

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home who had received news that their loved one had been buried in a common grave, in an ignoble place, was communicated in the letters of nuncios and even reached the Holy Office.66 For the European nobility, a dishonorable burial was tantamount to a stain upon the family honor, one that was destined to endure throughout time. Nevertheless, this practice had negative repercussions on the “reputation” of the Catholic Church, precisely where it was most involved in the activity of reconquering land that had been won by heresy. Burials in churches were initially reserved for the clergy but were extended to lay persons beginning in the ninth century, subject to authorization. Most burials took place on the lands surrounding the church, while those within her walls were exclusively reserved for nobles and clerics. Family chapels and mausoleums became annexes of the family estate and served to display the house’s importance. The parishes that were responsible for burials often revealed themselves to be inept at the task, especially during times of epidemic. But this was also due to the frequent manifest greed of parish priests. Even in Rome they were backed by the extensive confraternal network and by pious associations dedicated to the burying the dead. Conflicts between confraternities and parishes were nonetheless recurrent and stoked by a hunger for profit.67 The exclusion of heretics from being buried in hallowed ground was justified canonically: those who died without having been baptized could not be buried, even if not their fault. The same fate awaited apostates, heretics, schismatics, masons, excommunicated and exiled persons, suicide committers, duelers, those who chose to be cremated and “public and manifest” sinners.68 Other cities, such as Venice and Leghorn, experienced a growing and inexorable presence of heretic ultramontani merchants, Jews and infidels. In Venice, necessary solutions had been found which ultimately led the city to “tolerate” the burial of Protestant merchants in Catholic churches. Conversely, in Leghorn, from the second half of the seventeenth century, Jews, Dutchmen and Englishman were buried in open lands. These would only be cordoned off between the end of the seventeenth century, and the beginning of the eighteenth century, in order for them to bury their dead.69 In order to avoid a 66 Ibidem. 67 Vincenzo Paglia, La morte confortata. Riti della paura e mentalità religiosa a Roma nell’età moderna (Roma: Storia e Letteratura, 1982). 68 For an extensive treatment of the events of the non-Catholic cemetery in Rome, Wolfgang Krögel, All’ombra della Piramide. Storia e interpretazione del cimitero acattolico di Roma (Rome: Unione internazionale degli istituti di Archeologia, Storia e Storia dell’arte in Roma, 1995), 76-77; and see especially Antonio Menniti Ippolito, Il Cimitero acattolico di Roma. La presenza protestante nella città del papa (Rome: Viella, 2014). 69 On Venice, see Oswald, Die Inquisition, die Lebenden und die Toten. Venedigs deutschen Protestanten (Sigmaringen: Thorbecke, 1989), 59-79; on the cemetery of Leghorn, see

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dishonorable burial, the bodies of foreigners, who had died in Rome and in the Papal States, were brought to Leghorn. Yet the fees for the embalming and transportation of the corpses made this solution costly and impractical. However, to die in Rome did not necessarily mean ending up among the bodies of prostitutes and other sinners. The national community welcomed and protected travelers, even if they were heretics intent upon maintaining their faith and sought to insert them into a society that would not be overly scandalized by their religious affiliation, as long as it was prudently hidden. In this way, they would avoid the dishonor of being buried at Muro Torto and bribes paid to less than scrupulous parish priests could often resolve the problem. That this practice was common is made evident by warnings from both the diocesan synods and the Cardinal Vicar himself. It occurred most frequently at the end of the seventeenth century when, in the wake of nobles, knights and princes, the foreign heretics present in the city were more numerous. The convention of traveling incognito, disguising one’s religious affiliation and displaying one’s supposed Catholic faith, made it difficult to determine the religious identity of individuals who accidentally lost their lives at sea or in the street. Nor were they attended by physicians or confessors who could have ascertained, even by means of violence, the religious beliefs of the dying ­person, or by forcing an individual to renounce their error, even at the point of death. In the event they refused, their body would be isolated from the community of the faithful and be condemned to a dishonorable burial. The “investigation of the corpse” (ricognizione di cadavere) of a presumed heretic was an affair that required the collaboration of various figures that needed to maintain public order, like cops (birri) and barbers. This would give rise to conflicts between tribunals and, in Rome, especially between the Tribunal of the Governor, the entity with greatest criminal jurisdiction in the city and district (40 miles), and the Holy Office. On 6 February 1650, at the office of the Curia di Borgo, the judge wrote a memorial wherein he informed that that day, in an alley outside of porta Castello, there had been found a young man with two wounds who had died on the ground, dressed in lay attire, and, after the examination of the corpse, I ordered that an investigation be made of the said dead man to learn how he had died and record that which had been found upon his person. And since among the things found in his pocket there was a book in a language with which I am

Stefano Villani, “Alcune note sulle recinzioni dei cimiteri acattolici livornesi”, Nuovi Studi Livornesi, XI (2004): 35-51.

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unfamiliar, to be on the safe side I have brought everything to Your Lordship, which I hereby present.70 The cause of death could not be determined from a preliminary examination, nor could the body immediately be identified. However, an inspection of the contents of the deceased man’s pockets and bag quickly lead to doubts regarding his religious identity. In particular, there was “a book, the length of 2 fingers, with a golden clasp, in black leather, entitled De Psalmen David,” published in 1643.71 This seemed to confirm the suspicion that the young man was a heretic as reported to the Holy Office by the prosecutor (sostituto) of the Tribunal of Borgo (Curia di Borgo). The body was displayed in public for the purposes of identification and, at the same time, the Curia di Borgo launched an investigation. Shortly thereafter it was revealed, by testimonies, that the body was that of the Dutchman Nicolò di Roia. Having learned the dead man’s identity a search was ordered of his home “in the piazza of the ambassador of Spain,” where “among other things there was found […] another manuscript which I also brought […] and a rosary upon the bed where the man used to sleep, which I likewise present.” This was reported to the Holy Office by the prosecutor who delivered all of the sequestered items found in the house and on the Dutchman’s person. The Tribunal of Faith needed to ascertain the identity and religious affiliation of the dead man to decide where to bury the body. However, this task proved more difficult than anticipated while a detailed examination was made of a “manuscript covered in white parchment in which were written many things in a foreign language.” Further exploration of the dead man’s room revealed objects that could attest to his Catholic faith: a “black rosary” (corona nigra), an image of St. Anthony of Padua, and “in another place were the words Jesus and Mary I give unto you my heart and soul.” Were these hints of sincere devotion or mere decoys someone had advised him to keep? Even the inquisitors, in evaluating the items presented by the prosecutor of the Curia di Burgo, must have had their doubts, as they were familiar with similar dissimulation tactics. In the meantime, the prosecutor had continued to investigate the Dutchman, looking to promptly report his findings to the Holy Office. But the information he obtained was vague and even contradictory. He 70 71

ACDF, SO, St. St. M 4-f, ins. 10, cc. 79r-92v. (1650, Roma). It has not been possible to verify the case in question in the records of the Curia di Borgo because the records for that year have been mutilated. Most likely the Psalmen Davids/ naer de laetste Oversetting des Bybels, gerijmt door Corn. Boey (Rotterdam: bij Matthijs Wagens, 1648). The work had many editions in the Flemish language but research reveals there is no 1643 edition. Thus it may be a transcription error on the part of the notary of the Tribunal of Borgo.

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claimed to have learned that “the aforesaid dead man called Nicolò [someone] saw him at mass many times at San Lorenzo in Lucina, and in another place, and, upon investigating, I did not find anything to indicate he was a good Catholic, neither a rosary nor other devotional object, save for the said book.” The Tribunal of Faith called upon the penitentiary of St. Peter’s, a Jesuit “from lower Germany,” who, with his knowledge of the language, would hopefully be able to decipher the book’s contents and reveal the religious identity of the deceased man. His signed testimony revealed some information about the young Dutchman who was possibly a Calvinist traveler who many had, nevertheless, sworn to have seen attending mass. The testimony of Johannes Scoboochens (sic) is noteworthy in that he claims to have met Nicolò, lived with him, and believed him to have been an honorable person and good Christian…and that said Nicolò, for as much as I had seen, was a good Catholic. I had gone many times with him to mass where he displayed great devotion and the same Nicolò had encouraged me, on diverse occasions, to see the holy Relics in different churches, in celebration of the Holy Jubilee, although he did not accompany me, but I know that he certainly went for many people told me, as did he, and I always took him to be a good Christian, not having seen any evil action on his part, nor bad example, during the time I knew him, and if it had been otherwise I would say.72 This was not evidence of his devotional practices but pure “hearsay” (sentito dire), and it is conceivable that the foreigner had simply cultivated the prudent dissimulation strategy which permitted “heretics” to live without trouble in the pope’s city. Unfortunately, his adventure came to a bitter end when the Jesuit Henrich van der Linden, upon having studied the deceased man’s books, testified that I have looked at the two books given to me to consult and, having read and considered them, inform that this book, with the black cover and center clasp, is printed in the Flemish language and contains, at the beginning, a psalter of David, followed by the Catechism of the Calvinists, and lastly the symbol of Saint Athanasius and was printed in Lugduno Batavorum in Holland. This other manuscript text, composed in the same language, contains that account of someone’s travels begun on 10 August 1649, but does not specify where to, or from, and is difficult to 72

ACDF, SO, St. St. M 4-f, ins. 10, c. 81r.

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comprehend. Yet, it does not appear to me to contain evil things regarding our faith.73 Perhaps the young Fleming was composing a diary, which was a common practice among artists and travelers. Was he recording facts, impressions and considerations that would enhance the literature and reputation of Italy and Rome already circulating in his homeland? The content of the text could have been dangerous, but Theodoro Amayden, the lawyer and administrator of Rome’s Flemish nation, called upon to resolve the matter of the young man’s religious identity, proved that there was nothing written in the diary contrary to the faith. Amayden further affirmed that the body needed to be buried in a holy place, despite the Calvinist catechism that had been found on his person. He justified the possession of the psalms, since they were used to sing in church and widely diffused among the Catholics of those countries, saying his death was not the result of a duel but instead provocation. This hypothesis was in all likelihood advanced to resolve the matter of his burial and bring the case to a close, while avoiding scandal. In reality, it was unclear, based on the wounds, whether the death had been caused by a duel or not. The body had been brought to an unholy place but, to avoid the scandal of the dishonorable burial of a foreigner whose death had already piqued the interest and chatter of the community, the cardinals of the Congregation “sent a message that the corpse should be given to Theodoro Amayden, protector of the Flemish nation, and that it should be secretly buried in hallowed ground without ceremony.”74 It is conceivable that Amayden’s statement, as an influential figure and mediator in the Roman cultural scene between the Flemish community, the papal court and city, had been decisive in resolving the doubts surrounding the young Dutchman’s identity. Or perhaps it had been his “fate” – so to speak – to die a violent death in the streets and thus spared the tormentous examination of the doctors, and especially the priests – if observant of the regulations – conducted at the bedside of ailing and dying foreigners. Among the myriad cases found in the inquisitorial records, one from Ancona reveals the lower classes’ differing perception of religious affiliation. The boundaries became feable and, for many, were even invisible. An English ship captain whose name is not mentioned in the documents, indicating a lack of interest in his personal identity, died in Ancona at the end of December 1658 after 23 days of fever. He was buried “with great scandal” in a holy place and the local inquisitor, Pietro Maria Tacardi, saw that the body was exhumed and 73 74

Ibidem, c. 82r. ACDF, SO, St. St. M 4-f, ins. 10, 6 July 1650.

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transported elsewhere. Tacardi had sought the opinion of the counselors, who supported his decision, and related it to Rome on 9 January 1659, likewise receiving the approval of the supreme Congregation.75 In reality, the verification of the Englishman’s religious identity had been both difficult and controversial. His work colleagues had not been particularly interested in investigating his faith and neither was his physician. The women who had cared for him, however, were more inquisitive and, since they were closer to the ailing man during his suffering, they attempted to interpret gestures and words that might have revealed his faith. The detailed report sent to Rome highlighted the words and gestures that served either to support or refuse his burial in hallowed ground. It is assumed that he is a heretic, based on his being English, and for having found his life in evident danger, was encouraged to confess by the physician and servants of the house wherein he was ill, but responded with these formal words: “I’m fine as I am” and by shaking his head indicating that he did not wish to confess and finally, there was no sign of his being Catholic, such as a rosary, Ufficio della Madonna, or similar item. This led some to believe […] that he had died a Catholic because when he ate the blessed the food with his hand, making the sign of the cross over it, and also because when in pain he called upon Christ and the Mother of God. These signs (I say) led some to believe that he could be Catholic and thus buried in a hallowed place. As some of our counselors presumed him to be a heretic, he was removed from the Church, during the night, and deposited in a particular place. Yet this place is subject to filling with water, and could be ruined, but nothing has been done with regards to the church and we await your Excellencies’ sentiments.76 In the letter sent to Rome the inquisitor made a parenthetical observation of how hasty the common folk were to accept the Englishman’s purported Catholic faith (cattolicità). The summary of the case shows that, much like the innkeepers, the women had not investigated the religion of the ship captain lodging with Vincenzo Felice, of Ancona, in the inn “at the sign of fortune” (all’insegna della fortuna). Francesca di Geronimo di Masaccio voluntarily appeared before the inquisitor and confirmed that the Englishman had been buried “on Saturday after 2 in the morning at the church of San Premiano” and that, despite the priests having entreated him, he did not want to confess; “thus I believe him to be a heretic.” Her niece Chiara also testified that 75 Ibidem, ins. 13, (1659, Ancona). 76 Ibidem.

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the captain said, both to myself and my aunt Francesca “that he was fine as he was” and we did not attempt any further, moreover he was believed to be a Lutheran and signor Vincenzo Felice said as much to to me when I asked him if we had to make him confess, and he replied that we should mind our business and it is not worth discussing these things as he does not understand the language.77 She further declared to have searched his clothes and found “neither a rosary, nor officio, nor evidence of his being a good Christian.” After the sailor’s death, the parish priest came to the inn and interrogated the women to learn if they had observed “signs of his being a good Christian.” The only testimony obtained, however, was that “when he was with fever he would say ‘Oh Christ, Oh Christ, Mother of God, Mother of God’.” The Englishman was buried thanks to the intervention of two foreigners, possibly friends, “signor Giovanni Cerusico, a Frenchman, and Baldassar Vandergroio, a Fleming.” Also involved was a priest of the Misericordia, the confraternity perhaps responsible for burying the dead. Upon being interrogated by the inquisitor it was confirmed that they only knew that the Englishman was commander of a frigate in Leghorn, “but knew nothing of his religion.” With the intention of defending himself from potential accusations of negligence and complicity, he repeated to the inquisitor that the women had informed him of the signs exhibited during the decedent’s illness. It was “by virtue of these signs that he believed him to be Catholic, because English heretics did not make the sign of the cross nor invoke the Mother of God, thus he believed he was Catholic and worthy of a religious burial.”78 He admitted to having returned to visit him and that, having found him better, did not believe his life was in danger and therefore did not call the physicians or a priest to attend to him. The indifference displayed by colleagues and other foreigners regarding the sailor’s religious affiliation was commonplace among the “lower” classes. This was especially true in areas like Ancona and other port cities that were accustomed to a “normal” array of religions, mobilities, exchanges and relations with heretics and infidels, about which the inquisitorial authorities could do very little.79 This blatant lack of concern was motivated by other factors too and not lastly by the fear of being subjected to a violent clash with the physicians and priests determined to convert presumed heretics on the verge of death and by any means necessary. In his deposition before the inquisitor, 77 78 79

Ibidem, c. 208v. Ibidem, c. 209rv. Vincenzo Lavenia, “The Holy Office in the Marche of Ancona. Institution and Crimes,” in The Roman Inquisition, 161-192.

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­ incenzo Felice clearly justified his decision not to call for a confessor. In fact, V it would have been useless to ask the English mariner to confess, “since he did not understand [the language] and there was no English priest available to do it.”80 Aside from the difficulty of understanding the language of presumed foreign heretics, revealed in the letters of local inquisitors, from vicars and bishops, the notes on the back of documents sent to the Roman Congregation indicate a continual search for external signs that would confirm religious affiliation. The authenticity of this allegiance needed to be examined in loco with the help of spies, “friends of the court” and other informants. To eat meat on prohibited days or purchase large quantities of it in the days prior, given the impossibility of preserving it, evoked images of decadent Friday banquets. Furthermore, for the defenders of orthodoxy, the possession of a rosary or prayers to the Virgin Mary (Ufficio della Madonna) could be sufficient proof of a foreigner’s religious inclinations. In Rome, the Papal States and throughout the Italian peninsula, it was only on rare occasions that theological discussions caught the attention of the Inquisition. 4

Onward to the Eighteenth Century

At the beginning of the eighteenth century, Rome had a population of around 134,000 inhabitants. These numbers are, however, uncertain and the calculations based on the status animarum are only approximate.81 It was not a growing city like Amsterdam, London, Paris and Naples. The foreigners – pilgrims, nobles, casual travelers and artists – perceived the poverty of the people and precariousness of the economy. Those who came to Rome attracted by the history and myth of antiquity were inevitably faced with the reality of the grandeur that no longer existed. However, as Montaigne had noted over a century before,82 the city was hospitable and welcoming and whoever wanted could 80 81 82

ACDF, SO, St. St. M 4-f, ins. 13, c. 206v. Francesco Cerasoli, “Censimento della popolazione di Roma dal 1600 al 1736”, Studi e documenti di storia e diritto, 12, 1881, 7-33. “Je disois des commodités de Rome, entr’autres, que c’est la plus commune ville du monde, & où l’etrangeté & differance de nation se considere le moins; car de sa nature c’est une ville rappiecée d’étrangiers; chacun y est come chés soi. Son Prince ambrasse toute la chretianté de son authorité; sa principale jurisdiction oblige les etrangiers en leurs maisons, come ici, à son election propre ; & de tous les princes & Grans de sa Cour, la consideration de l’origine n’a nul pois. La liberté de la police de Venise, & utilité de la trafique la peuple d’étrangiers; mais ils y sont come chés autrui pourtant. Ici ils sont en leurs propres offices & biens & charges; car c’est le siege des persones ecclesiastiques. Il se

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assimilate and stay without too much trouble. This impression will be confirmed by the traveler, Charles De Brosses, after his sojourn in Rome from 173940.83 The monitoring of the foreigners, who were arriving in increasing numbers, had by no means been diminished. Nonetheless, it had certainly become problematic and was often hindered by the local courts, other tribunals and by residents who were tired of the controls and limitations that impeded the financial benefits, resulting from the flow of foreigners. As in the past, their presence was often discrete and they were protected by the community of compatriots, the complicity of friends and the indifference of inn and tavern keepers. However, within the Roman congregations and tribunals there were disagreements regarding a phenomenon that was rapidly changing and no longer able to be controlled and regulated with the centuries old bulls and constitutions that continued to remain in force. In Rome, this also seriously hampered the intricate strategies of the Cardinal Vicar who, for some time, sought to collaborate with the Holy Office and the Governor to remedy the growing disinterest, and even disdain, exhibited towards the police orders by hoteliers only interested in making money. While it is difficult to quantitatively assess from an examination of the Holy Office Decreta, there is a notable increase in the flow of foreigners – soldiers, sailors, mainly Germans, Flemings and Englishmen – appearing before the tribunal to abjure their heresy between the first decade of the eighteenth century and the 1730s. This could reasonably be attributed to the wars of succession that also affected the Italian territories: unemployed soldiers and men and women in the wake of armies, perhaps hoping for a different future by coming to Rome, voluntarily renounced their heretical faith and sought employment or alms before departing. This population flottante no doubt contributed to the mass of impoverished mendicants and vagabonds who had always, and increasingly from the end of the seventeenth century, concerned the papal judiciaries who were looking for solutions to the scandal caused by poverty. The rapid increase of foreigners “in Urbe,” from the 1730s, was also recorded by parish priests who in the status animarum made note of “heretics and other infidels” servants, Moorish slaves who also could have been baptized and in the service of nobles and cardinals.

83

voit autant ou plus d’étrangiers à Venise, (car l’affluance d’étrangiers qui se voit en France, en Allemaigne, ou ailleurs, ne vient pouint à cete compareson), mais de resseans & domiciliés beaucoup moins. Le menu peuple ne s’effarouche non plus de notre façon de vetemans, ou Espaignole ou Tudesque, que de la leur propre, & ne voit-on guiere de ­belitre qui ne nous demande l’aumosne en notre langue”: . Charles de Brosses, Lettres familières écrites d’Italie en 1739 et 1740, II, (Paris: Didier & C.,1858).

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Their presence in the city was silent, hidden and accepted, but they did not constitute a community nor an officially recognized religious minority.84 Foreign heretics determined to stay in the city continued to voluntarily appear before the inquisitorial Congregation to abjure and often desired to marry in order to guarantee a stable existence within the host society. In many cases, the impossibility of proving that they were not already married required for them to be sent to the Vicar after abjuration. If the requests came from other dioceses, even outside of Italy, the Holy Office charged the local ordinaries with the task of verification. The issue of regulating marriages between foreigners, but also between foreigners and residents of the city, caused concern and unease for the papal authorities. The frequent practice of polygamy due to the mobility of the population and the difficulty of control and communication raised problems closely related to the defense of Catholic orthodoxy.85 It was therefore not only necessary to verify the celibate status of future spouses but, in the case of foreign heretics who had converted, in Rome or elsewhere, also determine if they had received the other sacraments. Moreover, polygamy could have concealed heretical overtones, since matrimony was not considered a sacrament nor polygamy a sin. The theories of Luther, Calvin and other heretics on marriage could thus remain impressed upon the heart and minds of converts, out of convenience, or due to their not having been adequately educated in the Catholic faith. Similar difficulties were encountered by foreigners who, after having converted to Catholicism, perhaps in their homelands, petitioned the supreme Congregation to enter into a religious order. In these cases too it was matter of confirming the phases and trajectory of their sacramental path. The requests to enter religious orders continued to multiply. The procedures were lengthy and complex: the petition was often addressed to “Propaganda Fide” who then forwarded it to the Holy Office who, in turn, sent it to the Vicar. Conversion could be an occasion to begin a new life in Rome or elsewhere. In this case, marriage requests were sent to the local ordinaries, or generals of the order, in the event that a convert aspired to become a member of the regular clergy.86 Alongside these requests, which were generally accepted, even if their outcome would only become clear later on, the voluntary appearances of 84

85 86

Bruno Pomara Saverino, “Presenze silenziose. I moriscos di fronte al Sant’Uffizio romano (1610-1636)”, Quaderni Storici, 144 (2013): 715-744; id., “Storie di moriscos nella Roma del Seicento”, Rivista Storica Italiana CXXVII, (2015): 5-43; id., Rifugiati. I moriscos e l’Italia (Florence: Florence University Press, 2017). On this topic, see Kim Siebenhüner, Bigamie und Inquisition in Italien 1600-1750 (Paderborn: Schöning, 2006). ACDF, SO, Decreta (1697), c. 143v; 144r; 207v.

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heretics wishing to abjure by no means diminished and were collectively recorded in the Decreta.87 Among the many figures who, in the eighteenth century, came before the Holy Office to abjure, there were a significant number of English and Scotsmen. This number must however be considered in relative terms. Many arrived with their entire families and knocked at the doors of the Venerable English College, accompanied by witnesses to testify to their identity and ­allow them to be hosted while waiting to find employment and a place to live. Some were artisans: clockmakers, tailors and apothecaries, who returned to the College after a few weeks’ time, disappointed in not having found work opportunities that would have allowed them to stay in Rome. Thus, they would ask for a letter of recommendation to present elsewhere in the hopes of finding employment or receiving alms. Many were soldiers and sailors who, having come to Rome from Naples, Ancona, Leghorn and Civitavecchia, later de­parted after stopping at the Ospizio dei Convertendi – though some refused to go – and the College. Others arrived in groups, some already Catholic, while ­others requested to be “instructed in his faith, never haveing [sic] been instructed in any religion.”88 Others instead returned, but their presence was undesired. For instance, there “came hither from Genoa one Wilhelm F­ arreliter. He was a Catholic having been here some 2 years before. He was entertained a day and sent away next morning with an old pair of shoes given him. I wish wee doe not see him very soon again for he has very much the air of a vagabond,” as was recorded in the book of pilgrims on 26 January 1715.89 The War of Spanish Succession (1717-1720), fought in the Mediterranean between Spain, France, Holland, England and Austria, is the context in which the exile of James III Stuart occurred and put the Papacy in the position of making a difficult political and religious decision. How could the presence of heretics following the Pretender be permitted and tolerated in the Eternal City? 5

Exiled Princes, Traveling Princes

During the early decades of the eighteenth century, the presence of the Jacobite court in Rome attracted many Englishman nostalgic for the house of ­Stuart. The hospitality pope Clement XI (1700-1721) granted to James, son of 87 88 89

ACDF, SO, Decreta (1715), c. 133v; c. 457v; Decreta (1717), c. 14r; 87r; c.102rv; c. 115r; c. 255v; 458r. AVCAU, Liber 283, 52. Ibidem, 103.

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James II and Maria of Modena, after a clause of the Treaty of Utrecht (1713) had obligated Louis XIV – who had recognized him as the legitimate successor to the English throne – to have him leave France. As is known, the pope had given the Old Pretender the choice to go anywhere within the Papal States.90 James had stayed in Urbino, and when he decided to move to Rome the pope offered him palazzo Muti to use as his residence. The English prince arrived in the Eternal City with a court of 135 familiares, many of whom were declared heretics. The pope feared that the presence of the Jacobite court might deter the increasing flow of English travelers loyal to William III. Rome had become a stop on their journey through Italy. Though this was advantageous for hoteliers, it made it all the more difficult for inquisitorial authorities to monitor their religious tendencies. The Papacy soon faced problems with it’s reputation in the eyes of other European powers. James III, who had agreed to establish himself in Rome, although reluctantly, had not renounced the Catholic faith inherited from his parents. However, after marrying the Catholic Clementina Sobieska in 1719 he decided that his children would be educated in the reformed religion. It was James’ intention to fashion an image of the exiled court that would be acceptable to the English public and his supporters in Europe, and not allow religious matters to undermine his aspirations to the throne. Respect for the religion of others, avoiding proselytism, discussions of faith, keeping a distance from Jesuits and other zealous and dangerous preachers, internal unity and concordance, faithfulness to the traditions of the homeland, a deep understanding of political affairs, and the ability to handle them:, were the qualities which the Old Pretender needed to display in Rome vis-à-vis the pope and his court, in his public relations and also to transmit back to his homeland to encourage his supporters and increase the confidence of his adversaries in him.91 At the Stuart court there were Protestant ministers. Travelers who having read literature in their homelands, considered a visit impossible due to the presence of the Inquisition in Rome and Italy, were surprised that such heretical presences were tolerated – of all places – in the pope’s city.92 Yet the days were 90

91 92

To this invitation James had responded “Elle n’ignore pas quel coup fatal un voyage en Italie porteroit à mes interest”, and underlined that «rien n’embranlera par la Grace de Dieu mon attachement et ma fidelité à notre sainte Religion et envers le Saint Siege et que ni les biens ni les maux de cette vie ne seront point capables de les alterer”: BL, Add. ms 20292, c. 96v (Avignon, 22 June 1716). I thank Dr. Stephen Parkin for the precious indications given to me on the wealth of sources Stuart Paper at the British Library. BL, Add. ms 32096, c. 114rv: Declaration to respect religious liberty (1715). Daniel Szechi, “The image of the court: idealism, politics and the Evolution of the Stuart Court 1689-1730,” in The Stuart Court in Rome: The Legacy of Exile, ed. Edward T. Corp (London: Ashgate, 2003), 49-64; Edward Corp, The Jacobites at Urbino: An Exiled Court in

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long gone in which, at the end of the sixteenth century, the Inquisition had burned unrepentant Englishman at the stake in Rome. These stories had circulated throughout Europe, fostering both the black legend of the tribunal and the travel literature (Ars Apodemica) used by cautious travelers.93 The relationship between the English guest and the pontiffs was difficult, especially due to the continual and pressing requests for financial aid presented, or rather demanded, by James III. Indeed, he attributed the lack of resources to the challenging initiative of reconquering his kingdom but, as is well known, there were other reasons.94 In Rome, there was an exaltation of the Old Pretender’s declared dedication to the Catholic religion. In 1714 he had reassured Cardinal Filippo Antonio, protector of the Church of Scotland and England, and his close collaborator and defender in the curia, affirming “all I can say is for certain is that I will not abandon the Catholic faith and that I am ready to sacrifice everyone for it.”95 However, James’ eccentricity was also feared. There was also fear for the security of the Papal States which could be attacked by the English ships stationed in the Mediterranean. Yet most disconcerting were the continual requests for financial aid made by the exiled sovereign and the presence of heretics at his court. Furthermore, the pontiffs were seemingly unyielding towards these Protestants who asked to publicly celebrate their rites. In 1716 the Old Pretender’s secretary, David Nairne, guaranteed that their presence would be discrete and not cause scandal among the population. But the prince “could not deny his Anglican followers the comfort of practicing their religion, without exercising sovereign authority, with the

93

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Transition (Basigstoke: Palgrave, 2009); id., The Stuart in Italy, 1719-1766: A Royal Court in Permanent Exile (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011); id., “The Location of the Stuart Court in Rome: the Palazzo del Re”, in Loyalty and Identity: Jacobites at Home and Abroad, ed. Paul Kléber Monod, Murray Pittok, Daniel Szechi (Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2009), 180-205; Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Jacobites, ed. David Forsyth (Edinburgh: National Museum of Scotland, 2017). On the condemnation of the English, see Stefano Villani, “Martirio, spionaggio e propaganda. I roghi di Richard Atkins (1581) e Walter Marsh (1595) condannati a Roma dall’Inquisizione,” in La fede degli italiani. Per Adriano Prosperi, vol. I, ed. Guido Dall’Olio, Adelisa Malena and Pierroberto Scaramella (Pisa: Edizioni della Normale, 2011), 67-79. Edward Gregg, “The financial vicissitudes of James III,” in The Stuart Court in Rome: The Legacy of Exile, ed. Edward T. Corp (London: Ashgate, 2003), 65-83. A detailed study has yet to be done on the relations between the exiled Stuart court and the Papacy within the framework of European politics. Thus one must again turn again to Lesley Lewis, Connoisseurs and Secret Agents in Eighteenth Century Rome (London: Chatto & Windus, 1961). BL, Add. ms 20292, c. 64r. The letter recalled the attempts to convert him “i’ay esté vivement poussé d’abandoner la Religion Catholique avec menace que ie ne verray iamais mon pais de cela. Le refus que i’ay fait et que ie feray touicurs (sic) par la grace de Dieu à pareille proposition a mis l’allarme parmy tous mes amis”: ibidem, c. 64v (23 April 1714).

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c­ ertainty of losing all hope for ever setting foot in England again.”96 James was afraid of losing the support of the Anglicans who were loyal to the Stuarts, and the pope feared there could be retaliation against English Catholics who were forced to covertly practice their religion. In 1717 the Holy Office asked the ambassador “friends” of Rome to designate chapels in their homes and palaces for religious celebration “for the comfort of the Catholics there residing.”97 Meanwhile, the prince had become a point of contact for cardinals, curia members, and members of religious orders for requesting favors, maintaining careers and facilitating processes of beatification.98 James’ marriage troubles, he was often drunk and aggressive, ultimately abandoning his children and wife, ­Clementina, certainly did not help relations between the English prince, the pope and the Roman curia. The exiled queen finally realized her desire to ­retire to a monastery and in 1725, left the Muti palace for the convent of  S. Cecilia where she remained until her death. Her unhappy life and untimely death at age t­ hirty-three provided the conditions for the Polish princess’ beatification. U ­ nlike her husband who was “tolerated,” during his exile, for diplomatic reasons, from the moment she arrived in Rome, Clementina was treated like a martyr, sacrificed for her country and the hope of a Catholic reconquering of England.99 The history of the English court in Rome still remains, by and large, to be written. During the course of the seventeenth century, the fashionable Grand Tour had attracted an increasing number of European sovereigns, particularly princes from the German territories. They would take part in the experience, either incognito or officially, which usually included a trip to Rome, and would 96 97 98

99

AAV, Fondo Albani, 168, c. 135r (10 June 1716), letter of the vice-legate of Avignon Alamanno Salviati to Cardinal Paolucci. AAV, Memoriali e biglietti, 31, cc. nn. (12 e 13 March 1717). Upon the request of the Jesuits, James wrote to Rome requesting the beatification of Robert Bellarmine “Quis enim alius tam strenue feliciterque debellavit errorum monstra quae aetas, praecipue autem Anglia nostra videt et luget?”: BL, Add. ms 20292, c. 55r. Similarly, in 1716, he requested in the curia the assistant general of the Lazzarists to uphold the cause for the beatification of S. Vincenzo de’ Paoli (ibidem, c. 92r) and of JeanneFrançoise de Chantal, founder of the Visitandine (ibidem, c. 98r). On the Roman episodes of the Polish princess, see Gaetano Platania, Viaggio a Roma sede d’esilio (Sovrane alla conquista di Roma, secoli XVII-XVIII) (Rome: Istituto Nazionale di Studi Romani, 2002), 99-118. BL, Add. ms. 34638, c. 247rv. With regard to the miraculous recovery of six-year-old child afflicted by “an epidemic putrid fever” attributed to Clementina and certified in 1781. On the construction of the figure of the martyr, see Patricia Brückmann, “The Triumph of Clementina”, in The Triumphs of the Defeated: Early Modern Festivals and Messages of Legitimacy, ed. Peter Davidson, Jill Bepler (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 2007), 149-165; Neil Guthrie, The Material Culture of Jacobites (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013).

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participate in everyday life and attend the parties of the aristocracy, academies and papal ceremonies, especially during Christmas and Easter.100 Many foreigners prepared for the trip reading the literature available, listening to the experiences of their predecessors, and the ideas and opinions, cultivated in their country, which developed into prejudices fostered by the religious divides. Some wished to personally verify what they had learned theoretically via culture and tradition that looked with diffidence upon the Italian Roman Catholic world. For others, and especially princes who remained faithful to the Roman Church, the trip to Italy and stay in Rome had a more profound meaning and became a kind of pilgrimage which continued to maintain its religious significance. The encounter with the papal court, with the pope and his family, was an occasion to display one’s loyalty. But it was also an opportunity to request benefices, protection for religious orders and resolve jurisdictional matters in their dominions. The Roman experience of reformed princes was however different during the eighteenth century. Theirs was a cautious encounter with the dreaded capital of the Catholic faith. Their view of Rome was a stereotypical one, developed in cultural and religious contexts marked by religious hostility, which had been described and disseminated for centuries through a wealth of literature. However, the aggressive context that this view had developed in was now long gone or at least more concealed than it had been in the past. There are many examples of visitors escaping the stereotypes and making their own evaluations in the end of their travel experience and transmitted these more positive ideas back to their homelands. This in turn achieved the political outcome Rome had wished for.101 In the case of the Calvinist landgraves who ruled Kassel one can speak of a “rediscovery” of Italy and Rome. They were heirs of Philip the Magnanimous, the loyal and determined defender of the Reformation who had fought against the peasants in the revolt of Franconia. Their trips to the peninsula, beginning in the seventeenth century, nurtured a deep cultural rapport, and an infatuation, which would have significant effects particularly upon the field of art. Yet despite this positive “rediscovery’, there persisted negative judgments and prejudices due, by and large, to religious hostility. These would translate into generic stereotypes regarding aspects of the life and cultural tradition of Italy. The 1695 visit to the peninsula by Frederick, son of the Landgrave Carl, is 100 101

A detailed account of Karl, Duke of Wüttemberg’s stay in Rome in UBTü, M h 77: Von dem Aufenthalt des Herzogs Karl zu Rom a 1753 und dessen Präsentation bey dem Pabst. For instance, the travel experiences in Rome of a few princes of the house of Hesse-­ Kassel, see Irene Fosi, “Viaggio in Italia e conversioni. Analisi di un binomio,” Römische Historische Mitteilungen 30 (1988): 269-288.; Fosi, “Roma e gli ‘ultramontani’’, 351-396.

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recorded both in the documents redacted in Kassel prior to his departure – discussing finances and logistics – as well as in a Diary which, in reality, was a collection of letters sent to the court by the Hofmeister Alexander Du Rosey during his stay in Italy.102 The trip taken four years later by Carl himself, from 1699 to 1700, is instead extensively documented in the Diarium Italicum, written by his secretary Johann Balthasar Klaute.103 Even during the eighteenth century, Hesse, and particularly Hesse-Kassel, embodied and defended his role as a defender of the Reformation. This perpetuated the anti-Catholic, anti-papist and anti-imperial tradition initiated by Philip the Magnanimous in the sixteenth century. Italy continued to be identified tout-court with Rome, the pope, the “papists,” superstition and devious actions of the Jesuits who conspired within and outside of the European courts. Unlike in the case of other reformed German princes, the trip to Italy did not represent an indispensable educational moment for the future sovereigns until the eighteenth century. Only in 1695 would the Landgrave Carl decide to send his son Frederick, who would later through marriage become King of Sweden, to the peninsula in the fashion of the popular European Kavalierstour. However, the true protagonist of the letters was actually the Hofmeister Alexander Du Rosey, the landgrave’s trusted collaborator and member of one of the most important Huguenot families who had been welcomed in Kassel, following the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. Between December 1694 and January 1695, a detailed memorial was written for Alexander Du Rosey, specifying the itinerary and travel expenses, but also inviting the Hofmeister to record all impressions and curiosities in a diary. The trip itself was more or less that of the classic Kavalierstour: they would travel from Augsburg to Innsbruck and then to Venice, where it would have been easier to assimilate into the local society thanks to the recent military ties between Kassel and the Serenissima. After Carnival in Venice they would head to Rome, by way of Ferrara and Ravenna, where they would stay for three or four weeks. On their way home from Rome, the central destination of this courtly travel program, they would pass through Florence briefly stopping at the Medici court. In remaining faithful to his instructions, Alexander Du Rosey sent numerous letters to Kassel. The Hofmeister’s correspondence, and modest observations, were not intended to become public but are an important resource for understanding a traveler’s first impression of the peninsula and reveal discrepancies between 102 103

HStA Mr, 4a 72 3, Reise nach Italien. Johann Balthasar Klaute, Diarium italicum. Die Reise Landgraf Karls von Hessen-Kassel nach Italien, 5 Dezember 1699 bis 1 April 1700, ed. Cornelia Weinberger (Kassel: Hamecher, 2006).

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the reality and image of Italy. One needed to arrive, and stay, in Rome to justify a trip that had, up until then, offered significant disappointments and inconveniences. Du Rosey noted that, “that manner in which we live here differs from the rest of Italy and in all of Venice, here we live like great lords and in Venice like rich merchants;” thus the extraordinary abundance of positive emotions overcame even the skeptical Hofmeister. “We find a thousand things that display the wealth of the Papist Church and grandeur of ancient Rome.”104 It is here that the two official reasons for trip became clear. On the one hand, there was an encounter with the local aristocracy who welcomed guests with a splendid reception. On the other, there was the attention received from the papal court, the participation in the impressive Holy Thursday ceremonies, gifts from the cardinal and pope, accorded to both Catholic and heretical princes when such illustrious figures arrived in the city. All this had changed the Huguenot Hofmeister’s initial negative and skeptical impression. Thus a relaxed and positive assessment, free from enthusiasm and overabundant admiration, is revealed in the few letters he sent from Rome. It was precisely Du Rosey’s detachment that reassured his master that there was no possible danger of conversion nor enthusiasm for the papist religion. A negative message began reverberating around the Protestant world, and especially Kassel, of the Hesse-Darmstadt heirs’ conversion, perhaps the result of political opportunism, which occurred during the Roman sojourns,105 as in the case of Frederick who later become a cardinal. The constant attempts made by the Jesuits to persuade “family members” of cardinals to return royal heirs to Catholicism, the shocking conversion of the Queen of Sweden, the 1697 conversion of August II the Elector of Saxony, elected King of Poland that same year, all supported the Protestant German common belief that trips to Italy resulted in conversions to Catholicism. Thus Rome’s magnetic power, with its ceremonies, splendid court and aristocratic parties, was fearfully acknowledged. In the eyes of the Calvinist princes everything, sacred and profane, seemed to be subtly aimed at undermining the rigorous reformed conscience. The positive view of Innocent XII concerned the more controversial aspects of the pope and the tradition of papal government: “I can assure you, Sir, that he is a very courteous Prince. It is said that he has a lot of merit. He is of a noble house but will not recognize of his relatives for Nevues. It founds great bastiments and beautiful foundations for the poor.”106 During this trip the traveler’s impression of the antiquities are relatively scarce (or at 104 HStAMr, 4a 72 3. 105 See supra, pp. 186-189. 106 HStA Mr, 4a 3.

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least not well documented). However, the sacred and profane, the fascination with baroque rituals, aristocratic parties, the city and the court, are more richly recounted. Even for the reformed princes, Rome appeared to be the source of rituals and ceremonies and served as a model for all other European courts.107 It is difficult to say to what extent Frederick’s 1695 experience and, above all, the reactions of the Hofmeister and other travel companions had on the landgrave’s decision to travel to Italy himself four years later. The positive experience of his son’s trip to the major Italian cities must have awakened in Carl an already strong desire to learn more about the important aspects of baroque Italian art and culture, which, during his reign, were widely diffused at his court. This gave rise to an artistic trend, and Italian fashion, which, albeit with distinctive qualities and characteristics would be destined to last throughout the eighteenth century. The 1695 trip was preceded by a period of careful preparation, to learn the language, organize daily itineraries, and thus avoid falling into the traps of phony and greedy hoteliers ready to take advantage of a foreign and naïve gentleman, or else fall into the net of papists who confused interest and admiration for the art and majesty of Rome for signs of a possible conversion. Carl traveled incognito from December 1699 to March 1700 in the “Paradis von Europa,” and was accompanied by, among others, Johann Balthasar Klaute. In the introduction to his work, the secretary clearly states the limits and scope of the Diarium composed not for his own curiosity but to satisfy the prince’s desire to leave a testament of his “perlustration von Italien.” Thus for Klaute there were no literary influences and he only mentions having drawn inspiration from Misson’s Voyage d’Italie,108 which he discovered while in Venice. In reality, however, there is evidence, in both the work’s structure and content, of elements drawn from a wide array of contemporary travel writing likely found in the court library or purchased during the trip to Italy. Klaute must have found Misson’s firm Calvinist spirit, his stigmatization of many of the aspects of modern Italian culture and life, from religiosity to bigotry, to be a model upon which to base his own writing. His personal experience therefore becomes a perfect travel model for nobles and princes with an interest in art and culture, but, above all, for those desiring to learn of the political and legislative systems of the small Italian courts. As such, in the Diarium italicum, art and political science are the two focal points around which Carl’s Italian 107

108

Johann Christian Lünig, Theatrum Ceremoniale Historico-Politicum, Oder Historisch-und Politischer Schau-Platz Aller Ceremonien, Welche bey Päbst-und Käyser-, auch Königlichen Wahlen und Crönungen…Ingleichen bey Grosser Herren und dero Gesandten Einholungen… beobachtet warden (Leipzig: M. Weidmann, 1720), 166-351. Maximilien Misson, Nouveau voyage d’Italie (La Haye: chez H. van Bulderen, 1702).

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experience revolved. The prince’s interest was not limited to admiring works of art or ancient relics. Rather, the trip to Italy offered the opportunity to placate his curiosity and interest in science and innovation, as emphasized in the more recent travel manuals. Rome had also been at the center of these experiences: the city did not only offer antiquities, or marvelous court ceremonies, but during the tournant of the late seventeenth century it boasted a lively scientific environment.109 The visit to the Kircher museum, recorded in the secretary’s report, allowed for a clear opposition of the traveler’s “culture” to the ignorance of the German Jesuit’s brothers, in this case personified by Father Andrea Pozzo, called “frater ignorantiae.” In fact, in very little time, the Italian Jesuits had dispensed with the majority of the “schönen Mathematischen und Mechanischen Instrumenten” in Kircher’s collection, out of envy or as useless gifts.110 Carl’s guide during his visit to St. Peter’s had been prince Henry of Hesse-Darmstadt who, a few years earlier, had converted to Catholicism and later become general of the imperial army. The Landgrave of Kassel’s departure for Italy caused many in his homeland to suspect a potential conversion. Carl, however, alleviated these suspicions in a 14 February 1700 letter to his wife wherein he informed her that no one in Rome had attempted to convert him. There, Protestant and Catholic money had the same value, and he revealed himself to be appalled by the careless bigotry that had led him to feel “horror” (horreur) for that religion.111 In opposition to the recent conversion of the Hesse-Darmstadt princes was the detached resoluteness of the sovereign of Kassel who, with his firm Calvinist resolve, refused any spiritual or religious contact with Rome. In light of this desired isolation from Roman society, Klaute, with a kind of auto-censorship, purposely excluded details of social life and parties, as they did not correspond to the model clearly presented in the introduction to the Diarium. The fun and vitality of society, nor enthusiastic admiration for the papal court’s ceremonies, should taint the image of the trip undertaken by the sovereign to quench his thirst for the knowledge of nature, art and political systems. The account of the Calvinist prince’s travels was offered as a model to other reformed sovereigns and politicians as per the conclusion of the Diarium Italicum and 109 110 111

On the topic see, Rome et la science moderne entre Renaissance et lumières, ed. Antonella Romano (Rome: École française de Rome, 2008). Johann Balthasar Klaute, Diarium italicum. Die Reise Landgraf Karls von Hessen-Kassel nach Italien, 5 Dezember 1699 bis 1 April 1700, ed. Cornelia Weinberger (Kassel: Hamecher, 2006), 167. Hans Philippi, Landgraf Karl von Hessen-Kassel: Ein deutscher Fürst der Barockzeit (Marburg: Elwert, 1976), 283.

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anticipated, albeit in a dry conventional tone, subsequent detailed descriptions of trips to Italy wherein artistic aspects would be more important and not reduced to a pedantic assortment of curiosities. The landgraves of Hesse’s travels to Rome continued and the final one certainly reveals the change which had taken place within the Church, the curia and the city in respect to the meaning of a princely conversion as an essential element of propaganda and the general conversion strategy and religious reconquering of Europe. In 1777 the sovereign of Kassel, Frederick II, who had converted to Catholicism in 1749, completed his trip to Italy. The journey was documented by the Germans in a Journal de Voyage of the architect Simon Louis Du Roy, who along with other courtiers was part of the prince’s entourage. However, in this case, there are no letters written to his family, nor a diary, nor literary account of the trip. The lack of sources for this extremely important event in the life and reign of Frederick, though no longer entirely original, is nevertheless telling. It reveals the desire to gloss over the Italian experience of the Catholic prince of a Calvinist land and the importance of showing that there was no hint of any desire, especially on the part of Rome, that the converted prince would meet the “common father.” The trip to Italy came late for the landgrave and was therefore not part of his formative experience. It was characterized, from the very beginning, by an interest, and quasi infatuation, with antiquity, classical art, Italian music and language, and especially by the new archeological discoveries which fostered a rich and refined practice of collezionismo. The cultural motives for this trip are clear. It was organized over many years, and repeatedly postponed due to financial difficulties, as confirmed by Frederick’s letters to his agent in Rome, Bernardo Giordani,112 who continually invited him to follow the example of the German princes. The loyal abbot Giordani reiterated that Rome is the common homeland of all Christians and honest people. The Pope is the common Father of the faithful and in particular of the ­Princes. He allows his dear children the utmost freedom to come and go as they wish, without the least cause for embarrassment. The Emperor and all other sovereigns, who come there, did the same as Vo. Al. Ser.me has established be done, and if his Holiness, based on something I said during

112

Irene Fosi, “Giordani, Bernardo Paolo,” in Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani, 55 (Rome: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, 2000): 215-219.

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my audience, ordered his Nuncio to offer compliments on his behalf, this does not oblige you to appear in public nor change your plans.113 It was a success both for the Catholic landgrave and his agent who would finally see the fruit of decades of faithful service and inform his master “of everything that occurs in Italy and in the Court of Rome.” And he also highlighted that the visit would need to be devoid of ceremonial obligations. It is more difficult to imagine what “spiritual” meaning Rome, the encounter with Pius VI (1775-1799) and his court had for Frederick. He never spoke of religion, or of his conversion, or of his relationship with the Catholic world. From the beginning, his religiosity, perhaps only the result of external constraints and political necessity, was rigorously personal, and largely influenced by an open and tolerant illuminist education, far from anachronistic religious enthusiasm. His conversion had taken place during the papacy of Benedict XIV (1740-1758) and had practically been forgotten in Rome. But on the occasion of the landgrave’s trip to the Eternal City, the official records, among which the Diario Ordinario, dedicated ample space to the visit of the illustrious figure and focused on religious and devotional moments rather than the prince’s admiration for the relics of classical antiquity. In this circumstance, there was a reemergence of rhetorical and propagandistic formulas used by Catholics in polemical writings aimed at contesting the validity of political measures taken at Kassel in 1755, following Fredrick’s conversion. The prince, who had for many years resisted the heretic attacks, thus preserving the true faith, is presented as a model of piety and devotion when attending the ceremony of the blessing of the candles in the papal chapel, or during the audience with Pius VI by whom he was received with “extraordinary displays of admiration and love.” His trip to the Eternal City, depicted in the contemporary Roman records as a pilgrimage, culminated in the conferment of the relics – the authenticity of which was dubious – of St. Clement and St. Elizabeth, “to whom His Most Serene Highness professed particular devotion.”114 The prince appeared to finally be free to express his religiosity in Rome, his spiritual homeland, which received him with love and recognition. And, in the Roman sources, the trip to the Eternal City represents the only triumph granted to the Catholic sovereign of a reformed territory. Irrespective of the optimism expressed in the chronicles, the Rome that had influenced the travel experience of 1777 was, above all, one containing relics of a grand past, revived by the cosmopolitan and stimulating environment 113 114

HstAMr, Bestand 4f, Papst 18, letter of B. Giordani (4 January 1777). Diario Ordinario, a. 1777, n. 214, 10-12; n. 220; n. 226, 8-10.

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comprised of artists, antique dealers, collectors, diplomats, counterfeiters and patrons. This was the Rome that Frederick had experienced, under the guidance of Du Roy and Raiffenstein, at aristocratic parties and those of Cardinal Alessandro Albani, and whose classical and positive myth he sought, successfully, to perpetuate like other sovereign princes of the Empire, both Catholic and non-Catholic. And during his reign his residence at Kassel became a m ­ odel and a point of reference for European neoclassicism.

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Conclusion Was the meaning of religious conversion therefore also beginning to change for the Roman authorities in the course of the eighteenth century? Certainly not. Indeed, the return of princes, aristocrats, and even commoners to the Church was always considered a victory over heresy. In the cultural climate of the eighteenth century this heresy came in ever more subtle and dangerous forms: libertine, illuminist, and later, revolutionary ideas. Especially important were the conversions of Protestant foreigners who, after the devastating effects of the French Revolution, sought consolation in the Church of Rome and reassurance in the faith.1 Religious conversion also maintained its strength and symbolic importance in propaganda and politics as indicated by the vast literature on the topic, promoted by both the récits de conversion and the example of famous conversions that were disseminated during the nineteenth century. What had undoubtedly changed from the second half of the seventeenth century, due to the influx of travelers, scientists, artists from elsewhere in Europe, were the strategies used for returning those who had lived in error to the fold of the “common father.” The methods of repression and control had proven to be futile and inept at stopping the flow of men, wares, books and ideas that passed from the Alps to the Mediterranean. The papacy’s political decline on the European scene, after the Peace of Westphalia (1648), was evident. The economy, administration and government exhibited signs of inadequacy and deterioration. Meanwhile, the cities, and Rome in particular, presented themselves as both desirable and obligatory destinations, and not only for aristocratic travelers embarking upon the Grand Tour. In the eighteenth century, conflicts arose between papal authorities over how to treat foreign heretics. In 1727 two English travelers arrived in Bologna, one of whom, the painter Grems, had been banished from the city and his companion arrested. The cardinal legate and archbishop had different opinions on the matter. While the former wished to enforce the strict regulations prohibiting heretics from entering Italy, the Bolognese archbishop feared that this rigidity was now excessive and hindered the growing presence of “tourists” and merchants whose contribution to the city’s economy was important. But he also feared that the severity shown towards English travelers could further compromise the position of Catholics in England.2 Once again, as in the case of the 1 Claudio Canonici, “L’aversion pour l’une le dégouta de l’autre.” Lumi, filosofia, rivoluzione nelle conversioni al cattolicesimo fra Settecento e Ottocento,” Rivista di storia del Cristianesimo 1 (2010): 127-138. 2 AAV, Memoriali e biglietti, vol. 41 (Bologna, 1 February 1727). © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2020 | doi:10.1163/9789004422667_011

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goldsmith Fischer at the beginning of the seventeenth century, the pope’s policies toward heretic foreigners in Italy and Rome were linked to the European political framework, marked by the war and the deep confessional divisions. During the course of the seventeenth century there were fewer episodes of open hostility between the Holy Office (which declared itself to be superior to all tribunals) and the other Roman courts. Nevertheless, tensions did arise. A conflict, for instance, occurred in the 1730s between the Tribunal of the Governor and the Holy Office. Following the repeated protests of Catholic merchants, the Tribunal of Faith had ordered the expulsion of “heretic” merchants and bakers who had, for some time, been successfully running their businesses in Rome. This was obviously a question of competition, and the accusation of spreading heresy with “scandal and awe” (scandalo e meraviglia) among the population was clearly instrumental. In certain cases, the Governor delayed enforcing the Holy Office’s orders to expel foreigners and sequester their possessions. And, given the pressure emanating from other government entities and individuals, he even had a motive for allowing these criminal activities. Lengthy procedures served to mask the Governor’s reluctance to execute the orders. In the case of the Protestant fabric salesman Gio. Mattia Schmitz, this activity became apparent however, the expulsion order issued by the Holy Office needed to be obeyed by the Governor “without mentioning the name of the Holy Office.”3 But for fear of the negative consequences, to himself and the Congregation, the Governor refused and decided that the affair needed to be resolved by the Secretary of State. No one wanted to be responsible for the unpopular decision, during a severe attack against the Tribunal, now afraid to take responsibility for having made decisions falsely labeled as materia fidei. In the past the reporting of heretic business owners – goldsmiths, merchants and artists – resulted from “jealousy” and personal vendettas and was disguised as a matter of scandal and faith. In Rome inquisitorial supremacy could be imposed and regulated, though it was often met with negative reactions and fierce resistance. However, it was more difficult to exert similar pressures in the other provinces of the Papal States. The borders which, since the second half of the sixteenth century, the pontiffs had attempted to protect against the arrival of heretics and their ideas, and from merchants, artisans and travelers, revealed themselves to be penetrable. 3 ACDF, SO, Materiae Diversae 1750-1752 B, cc. On the relations between heretic merchants in Rome and the Inquisition, see Angela Groppi, “Concorrenza economica e confessione religiosa. Mercanti Cattolici contro calvinisti e luterani nella Roma dei papi (secoli XVII-XVIII), Quaderni Storici 51, 152 (2016): 471-502.

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Artists from all over Europe, as well as antique dealers, intellectuals and people from all walks of life came to the city in search of fortune.4 For them, papal ceremonies, sumptuous aristocratic parties, theatres, and academies still remained a powerful attraction detached from the confessional element. During the nineteenth century there were foreign communities in Rome that hosted artists, artisans who had not accepted to convert, were undisturbed, and no longer feared the inquisitorial repression aimed at punishing the libertine and enlightened ideas circulating throughout the city.5 One could live by “minding one’s business.” The Holy Office would only intervene in the event of scandal, sometimes fabricated in order to cash in on personal vendettas or to distance individuals who tainted the community and disturbed the peace with their behavior. The Tribunal of Faith behaved with ambiguity, sometimes seeking to moderate the use of repressive instruments, while, at other times forcefully pursuing exemplary punishment for those who had caused scandal. In Rome’s complex cultural climate, the Inquisition defended its role vigorously, however alongside censorship and repression, more subtle and ambiguous methods were now needed. Foreigners had been – and continued to be – the vehicles of these feared contacts with the “others.” They arrived with their entourages, servants, colleagues, and others they had met along the way, or came alone looking, at the very least, to experience faraway contexts and places. They brought with them “pestiferous” books and spread ideas through words and frequent and uncontrollable conversations. While many people were intrigued, the majority of the residents exhibited a lax indifference, and foreigners were monitored by the ever attentive, but less vigorous, custodians of order and the faith. During the period herein considered, Rome was not a hospitable land of “religious minorities,” just as it was not a cosmopolitan city. The cosmopolitanism attributed to Rome in the early modern age, can in fact lead to a misunderstanding of the city in this period. The concept of cosmopolitanism was in reality an eighteenth-century one, an expression of individualism and tolerance. To attribute a cosmopolitan character – in the enlightened meaning – to Rome of the early modern age would in fact soften and even distort the cultural and religious context, as well as the political one that welcomed national communities and colleges, to which young foreigners came to study and prepare for missionary work in their homelands. The diverse demography of the 4 Roma e gli artisti stranieri. Integrazione, reti e identità (XVI-XXs), ed. Ariane Varela Braga and Thomas-Leo True, (Rome: Artemide, 2018). 5 A vivid picture of the French milieu in Rome around the Cardinal de Bernis in Gilles Montègre, La Rome des Français au temps des Lumières. Capitale de l’antique et carrefour de l’Europe 1769-1791 (Rome: École Française de Rome, 2011).

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numerous “nationes,” their confraternal and welfare institutions, but also the presence, in the courts of nobles and cardinals, of intellectuals, casual and foreign travelers, whose Catholic orthodoxy was not always verifiable, made the Eternal City a composite society, a mosaic of nations, a place wherein it was possible to live without falling into the inquisitorial net. The indifference of the “inhabitants” and the inability of the weakened institutions to effectively monitor visitors, aided foreigners in hiding themselves, whether they chose to remain in Rome or simply pass through on their way to other destinations.

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Index Index

253

Index Abertelli, Jacob (see Apenzeller, Jacob) Accademia dei Lincei 88-91, 93n27, 96, 105 di San Luca 24 Acquaviva, Ottavio 107 Affair of the Corsican Guards 32 Agonizzanti, Church of 23 Albani, Alessandro (Cardinal) 222 Alberini, Marcello, Diario 2 Albizzi, Francesco 153 Albritio (Albrizio) Mario (Monsignor) 155, 155n17 Alcalà, Duke of 79 Aldobrandini, Cinzio 47 Aldobrandini, Pietro (Cardinal Nephew) 94 Alexander VII (Pope) 1, 10, 40, 64, 150, 152- 156, 170-171, 176, 178-179, 188-189 (see Chigi, Fabio) Alfonso III d’Este (Duke of Modena) 139 Alincourt, Charles d’ 114-116, 119-120 (see Neufville, Charles and Villeroy) Allen, William (Cardinal) 33 Allerding, Hermann 172 Altemps, Marco Sittico (Cardinal) 87, 168 Amati, Giuseppe (Inquisitor) 145-146 Amsterdam 67, 138, 146, 182, 195-197, 208, 211 Ancina, Giovanni Giovenale 8, 9n13, 61-62, 68, 94, 152n8, 190 Ancona 138, 146, 205-207, 211 Annales Ecclesiastici 47 Anversa, Giovan Battista da 158 Apenzeller, Jacob 75, 77-78, 80, 83 (see Abertelli, Jacob) Archiconfraternity of Santa Maria del Campo Teutonico 30n45 Archive of the Vicariate of Rome 2 Arter, Nicolò 199 Arundell, Thomas 35 Aschhausen, Johannes Godefridus von 86 Auditor Camerae 17, 75 Augustini, Francesco 112 Augsburg 48, 72, 89, 95, 102, 107, 198-199, 216 August II (Elector of Saxony) 217 Auligech, Domenico (student) 25 Auspert, Ludovico of 181

Avignon 42, 107-108, 110, 212n90, 214n96 Bacchini, Leonardo (Jesuit) 77 Baglioni, Orazio 103 Bandinelli, Baccio 131 Bandini, Ottavio (Cardinal) 74 Barberini, Antonio (Cardinal) 184 Barberini (family) 9, 129, 152, 186-187 Barberini, Francesco (Cardinal Nephew) 37, 80, 91-92, 124, 147, 170, 186n22 Barclay, John 91n24 Barefoot Spanish Franciscans 26n38 Barefoot Carmelites 104 Barnsdorf, Giusto Enrico 183 Baronio, Cesare (Cardinal) 47, 68, 94, 108-109, 112, 119, 168 Baronio, Giusto 47-48 (see Kahl, Justus) Barthof, Anselmo 79 Bauer, Giovanni (captain) 197n55 Bellarmine, Robert (Cardinal) 34, 43-45, 47, 64, 68, 87, 90, 91n24, 98n98, 117, 119-120, 193, 214n98 Benedict XIV (Pope) 221 Béthune, Philippe de (Count of Selles) 113114n25, 115 Bobba, Ottavio 138 Bologna 127-128, 131, 133, 140, 144, 223 Archbishop of 155 University of 129 Legate of 129, 140, 184 Bona, Giovanni (Cardinal) 164, 164n41 Boncompagni, Girolamo (Cardinal) 155, 166, 171-172 Bonfatti, Martia 78 Bonfatti, Ortensia 74, 77 Book of Pilgrims 33n50, 35, 39-41, 192-193, 211 Borghese, Camillo (see Paul V) Borghese, Scipione (Cardinal Nephew) 87, 90, 100, 104, 119 Bouillon, Duke of (Henri de la Tour d’ Auvergne) 107-108n5 Bozzi, Tommaso 146 Bracciolini, Giuseppe 83 Breve ragguaglio 46

© Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2020 | doi:10.1163/9789004422667_013

254 Brèves, François Savary de 114-116, 118-119, 120 Broccard, Francis 67-70, 85, 105 His Alarm to All Protestant Princes  67n64, 68n68, 69n72, 70n73, 85n1 Brno 24-25 Brugo, Rainier (goldsmith) 80 Bruni, Carlo 23 Buonarroti, Michelangelo 169 Burbridge, Thomas 36 Calenfels, Giovanni Andrea 164 Calixt, Georg 167 Calvin, John 46-47, 181, 139, 210 Calvinism 47 Calvinists 58, 139, 197, 204 Calvino, Giusto 69, 85, 194 Canisio, Pietro 192 Canon Law 20, 96 Contra haereses 20 Canterbury 36 Capponi, Luigi (Cardinal) 116 Capuchins 57, 62n54-55, 81, 182 Carafa, Carlo (Nuncio) 81, 102n58 Caravaggio (Michelangelo Merisi) 31 Caravita, Pietro (Jesuit) 153n11, 154-155 Cardano, Girolamo, De subtilitate 90 Cardinal Vicar 18, 21-23, 64, 202, 209-210 Carena, Cesare 20 Carlo Emanuele (Duke of Savoy) 136 Edict of 1622 136 Casaubon, Isaac 118, 122 Catecumeni Compagnia de’ 63 Casa dei 196 Cavalletta, Maria 75 Centurione, Alonso 184 Centurione, Ippolito 184 Cerusico, Giovanni 207 Cesi, Federico 89-90 Ceva, Francesco Adriano (Cardinal) 63 Charles I Stuart (King of England) 37 Charles X (King of Sweden) 153, 171n62 Chigi, Fabio (see Alexander VII) Chigi, Flavio 191 Christina (of Sweden) 1, 153, 168, 182, 199, 217 Cipper, Jacob 59 Cittadini, Celso 97n39

Index Cives 14-17 Civis 14, 16 Civitavecchia 34, 39-40, 211 Clavius, Christof (mathematician) 85, 87 Clement VIII (Pope) 7, 11, 20n18, 46-47, 49-50, 60-62, 64, 66-68, 70, 89, 109, 112, 115, 152, 190 Clement XI (Pope) 211 Clement XIII (Pope) 27 Clens, Ludolf 53 Clerics Regular of the Mother of God 68 Clodio, Bruto 72 Clodio, Eugenio 72 Clut, Abramo (tailor) 23 Cobelluzzi, Scipione (Cardinal) 87, 95, 121 Collegio Germanico 97 Cologne 62, 62n55, 91n24, 150-151, 170, 199 Colonna, Girolamo (Cardinal) 188 Confraternities 1, 27-29n42, 30-31, 35, 38-39, 48n19,91, 99, 159, 201 Confraternita dello Spirito Santo 63 of the Misericordia 207 of Roman silver and goldsmiths 73 of Santi Crispino and Crispiniano 30 of San Luigi dei Francesi 31 Congregration ad propagationem Fidei 68 de iis qui sponte ad fidem veniunt 8, 9n13, 37, 41, 61n51, 109n11, 129, 142, 152, 179, 190 de conversis ad fidem adiuvandis 61n51, 152, 154, 157 della Passione del Signore e della Croce 62n54 dell’Oratorio 190 of Cologne 63n55 of the Holy Faith 79 of the Holy Office 50, 71, 87 of the Index 94, 94n31, 167 of the Inquisition 58, 73-74, 82-83,125,143 of Propaganda Fide 8, 41, 62-65, 68, 82, 129, 130n21, 131-132, 151-152, 155-157, 167, 177, 179-181, 184, 188, 210 Sacri Foederis 68 Congregatio Germanica 7 Contarelli, Francesco 31 Contarelli, Matteo 31 Conti, Giuseppe 155 Copenhagen, Siege of 171

255

Index Coppon, Gio. 23 Cosimo III (Grand Duke of Tuscany) 188 Constantinople 39 Costiz, Johannes 104, 104n64 Council of the Two Hundred 46 Council of Trent 22, 110 Counter-Reformation 29, 49 Crescenzi, Alessandro (Bishop) 147 Curia 1-3, 9, 13, 17, 28, 31, 33, 38-39, 62, 64, 66, 72, 77, 79, 84, 87-88, 97, 100, 105, 110, 112-116,119, 121, 129, 151, 156, 165-166, 172, 174-175, 178-179, 182, 185, 189-190, 192, 213-214, 220 di Borgo (see Tribunal of Borgo) Curtius, Alexander 184 Daniele da Volterra (painter) 169 Danti, Egnazio, Anemografia 1n1 Decreta 50, 209, 211 Della Rena, Orazio 51 Denmark 130, 171-172, 193 King of 172 Denaccioli, Vincenzo 73 De propalandis hereticis (Edict of) 145 Di Geronimo, Francesca (di Masaccio) 206207 Dillingen 49 Carmelites Discalced 68 Dogger, Victor 58 Dominicans 81, 146, 196 Douai 34 Dresden 103 Du Perron, Jacques (Cardinal) 108n6, 114, 118 Dunmdge, John (of London) 192 Du Rosey, Alexander 216-217 Egidi, Clemente da Montefalco (Inquisitor)  127 Elizabeth I Tudor (Queen of England) 33, 35, 39, 52, 59 Elsheimer, Adam (painter) 87 Emerix, Johannes 175 Enlightenment, The 10, 12 Entlingher, Giovanni (painter) 24 Engelhard, Stefan 96 England 12, 20n20, 33, 33n50, 34, 36, 38, 39n70, 41, 41n75, 51, 54, 59, 67-68, 111-112, 118, 144, 147, 192-193, 211, 213-214, 223

Ercolano (Count of Lambergh) 164 Ernest of Hesse-Rhienfels 150-151, 152n7, 170, 176 Eyeron, James 39 Faber, Johannes 9, 11, 65, 69, 73, 77, 81, 83-88, 88n11, 90-106, 112, 119, 121, 123, 175, 185 Faber, Maria Anna 88 Faber, Maria Maddalena 89 Faber, Maria Vittoria 89 Fantetti, Domenico 71 Fantetti, Giovan Paolo (goldsmith) 75-76, 83 Farreliter, Wilhelm 211 Favèrgue, Etienne de la 46-47 Febei, Francesco Maria (Archbishop) 155, 155n19 Felice, Vincenzo 206-208 Fendri, John Hierom 69 Feria V 53 Ferrara 133, 140, 216 Legate of 140 Filippo Neri (Saint) 48, 62 Fischer, Cristoforo Gaspare 71-73, 75, 82, 85, 98, 123, 185, 224 Fischer, Gaspar 79 Fischer, Georg 72, 76, 81, 83-85 Fischer, Giuseppe 74-76, 78 Fischer, Orsola 74-76, 78-80 Fischer, Orsola (sister) 74 Flanders 72, 181, 192 Flaune, Samuel 40 Florence 32, 52, 127, 129, 131, 134, 136, 141-144, 144n69, 188, 216 Forenses 14-15 Fortescue, Anthony 35, 37 Franci, Paolo de’ (Inquisitor) 140 Franciscan Irish 26n38 Franconia, Revolt of 215 Frankfurt 74, 83n29, 197n55, Frederick of Hesse-Darmstadt (Cardinal)  182-183, 186-189 Frederick II of Hesse-Kassel 220 Frederick III (King of Denmark) 171, 171n62 French Revolution 12, 56, 223 Friars Minor of St. Francis of Paola 122 Fugger (family) 89, 94-95, 97 Fürstenberg, Ferdinand von (Bishop) 155, 155n18

256 Galilei, Galileo 37 Galloppo, Astolfo (of Torano) 79 Gastaldi, Girolamo (Cardinal) 191 Geneva 46-47, 144 Genoa 13, 114, 138, 211 Germany 47, 51, 64, 69, 71-72, 75, 77, 82, 85-87, 90, 93, 100-102, 104-105, 107, 124, 130-131, 150 151, 167, 170, 183-184, 187-189, 199, 204 Giannone, Pietro 149 Giglioli, Alfonso (Nuncio) 127, 131, 131n26, 136, 143n63 Ginetti, Marzio (Cardinal) 64, 154, 181 Giordani, Bernardo Paolo 220 Leonardi Giovanni (Saint) 68 Giulietti, Agostino 53 Givry, Anne Escars de 64 Goebelin, Johann Siegfried 181 Grand Tour 3, 12, 34, 39, 51, 138, 140, 152, 214, 223 Gratio, Giorgio 23 Gregory XIII (Pope) 33, 35n57, 46, 87 Gregory XIV (Pope) 49 Gregory XV (Pope) 20, 54, 68, 123-125, 134, 136 Grems, Ferdinand (student) 97n40 Grems, Georg (physician) 97 Grems (painter)223 Gualtiero, Filippo Antonio (Cardinal) 213 Gueffier, Etienne 115-116 Gunnel, Guglielmo 143 Gunpowder Plot (1605) 34, 54, 54n33 Gustav Adolf (of Sweden) 1, 154 Haijen, Alberto de 197 Haijen, Giovan Pietro de 196 Haivordo, Giovanni (John Hayward?) 52 Haj, Johannes (tailor) 23 Halinch, Giorgio (cobbler) 198 Harrach, Ernst Adalbert von (Cardinal) 183184, 188 Hasheveldt, Cornelius (tailor) 99 Hasheveldt, Johannes Gottfried (tailor) 99 Haven, Michael van (painter) 63, 171, 171n61, 172 Heilbronn 44 Henry IV (of France) 64, 66, 107-109, 111, 112n22 113-117, 120

Index Herant, Carlo (student) 25 Herniceo, Ludovico 127 Herling, Maurizio 183 Hettingen, Bernard von 102 Holdingus, Lankastrensis (Henry Holden)  37n63 Holland 40, 137, 193, 204, 211 Holste, Lukas 9, 37, 40, 46n14, 90, 151, 154, 164, 175n67, 182, 186-188, 188n29 Holy Office (see also Inquisition, Tribunal of) 7-8, 11, 23, 27, 37, 39, 41, 49, 51, 54-55, 71, 73-74, 77, 79-83, 85, 87-88, 95, 102, 110, 131-132, 138, 140, 142-143, 145, 153, 155-157, 162, 174, 177, 182, 185, 190, 196, 200-203, 209-211, 214, 224-225 Holy Roman Empire 8, 45, 57, 67-68, 86, 151 Holy See 62, 91-92, 120, 181 Holy Year(s) 7, 21, 27, 38, 41, 43, 45-46, 48-49, 60-61, 63, 66, 85, 99, 152, 160 of 1600 46, 49, 61, 85, 152 of 1625 99 of 1650 46n14 Hope, Samuel (tailor) 198 Hospice(s) 29, 32-33, 36, 38, 63, 190, 192-194 of SS.ma Trinità and S. Tommaso 33n50 Howard, Philip Thomas (Cardinal) 41, 41n75, 182, 191-192 Huys, Giacomo Bernardo van 183 Incolae 15, 17 Ingoli, Francesco 131-132 Innocent X (Pope) 151, 153 Innocent XI (Pope) 151, 196, 217 Innsbruck 103n61, 154, 216 Isidore (Saint) 26n38 Friars of 26 Church of 26n38 Jacobite Court 211-212 James II Stuart (of England) 211 James III Stuart 12, 34, 42, 211-213 (see Old Pretender) Jerónimo Gracián de la Madre de Dios 68 Jesuits 33, 45, 47, 57-58, 68, 70, 81, 85, 87, 90, 114, 117, 125, 170, 181-182, 185-186, 212, 216-217, 219 Jesus (Christ) 26, 122, 174, 203 Jews 6, 63, 201

Index Johann Georg (Prince of Saxony) 104 Joyeuse, François de (Cardinal) 102, 108, 108n6, 112-114 Jubilee 43-46, 50, 53, 61, 97, 204 Jülich-Clèves, Duchy of 102 Julius II (Pope) 32 Kahl, Justus (see Baronio, Giusto) Kempis, Thomas (Thomas van Kempen)  167, 167n48 Kircher, Athanasius (Jesuit) 187-188, 188n28, 219 Klaute, Johann Balthasar, Diarium Italicum, 216, 218-219 Klesl, Melchior (Cardinal) 80, 81n23, 95, 103, 103n61 Knights of Malta 187 Lambacher, Johann 97-98, 102 Legat, Georg 39 Leghorn 52, 141, 146, 198-199, 201-202, 207, 211 Leti, Gregorio 126 Leuchtenberg, Wilhelm von (Landgrave) 101 Liebl, Giorgio 99 Liebl, Giovanna 99 Lipsius, Justus 94 Lisbon 34 Lorraine 53 Cardinal of 107, 121 Lorsch (Loesch?), Karl 98 Louis XIV (of France) 32, 195, 212 Lucht, Federico 155, 179-180 Lucian 90 Ludwig V of Hesse-Darmstadt (Landgrave)  92, 92n25, 187 Lussuro, Stefano 143 Luther, Martin 43-44, 139, 198, 198n58, 210 Lutheran(s) 23, 35, 49n20, 58, 81, 92-93, 139-140, 146-147, 183, 198, 207 Madrid 26n38, 95, 97 Magni, Valeriano (Capuchin) 130n21, 151 Mainz 47, 77, 199 Malta 187-188 Mander, Peter van 87 Maninckhorn, Hyeronimus 101, 101n53 Mantua 103, 124, 133-137, 140, 188

257 Marco d’Aviano (Capuchin) 198 Maria de’ Medici (Queen of France) 110n15, 118 Martin V (Pope) 2 Masini, Eliseo, Sacro Arsenale 60 Maurice of Savoy (Cardinal) 187 Maximilian (Archduke) 101 Mayer, Johann Friedrich 161 Mayer, Anna Gertruda Elisabetha 198n59 Mazza, Tommas (da Forlì) 196 Mecklemburg (Duke of) 185 Medici (family) 10, 18, 188, 216 Mel, Johannes 53 Michaelis, Franciscus (of Nuremberg) 58 Middle Ages 2-3, 14, 28-29, 30n45, 32-33, 99, 127-128, 132, 173 Middleton, John 36 Milan 51, 102, 124, 133 Millini, Gian Garzia (Cardinal) 22, 53, 64, 81, 87, 104, 127, 136, 140, 142 Milton, John 37 Misson, Maximilien Voyage d’Italie 218n108 Mohammed 26, 55, 184 Monferrato 133, 136-137 Montfort (Count of) 181 Montaigne, Michel de 208 Montalto (see Peretti, Alessandro) Morone, Giovanni (Cardinal, Protector of England) 33 Moses 26, 169 Muro Torto 200, 202 Muslims 6, 57 Mutoni, Pietro Martire (of Treviso) 81 Naples 13, 34, 73, 138, 141, 146-147, 208, 210 Bishop of 131 Nation (nationes) 11, 13, 27, 78, 99, 129, 173, 226 English Nation 143 Flemish Nation 205 German Nation 11, 76, 79, 88n11, 97, 97n39, 98, 100, 127-129, 175, 183 Neo-Catholic(s) 8, 10, 47, 58, 62, 64-65, 109n11, 123, 171, 177, 180-181, 188 Neri, Filippo (Saint) 48, 48n19, 62 Nerli, Francesco (Cardinal) 188 Netherlands 67, 153 Neufville, Charles (see Alincourt, Charles d’)

258 Neustetter, Johann Christoff 77 Niccolini, Giovanni (Ambassador) 51 Nicodemism 4, 21, 57, 141-142, 145 Nihus, Barthold 151 Nuremberg 58, 71-72, 74, 75n6, 76, 78, 80, 81n24, 82-83, 99 Oath of Allegiance 34, 53-54n33 Old Pretender (see James III Stuart) Oliviero (Sir) 51 oltramontano (see ultramontano) Oratorian(s) 8, 47, 61, 61n52, 66, 68, 94, 109, 109n11, 114, 119, 121-122, 171, 190 Oreggio, Agostino 91 Osborne, Edward (Father) 36 Ospedale della Consolazione 88 Ospizio Apostolico dei Convertendi 8, 12, 41, 152, 152n8, 156, 189-194, 196-199, 211 Ossat, Arnauld, d’ (Cardinal) 108, 108n6, 114-115 Padua 129, 203 Bishop of (see Valier, Pietro) 130-132 St. Anthony of 203 University of 127, 129 Palet, Edoardo 143 Pallavicino, Sforza, Historia del Concilio 45, 153 Paoloni, Bernardino 190n11 Papal Bull(s) 2, 7, 50, 123 In Coena Domini 20, 54, 123 of 1525 43 Quoniam Divinae Bonitati 33 Romani Pontificis 20, 119n43, 134 Sovrani Pontificis 123 Papal States 1, 12, 16-17, 19, 54, 123, 127, 129, 133, 139, 151, 195, 202, 208, 212-213, 224 Paris 46n14, 58, 116-119, 186, 208 Pasquino 23 Patrizi, Francesco 90 Pauletti, Amicio (Amyas Paulet) 52 Pauletti, Henrico (Henry Paulet) 52 Pegh, Robert (of Ipswich) 192 Pemsell, Wolfgang (of Nuremberg) 99 Peretti, Alessandro di Montalto 112 Persons, Robert 34, 36n61, 38, 51, 53, 65, 144n66 Perugia 127-129, 131

Index Pesaro 42 Pflaumernkirch, Johannes von 105 Pflug, Cristoforo 96-97n39, 103-104, 104n64, 105 Philip I of Hesse (The Magnanimous) 215216 Pietism 45 Pio, Giovan Michele (Inquisitor) 124-125 Pius V (Pope) 7, 20, 49, 119 Pius VI (Pope) 221 Plague 140 of 1630 124 of 1656-1657 1, 13, 39, 153 Poara, Giorgio di Teodoro 55 Poland (King of) 185, 217 Pole, Reginald (Cardinal) 33 Pomarancio (Nicolò Circignani) 1, 1n1 Popish Plot (1678) 41 Pozzo, Andrea (Jesuit) 219 Prague 58 Priatoni, Cornelio (Inquisitor) 143 Prudente di Paliano 73 Raiffenstein, Johann Friedrich 222 Rancati, Ilarione (Cisternian) 164 Rantzau, Christoph 167 Ravenna 216 Reboul, Guillaume 69, 85, 87, 90-91, 93, 103, 105, 107-123, 185, 194 Duplesis 110 Faramondo 111, 116, 116n32 L’Apostate 109 La Cabale des Réforméz 107 Le Roy at la Foy d’Angleterre 112, 117 118 Le Salmonées 108n6, 110n13 Plaidoyez 109 Récits de conversion 10, 12, 184, 223 Reiter, Giorgio 98n41, 102-103, 103n61 Reformation, The 3, 8, 11, 17, 44n8, 46, 70, 88, 109, 126, 130, 215-216 Respor, Giorgio 147 Revans, Abram de 83n29 Revans, Pietro Stefano de 83n29 Richêome, Louis (Jesuit) 116 Richert, Cristoforo (soldier) 198n58 Ridley, Thomas 192 Rinaldi (Monsignor) 155 Rocci, Bernardino (Nuncio) 147 Roia, Nicolò 203-204

Index Roomen, Adrian van (Adriano Romano) 85 Ropero, Cristoforo (Christopher Roper) 51 Ropero, Giovanni (John Roper) 51 Rudolph II (Emperor) 35 Sacchetti, Giulio (Cardinal) 150n2, 153 Sacchetti, Marcello 81 Sack of Rome (1527) 2-3, 32 Sacripandi, Claudio (Jesuit) 143 Sala Regia 166 Salisbury, Earl of 118 Saluzzi, Giovan Domenico 75 salvacondotti 134 Sangermano, Giuseppe (bookseller) 23 San Benno (Chapel of) 88 San Carlo al Corso 163 San Giacomo degli Incurabili 23 Hospital of 163 San Giovanni dei Fiorentini 22n25, 190 San Lorenzo in Damasco 23 San Lorenzo in Lucina 22n25, 23, 157, 204 San Luigi dei Francesi 11, 29, 31, 69 San Premiano (Church of) 206 San Salvatore alle Coppelle 22n25, 23 Santa Cecilia (Convent of) 214 Santa Maria dell’Anima 11, 29-30, 86, 88, 97-100, 174-175, 187 Santa Maria della Pace 22n27 Santa Maria Campo Santo Teutonico 30, 30n45, 174 Sant’Andrea delle Fratte 157 Sant’Agnese in Agone (Order of) 100 Santi Apostoli Simone e Giuda 61 Santi Celso e Giuliano 22n25, 23 Santi Quattro Coronati (Convent of) 89 Santori, Giulio (Cardinal) 68 Sapienza, La (University) 86 Sardinia 39 Sarpi, Paolo 118 Savelli, Federico 187 Savoy (Duchy of) 63, 133-137, 187 Scaglia, Desiderio (Cardinal) 79 Scaliger, Joseph Justus 87 Scanaroli, Giovanni Battista 153, 155, 155n15 Scherver, John 69 Schildersbent 24 Schoppe, Gaspar 69, 85, 87, 90-91, 93-94, 105, 105n68, 117, 194

259 Schwartz, Simon 99 Scilaneck, Bernardo 25 Scoboochens, Johannes 204 Scotland 12, 41, 52, 192, 213 Séguier, Jacques 101-102n56, 112, 112n22 Seilero, Raphael (herbalist) 49n21 Sessel, Giovan Battista 98 Sigismondo, Ernesto (Count of Zerindof)  164 Sipson, Cuthbert 40 Sixtus V (Pope) 33, 49, 61, 86, 101n55, 129 Smeltz, Cristoforo 55 Sobieska, Clementina 212, 214 Society of Jesus 8 Southby, Ralph (of York) 36 Sozzini, Mariano (Oratorian) 190-191, 196, 200 Spada, Virgilio 153, 155, 155n16, 159, 171-172, 179 Spain 32, 36n61, 98n41, 147, 203, 211 King of 148 Ambassador 203 stati delle anime 24 Statutes 14, 17, 20, 29, 35, 35n57, 100n49 of 1519 15 of 1580 14-16 Stuart Court 34, 41, 118, 211-212, 213n94, 214 Sundach, Andrea (bombardier) 199 Tacardi, Pietro Maria (Inquisitor) 205-206 Tarugi, Francesco Maria (Cardinal) 94, 107-109 Terwest, Giacomo (painter) 199 Tinti, Giacomo (Inquisitor) 139 Tipografia Poliglotta 168 Tolomei, Angelo Maria 142 Tor di Nona (prison) 110, 112, 121 Tower of the Winds 1 Tramallo, Lorenzo (Bishop of Naples) 131132 Treaty of Utrecht (1713) 212 Tribunal of Borgo 203 of Faith 11, 51, 53-55, 58, 60, 72-74, 83, 88, 130, 133, 136, 138, 142, 163, 181-182, 196, 199, 203-204, 224-225 of the Cardinal Vicar 18, 54 of the Governor 17, 106, 117, 202, 224

260 Tribunal (cont.) of the Roman Inquisition (Holy Office)  7, 55, 58, 105, 115, 117, 145 of the Roman Rota 31, 89, 97, 175 Tridentine 7, 22, 61, 117 Trinità dei Monti, Church of 122 Trinità dei Pellegrini 48, 109n11, 190 Truchess von Waldburg, Otto (Cardinal) 4849 Turks 39, 54-56, 99, 184-185 Turin 63, 135-137 Tursi (Duke of) 184 Tuscany 50, 141 Grand Duchy of 10, 51-52 Ubaldini, Roberto (Master of the Chamber)  116, 119, 140 ultramontani (see oltramontani) 1, 8, 22, 41, 48, 65, 85, 87, 96, 102, 128, 132, 143, 163-164, 170, 177, 189, 200-201 United Provinces 118 Università di Sant’Eligio 73 Urban VII (Pope) 49 Urban VIII (Pope) 32, 64-65, 80, 86n4, 89, 92, 125, 129, 136, 153, 186-188 Urbino 42, 212 Valdiman, Federico (painter) 23 Valier, Pietro (Bishop) 132 Valladolid 34, 36n61 Valtellina 124

Index Vandergroio, Baldassar 207 Vasoli (Prior of S. Lorenzo, Florence) 131 Vatson, Robert 182-183 Venerable English College 11, 29, 32-33, 35n57, 36n61, 37, 39, 51, 52n29, 59, 144n66, 174, 192, 196, 211 Venice 83n29, 101, 103, 201, 216-218 Venot, Charles (Jesuit) 117 Vergerio, Pier Paolo 43 Vicari, Paolo de’ (Inquisitor) 141 Vienna 80, 95, 99, 102n58, 164, 171 Vignier, Nicolas, Teatro dell’Anticristo 119 Villeroy (see Neufville, Charles) Vinnigh 23 Vinta, Belisario 51 Virtù, Giovanni 181 Vittman, Giordano 51 Vizzani, Emanuele 151, 155, 159, 163, 171-172, 184 Walldmann, Friedrich 23, 23n31 War of Mantuan Succession 125 Monferrato 124-125 Spanish Succession 211 Welser, Marco 87, 90, 93-94, 96, 101, 101n55, 102, 104, 107, 109n11, 119, 121 Westphalia (Peace of) 10, 153, 168, 223 Zelo Domus Dei 153 Zollern, Georg von (Count) 94