Michał Radziwiłł’s Obedience Embassy in the Rome of Pope Innocent XI Odescalchi between Diplomacy and Ceremonial.
Author(s)
Gaetano Platania
Date Issued
2021
Type
article
Start Page
171
End Page
182
Journal
Abstract
In 1680 Michał Radziwiłł arrived in Rome to kneel at Innocent XI Odescalchi. Sent by Jan III Sobieski to pay homage to the pontiff and thus renew the obedience of the Rzeczpospolita to the Holy See, in reality, the king had commissioned him to plead the cause of an anti-Turkish crusade given an imminent attack by the Infidels on the Christianity. A sui generis character, Michał Radzwiłł would, however, have stood out for his extravagant requests, in stark contrast to the Roman ceremonial, and for his inability to conduct the diplomatic negotiations for which he had been sent.
The article intends to retrace all the phases of the Polish Prince’s stay in Rome: from his incognito arrival in the Eternal City to the long and maniacal preparation of the expensive Cavalcata d’Obbedienza, up to the failed negotiations with the pope and the Roman Curia. Moments analyzed through the use of printed and manuscript sources preserved in Roman archives and libraries. In particular, the printed Relazione of the Solemn Entrance to the city by Radziwiłł, and the Diary of the consistorial lawyer Carlo Cartari, who left us long and detailed descriptions of the entire Roman stay of this fanfarone Polish prince.
Subjects
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