Global Networks in Early Modern Rome Images, Objects, and Diplomacy

edited by Francesco Freddolini

Images, Objects, and Diplomacy, the subtitle of the volume, eloquently conveys the essence of the contents gathered here, which are featured in one of the Galleria Borghese’s series dedicated to broadening the perspective from the museum to the city and to other contexts connected to the collections it preserves. In this case, the perspective expands to encompass the entire world, with Rome serving as a point of intersection for ideas and the evolution of ideas. Hence, the focus on images, objects, and above all, the conversations that, across distant places, are initiated and sustained through diplomatic networks.

The Borghese pontificate (1605–21) – during which many of the events narrated and explored in this volume took place, from parades to the publication of treatises and the creation of works that connect different cultures and fields of knowledge, not limited to Europe – assumes an indisputable significance. At the same time, the contributions extend this temporal scope, expanding its boundaries to encompass significant episodes from the sixteenth century, in which the origins of these phenomena can be traced, as well as later moments, when, over the course of the seventeenth century, scientific knowledge and political interpretations of global relations acquire new breadth.

What thus emerges from the pages of this volume is precisely what seems absent from its subtitle: the human presence. This includes both prominent figures in politics and the arts, as well as lesser-known individuals – scientists, writers, and intellectuals – who, by reinterpreting objects and images from the ancient and more recent past, created new ones that were unmistakably global in nature.

Digital version available on
https://digital.casalini.it/9788874617630