L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2020 www.italoamericano.org 34 L'Italo-Americano W o u l d America h a v e w o n t h e R e v o l u - tionary War without Ben- jamin Franklin's uncan- ny knack for politics and p e r s u a s i o n ? H o w w o u l d t h i n g s h a v e g o n e i f t h e A m e r i c a n p o l y m a t h , t h e tenth son of a poor candle and soap maker originally f r o m E n g l a n d , h a d n ' t learned how to be tactful in p r a c t i c i n g t h e s c i e n c e o f diplomacy in Paris? Would he have been able t o s u m m o n F r a n c e ' s i n v a l u a b l e f i n a n c i a l a n d military aid? Lauded as the personifi- c a t i o n o f N e w W o r l d Enlightenment, the multi- m i n d e d F r a n k l i n b e c a m e the first American diplo - mat (1776-1785) – the first A m e r i c a n a m b a s s a d o r t o F r a n c e — a n d o n e o f t h e most successful of all time. His likeness appeared on rings, medallions, watches, and lacquered snuffboxes i n t h e d e c a d e h e l i v e d i n Passy, just outside of the city of Paris transformed into the center of American d i p l o m a c y i n E u r o p e . T r e n d y F r e n c h w o m e n began to fashion their hair in coiffures à la Franklin i m i t a t i n g t h e b e a v e r f u r cap Franklin wore instead of a wig -- his topper, a sar- t o r i a l o b j e c t e v o k i n g t h e young nation's cause. D i p l o m a c y h a s a r i c h , l o n g h i s t o r y a n d t o d a y remains an essential for- e i g n p o l i c y t o o l e n a b l i n g world politics to function. It still matters, especially in turbulent times. It is a method of influ- e n c i n g t h e d e c i s i o n s a n d b e h a v i o r o f f o r e i g n g o v e r n m e n t s a n d p e o p l e through dialogue and nego- t i a t i o n . I t p e r s u a d e s through attraction rather t h a n c o e r c i o n . I t t a c k l e s problems through bilateral and multilateral relations among states and so many times has helped bring an end to war or reduced the risk of military conflict. Its root word diplōma (a f o l d e d o b j e c t i n a n c i e n t G r e e k ) , f r o m w h i c h t h e t e r m d i p l o m a c y e v o l v e d , indicates that the ancients practiced diplomacy, from the classical Greek poleis to R o m e a n d B y z a n t i u m . However, no ancient state had a permanent organiza- tion responsible for carry- ing out diplomatic activi- ties. So where did the science of diplomacy become sys- tematic? " T h e b i r t h o f m o d e r n diplomacy occurred in the first half of the 15th-centu- r y N o r t h e r n a n d u p p e r C e n t r a l I t a l y , w h i c h w a s divided into several war- ring city-states," explains Andrea Zagli, a professor of Modern History at the U n i v e r s i t y o f S i e n a . " I t especially came into being i n t h e S f o r z a C o u r t i n M i l a n , a n d i n V e n i c e and Florence, territorial entities that first achieved a progressive professional- i z a t i o n o f t h e r o l e a n d function of ambassadors." The city-states struggled for hegemony, fighting one another. "The politics of 15th-cen- tury Italian states was so complex and delicate that maintaining the balance of p o w e r n e e d e d c o n s t a n t d i p l o m a t i c i n t e r a c t i o n , " e x p l a i n s P r o f e s s o r Z a g l i . "It was a situation of con- tinued or permanent diplo- macy in which the role of a n a m b a s s a d o r g r e w a n d f u l l y d e v e l o p e d h i s m o s t r e l e v a n t f u n c t i o n s a n d characteristics." The Milanese House of Sforza would play a leading role in the nascent modern d i p l o m a c y . " I t w a s F r a n c e s c o S f o r z a w h o transformed the duty of the court orator by creating a s t a b l e d i p l o m a t i c s y s t e m for the first time in histo- r y , " r e m a r k s F o l c o Vaglienti, a researcher in M e d i e v a l H i s t o r y a t t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f M i l a n a n d historian at the Milan State Archives. Francesco Sforza (born July 23, 1401, San Miniato, T u s c a n y — d i e d M a r c h 8 , 1466, Milan), was a condot- tiere, a mercenary captain who played a crucial role in 15th-century Italian poli- tics and, as duke of Milan, founder of a dynasty that ruled for nearly a century. "Francesco Sforza start- e d t h i s e x p e r i m e n t a n d made it systematic thanks t o r e c i p r o c i t y , " V a g l i e n t i says. "To overcome the dis- t r u s t , h e b e g a n w i t h h i s allies to whom he pragmat- ically said: If I send you my orator to court, you have the right to have an orator in my court." " W i t h h i m , d i p l o m a c y became a system of govern- m e n t f o r b o t h t h e w e l l - being of the state and its i n h a b i t a n t s , " V a g l i e n t i points out. "At first, after the Peace of Lodi, with the f o u n d a t i o n o f t h e I t a l i a n League, he experimented t h o s e p r a c t i c e s w i t h h i s closest allies and later led the effort with his foreign a l l i e s , " h e n o t e s . "Francesco Sforza came to regard diplomacy as a con- sistent activity of the state. His envoys and representa- t i v e s b e g a n t o s e r v e a longer-term as permanent, resident ambassadors." With the Treaty of Lodi in 1455 securing a period of relative peace that was to last until the French inva- s i o n o f 1 4 9 4 , F l o r e n c e would steadily become an ally of Milan through the l o y a l t y o f C o s i m o Medici, the careful banker who was a personal friend of Francesco Sforza. H i s t o r i a n s a g r e e t h a t I t a l i a n s t a t e s p i o n e e r e d m o d e r n d i p l o m a t i c p r a c - tices. They laid the ground- work for an art form that later took hold in the rest of Europe. " B o t h i n F l o r e n c e a n d Siena, there was a long tra- dition of diplomatic mis- sions to the princes' courts and major foreign powers," s a y s P r o f e s s o r Z a g l i . " B e s i d e s v a r i o u s a g e n t s such as bankers and mer- chants operating informal- l y i n f o r e i g n m a r k e t s - - e s p e c i a l l y N a p l e s , R o m e , Venice, Milan, Lyon, Paris, Barcelona, London, Bruges, A n t w e r p , a n d e v e n MARIELLA RADAELLI A Scuola Lombarda portrait of Francesco Sforza (Photo: Wikicommons) Continued to page 36 LIFE PEOPLE PLACES HERITAGE Diplomacy? An intuitive gift from Italy

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