L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2020 www.italoamericano.org 36 L'Italo-Americano G d a n s k - - m e m b e r s o f p a t r i c i a n f a m i l i e s w e r e assigned to diplomatic mis- s i o n s b y c i t y a u t h o r i t i e s w h o g a v e t h e m l e t t e r s o f c r e d e n c e , i n s t r u c t i o n s , " explains Zagli. Major political writers s u c h a s N i c c o l ò Machiavelli, Francesco Guicciardini, and many others spent large parts of their careers in diplomacy. They spent days and nights writing or dictating letters, composing reports on what t h e y s a w a n d h e a r d . Machiavelli, who laid the f o u n d a t i o n s f o r m o d e r n political science, sat for 15 years at Palazzo Vecchio as a secretary and chief diplo- m a t i n t h e s e c o n d c h a n - c e l l e r y o f t h e F l o r e n t i n e Republic. He was responsi- ble for conducting domes- t i c a f f a i r s a n d d e f e n s e starting from June 1498. With the city puffed up w i t h M e d i c i a n p r i d e , h e t r a v e l e d a l l a r o u n d I t a l y a n d E u r o p e , m e e t i n g t h e leaders of the time face to f a c e . I n h i s m a s t e r p i e c e The Prince (Il Principe) d e d i c a t e d t o L o r e n z o d i Piero de' Medici, Duke of U r b i n o a n d g r a n d s o n o f Lorenzo The Magnificent, h e p r a i s e d t h e D u k e o f M i l a n F r a n c e s c o S f o r z a several times. "Machiavelli praised Francesco's gover- nance capability, his ability to hold the duchy of Milan b y p r o v i d i n g a n e f f i c i e n t diplomatic organization to g a i n c o m p e t i t i v e a d v a n - tage," says Vaglienti. But outside Italy, what foreign power first adopted the Italian diplomatic sys- tem? " I n 1 4 8 7 , H e n r y V I I T u d o r o f E n g l a n d w a s a m o n g t h e f i r s t t o a d o p t the Italian diplomatic sys- tem, preceding all others abroad. He had a corps of resident envoys and so did h i s s u c c e s s o r , " s a y s Professor Zagli. "A similar s i t u a t i o n o c c u r r e d i n F r a n c e u n d e r t h e V a l o i s k i n g s , " p o i n t s o u t Z a g l i . France adopted the Italian system in the 1520s under Francis I. Italian-American scholar V i n c e n t I l a r d i edited a m o n u m e n t a l e d i t i o n of Dispatches with Related D o c u m e n t s o f M i l a n e s e Ambassadors in France and Burgundy, 1450–1483. The M i l a n e s e e m b a s s y a t t h e French Court was the first p e r m a n e n t e m b a s s y o u t - side Italy. The title of ambassador w a s b e i n g u s e d o n l y f o r official envoys, especially a h i g h - r a n k i n g d i p l o m a t . T o d a y , i t s t i l l h o l d s t h e highest rank of diplomatic representatives. The term ambassador derives from the Latin verb ambactiare, meaning "go on a mission" and the Latin noun ambac- tus that translates as a vas- sal. And what about the ear- l i e s t r e c o r d e d u s e o f the word? " P r e s u m a b l y , i t a p p e a r e d i n i t i a l l y i n V e n i c e , " s a y s P r o f e s s o r Zagli. "Venice had picked up the legacy of Byzantium a l s o c o n c e r n i n g c o m p l e x i n t e r n a t i o n a l r e l a t i o n s , " n o t e s P r o f e s s o r Z a g l i . "Venice had a long tradi- tion of diplomatic activity t o p r o t e c t i t s m a r i t i m e interests and was the main O t t o m a n E m p i r e ' s i n t e r - l o c u t o r . I n 1 5 t h - c e n t u r y Constantinople (Istanbul), Venice established its offi- c i a l , p e r m a n e n t a m b a s - s a d o r s c a l l e d B a i l i , " remarks Zagli. A Bailo was the doge's first permanent e n v o y i n t h e O t t o m a n E m p i r e . T h e t e r m B a i l o , from the Latin word bailus or porter, appeared for the first time in Latin transla- tions of Arabic documents i n t h e 1 2 t h c e n t u r y . I t referred to Muslim officials as observed by a late schol- a r i n O r i e n t a l S t u d i e s , M a r i a P i a P e d a n i . S h e wrote that the term might hint at a literal translation o f t h e w o r d w a s î r , w h i c h also originally meant "por- ter." Professor Zagli says that for a long time the ambas- s a d o r s h a v e b e e n n a m e d agents. "While the envoys o f t h e p o p e w e r e c a l l e d legates," he explains. The importance of this specific k i n d o f d i p l o m a c y , t h e Holy See's diplomacy, p r o b a b l y t h e o l d e s t i n world history, relates first and foremost to the devel- opment of papal legations. Zagli is also the author of a c r i t i c a l e d i t i o n o f t h e d i a r i e s o f G i o v a n n i N i c c o l i n i , F l o r e n t i n e ambassador (1588-1593) to the Papal Court. If Latin was the interna- tional language of diploma- cy in the ancient regime, by the Age of Enlightenment French became the lingua franca. A mode of speech with its own terms, tone, and style since the begin- n i n g , t h e I t a l i a n e x p e r i - ment generated "a form of chancery Italian vernacu- lar, a written semi-profes- sional language based on a shared late medieval liter- ary tradition; the process of its relative standardization preceded the learned nor- mative debates about the lingua in the 16th- centu- ry," says Serena Ferente, a reader in Late Medieval and Renaissance History at King's College London. S i n c e t h e e a r l y s t a g e s , diplomatic communication entailed a degree of secre- cy, distance -- physical dis- tance, but also a sense of d e t a c h m e n t . A g e n t s required accurate reporting and knowledge of finance, c o m m e r c e , l a w , c l a s s i c s , and theology. T h e S t a t e A r c h i v e s i n Milan share with our read- ers three documents from e n v o y s o f t h e H o u s e o f S f o r z a . T h e h a n d w r i t t e n l e t t e r s a r e p a r t o f t h e F o n d o C a r t e g g i o Visconteo Sforzesco. I n a l e t t e r d a t e d December 26, 1476, Cicco Simonetta, a long-time sec- retary of the Milan dukes, r e p o r t s t o t h e M i l a n e s e orator in Florence Filippo S a c r a m o r o " t h e h o r r i b l e case" of the assassination of Galeazzo Maria Sforza, which had just taken place i n t h e S a i n t S t e p h e n ' s C h u r c h i n M i l a n , o n t h e f e a s t o f S a i n t S t e p h e n , right after Christmas. The d i s s o l u t e d u k e o f M i l a n Galeazzo Maria, who had inherited the ducal throne ten years earlier from his father Francesco, had come to the basilica for the cele- bration of the patron saint. Cicco Simonetta narrates a s e q u e n c e o f t h e t r a g i c event during Mass where t h e d u k e g e t s s t a b b e d t o death by a young Milanese n o b l e m a n G i a n A n d r e a L a m p u g n a n i a i d e d b y Gerolamo Olgiati and Carlo Visconti, both high-ranking o f f i c i a l s a t t h e M i l a n e s e court. Possible motives for t h e a s s a s s i n a t i o n w e r e a l a n d d i s p u t e a n d a s e x assault the duke allegedly perpetrated against the sis- t e r o f a c o n s p i r a t o r . T h e d i p l o m a t d e s c r i b e s t h e r e a c t i o n s o f t h e p e o p l e , courtiers, and ambassadors who assisted the pandemo- nium, the duke being killed i n a m a t t e r o f s e c o n d s t o g e t h e r w i t h h i s g r o o m . T h e m u r d e r e r w a s s o o n terminated by a guard, his dead body dragged through the streets and slashed by boys. T h e a s s a s s i n a t i o n o f Galeazzo Maria was likely i n f l u e n t i a l i n t h e P a z z i Conspiracy, a well-planned a t t e m p t t o d e t h r o n e t h e munificent Medici family t h a t t o o k p l a c e i n Florence's Cathedral six - teen months later. In another amazing let- ter, dated April 27, 1493, Taddeo Vicomercati, a resi- dent orator in Venice in the s e r v i c e o f t h e H o u s e o f S f o r z a , w r i t e s t h e d u k e a b o u t t h e d i s c o v e r y o f A m e r i c a . N o t a r e a l a m b a s s a d o r y e t , Vicomercati was a sort of scribe and chronicler who r e p o r t e d w h a t w a s observed and heard from people. He blends different news without prioritizing the most important-- the discovery of new insule or islands. The breaking news r e l a t i n g t o C o l u m b u s i s presented after enunciating t h a t t h e j e w e l e r o f P o p e A l e x a n d e r V I h a s j u s t a r r i v e d i n V e n i c e t o b u y jewelry. Vicomercati adds that in Venice some print l e a f l e t s a b o u t t h e r e c e n t d i s c o v e r y a r e c i r c u l a t i n g but he won't bring a copy t o t h e d u k e b e c a u s e h e heard that those flyers are already available in Milan. This extraordinary docu- ment expresses the power o f t h e p r i n t i n g p r e s s i n v e n t e d s o m e 4 0 y e a r s earlier in Germany, yet it was Venice to give the print industry its major push. As w e l l , t h e l e t t e r i n d i c a t e s the perceived corruption of the Roman Curia. The jew- eler of the pope is buying g o l d f o r A l e x a n d e r V I , a w o r l d l y p o p e f a t h e r o f Cesare and Lucrezia Borgia and whose neglect of the spiritual inheritance of the C h r i s t i a n m e s s a g e c o n - t r i b u t e d t o t h e f u t u r e d e v e l o p m e n t o f t h e Protestant Reformation. F i n a l l y , a l e t t e r d a t e d December 18, 1497, from R a i m o n d o d i S o n c i n o , ambassador in London to t h e D u k e o f M i l a n Ludovico Sforza, gives an a c c o u n t o f G i o v a n n i Caboto's expedition that made landfall on the coast o f N o r t h A m e r i c a . J o h n Cabot sailed out of Bristol on a small ship with a crew of 18 men to make colonial conquest under the com - m i s s i o n o f H e n r y V I I o f England. LIFESTYLE FASHION FOOD ARTS ADVICE Continued from page 34 A document that made history: a letter announcing the discovery of America (Copyright: Archivio di Stato di Milano)

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