Philip II of Spain

a c t a s d e l c o n g r e s o i n t e r n a c i o n a l p r o c e e d i n g s o f t h e i n t e r n a t i o n a l s y m p o s i u m Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado, octubre de 2 01 1 Edición a cargo de stephan f. schröder Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado, 2012 0504_06 CUPPERI##4.qxp:giordano 09/12/12 22:03 Página 66 w a l t e r c u p p e r i 0504_06 CUPPERI##4.qxp:giordano 09/12/12 22:03 Página 68 a u t o r i a l i t à m u l t i p l a e t r a n s c u l t u r a l i t à n e i r i t r a t t i l e o n i a n i d e l p r a d o 51. Leone e Pompeo Leoni, Filippo II, 1549-64. bronzo, 1,69 m. Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado [e-272] 0504_06 CUPPERI##4.qxp:giordano 09/12/12 22:03 Página 69 74 w a l t e r c u p p e r i

Publieksbeschrijving: Alva zit op een troon, gekleed in een wapenrusting en met het Gulden Vlies om. De scepter in zijn hand geeft zijn (militaire) macht aan. Aan zijn rechterhand (dus links) staat kardinaal Granvelle. Hij geeft Alva met een blaasbalg slechte raad in. Granvelle bemoeide zich vanuit Rome en Spanje nog steeds met de zaken in de Nederlanden. Aan Alva's linkerhand (dus rechts) staan raadgevers en helpers. v.l.n.r. Juan de Vargas Mejía, voorzitter van de Raad van Beroerten (op dit schilderij lijkt hij op Willem van Oranje); bisschop Maarten Rijthoven van Yperen: Loys dal Río, lid van de Raad van Beroerten; Broeder Cornelis uit Brugge; een felle verdediger van het katholiek geloof; de Heer van Beckerseele, secretaris van Egmont (hij is hier afgebeeld als ter dood veroordeelde); de 3 andere mannen zijn onbekend maar kunnen andere leden van de Raad van Beroerten zijn. Boven Alva zweeft een duivel die een keizerstroon boven Alva's en een pauskroon (tiara) boven Granvelle's hoofd houdt. De kronen zijn symbolen van de wereldlijke en geestelijke macht. Bij Granvelle staan edelen die trouw aan Spanje blijven. De 2 honden zijn het symbool van trouw. Midden voor zijn de 17 Nederlandse gewesten, voorgesteld als vrouwen. Zij zijn getekend en Alva houdt de kettingen vast. Rechts staan de Staten-Generaal; ze staan 'verstomd' met de vingers voor de mond en "verstaakt". Dat wil zeggen ze zijn onder Alva monddood gemaakt en kunnen zich niet meer bewegen. In de 20e eeuw zouden wij zeggen: ze staan voor paal; hoewel dit een iets andere betekenis heeft. Attributen: Alva houdt een lastbrief van Filips II in zijn hand, naast de troon staat een spaarpot voor de 10e en 100e penning. Op de trede van de troon ligt een kruisbeeld. Op de voorgrond ligt een bijbel omgekeerd, vertrapt door Alva. Rechts liggen 2 verscheurde oorkonden, symbool van de afgeschafte privileges. Op de achtergrond v.l.n.r.

十六世紀半ばから十七世初頭にかけ、日本イエズス会により、日本語の教理書が出版されたということは周知の通りだ。世俗のヨーロッパ文学である『イソップ物語』の和訳、そして天草版『平家物語』、『太平記抜書』の存在もよく知られている。しかし、日本語で書かれたオリジナルのキリスト教説話が現存するということは案外知られていない。近年、このテキスト群を「異文化接触」というレベルで取り上げた研究が現れているが、漢訳仏典や漢籍の影響を受けた『日本霊異記』『今昔物語集』などとは対照的に、室町末期にラテン語文脈から国語に翻案されたキリスト教文学は、残念ながらこれまで国文学として扱われてこなかった。その理由をここで詳しくは追究できないが、日本精神というものが（漢文脈との関連性ではある程度まで認められている一方で）キリスト教との関係性については根本的に異質で相容れないものと一般的には理解されていることが、その背景にあると考えられる。しかし、キリスト教説話を聞いた織豊期の日本人がこのように日本精神とキリスト教を両極的なものとして捉えていたということは、資料からは読み取れない。本稿では、キリスト教も日本精神も信仰していない筆者が日本中世キリスト教の代表的な説話集をバレト写本という資料の中から取り上げ、その原典が何であったかを明らかにし、さらに、同時代の日本文学との関係性を探る。その結果、この説話集は当時の武士階級によって評価された軍記・語り物文学、取り分け幸若舞と最も関連性が深いということを示す。

This thesis transcribes and translates the war correspondence of King Philip II from the year 1592. The original manuscripts are held at the Harold B. Lee Library in the L. Tom Perry Special Collections (Brigham Young University, Provo, UT). The original manuscripts have been diplomatically transcribed meaning that the transcription respects the original orthography, accentuation, abbreviations, and word divisions. For easy comparison, a facsimile of each manuscript has been provided and appears before its corresponding transcription. The translation strategy used is a modified version of a “fluent translation” as described by Lawrence Venuti. Instead of removing all foreign aspects of the source language (Spanish), some political and monetary terms have been borrowed because of a lack of a cultural and lexical equivalent in the target language (English). The definitions of these words have been provided at the end of the translation section. Also provided is a brief history about Philip II and his rise to being king of Spain along with his political ideologies and policies towards the Netherlands and England. This biography provides the historical context to better understand the content of the letters and their impact on history.

Studies on international relations in the field of Spanish Golden Age art, literature and thought. Monographs, doctoral theses and conference papers focusing on aspects of mutual influence, parallels and exchanges between Spain and other countries; ideas, forms, agents and episodes relating to the Spanish presence in Europe, and that of Europe in Spain.

Introduction. The visit of the Russian envoy Osip Nepeya to London in 1556-1557 is usually considered as the beginning of the official relations between Russia and England. In the light of modern views about the sixteenth-century diplomacy, this event requires a more thorough research. Methods. The Nepeya's trip was traditionally viewed as an insignificant episode in the context of general reviews of bilateral relations concentrated mainly on trade. The reasons and possibilities of the military and political rapprochement between England, Spain and Russia in the 1550s, which was the most likely goal of the Nepeya's journey to England, have never been investigated. Therefore, this article is based on an analysis of numerous multilingual sources. Analysis. The author clarifies the Nepeya's diplomatic rank and certain previously unknown details of the Muscovites' stay in London. He analyzes Nepeya's mission to England in the context of foreign affairs of Ivan IV, Mary Tudor and Philip II Habsburg. Results. It is concluded that the rulers of Spain and England could provide military support to Ivan IV, but they were not interested in military and political alliance with the Muscovy and the war against Turkey. However, establishing official equal relations between England and Russia at the highest level, as well as obtaining trade privileges for Russian merchants was the main result of Nepeya's trip. This allows us to conclude that the first Russian diplomatic mission in London was successful.

This book is a revised version of my PhD thesis on the Mediterranean politics of the Ottoman admiral Cigalazade Sinan Paşa, one of the central figures of late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries Mediterranean and Ottoman history. Born in Sicily as Scipione Cicala into an Italian family loyal to the Spanish Crown, he was captured in his youth by Ottoman corsairs and taken to the court of Süleyman the Magnificent. Since then, after denying Catholicism, he joined the Ottoman elite and served for successive sultans for more than forty years. His mother-in-law was Süleyman the Magnificent’s granddaughter. This made him a damad of the Ottoman dynasty and brought him great power and high protections. Despite constant rumours about the sincerity of his conversion and his loyalty to the Ottoman dynasty, he led campaigns in Persia, Hungary and the Mediterranean. As the admiral of the Ottoman navy, he played a prominent role in Mediterranean politics, being the last Ottoman admiral who demonstrated characteristics deemed worthy of legendary accounts similar to those of Barbarossa and Kılıç Ali Paşa. He was always anxious to call the attention of his former Spanish sovereigns and thus he became a controversial and intriguing character with whom contemporary European rulers (Philip II, Philip III, Pope Clement VIII and Henry IV of France) were obsessed. Cigalazade is unique and valuable for historical inquiry due to the fact that while he is an Ottoman statesman and admiral, he is also an Italian nobleman of origin and a renegade linked by marriage to the Ottoman dynasty. His controversial presence between Christianity and Islam loomed large as the subject of historiographical polemics both in the Italian Risorgimento of the 19th century and in the Turkish nation-building process of the 20th century.

DE TODOS es conocida la faceta como mecenas artístico y coleccionista de Felipe II desde su más temprana juventud 1 . En ella, no se podía descuidar una de las manifestaciones artísticas más destacadas durante el siglo XVI, como era la medallística.

This work contains a documental, critical and philological reconstruction around a document from the Spanish Archive of Simancas. It’s a Memory, written by the imperial ambassador Francisco de Vargas, that contains a payment to Titian of five hundreds scudi (quinientos scudos). The original document transcription and connection with other sources allow to date it in the summer of 1553. This payment probably corrisponds with Philip Habsburg's reward for a portrait that Titian sent him in March of that year, but above all it's a symbol of his will of strengthening the relationship with the painter. Thanks to his economical support to Titian, Philip II obtains the priority of his famous Poesie above the important Trinity (Glory) for Charles V. This is the painting committed in 1551 that the Emperor will wait with patience and dismay until October 1554, up to believe in a rumor which said that Titian had died. The painter seems to move swiftly between the father and the son, into the hierarchical and courtier commitment with his patrons, first and foremost satisfying his personal interests.

In the 1580s, the Jesuit priest Alessandro Valignano sent four young pupils from the seminary at Arima to tour Europe, in a mission that has since been referred to as the ‘Tensho embassy’ — without a doubt a remarkable episode in the history of East-West contact. The Japanese boys were celebrated and shown remarkable hospitality and generosity throughout their stay in Spain and Italy, and even met Philip II of Spain and the Popes Gregory XIII and Sixtus V. This paper explores in what ways can the mission be described as an embassy by recalling comparable embassies in the early modern period, and will propose theories as to why these so-called ambassadors from a distant and unfamiliar land were feted so magnificently by the European political elite.

a r s 66 a r s 67 | L A O B R A | Jooris van der Straeten, o Jorge de la Rúa como se le conocía en España, fue un artista flamenco que llegó a la corte de Felipe II en 1561. Pintó a varios miembros de la familia real, entre ellos, a las hijas predilectas del Rey. Almudena Pérez de Tudela le atribuye un lienzo que pertenece a la Colección Real Inglesa y analiza los documentos sobre este retratista, que desarrolló su carrera entre Portugal, España y Francia.

This master's thesis tries to (re-)collect all pictures of Philip II of Spain that were drawn by many historians over the past five centuries. The outcome clearly demonstrates that there have been many myths and aspersions that contemporary historians are different opinion of. Surprisingly there exists no firm catholic and no firm protestant historiography concerning Philip II.

The purpose of this essay is to present new documentary evidence concerning the years of the painter Sofonisba Anguissola at the Spanish court. These new findings shed some light about previously unknown aspects of the relationship between Sofonisba Anguissola and the future Grand Duke of Tuscany Francesco I de’ Medici during this latter’s stay at the Spanish court between 1562 and 1563, and allow to make new hypothesis on the provenance of her miniature self-portrait nowadays in the Galleria degli Uffizi of Florence.

The 19 letters presented in this appendix to the exhibition catalogue "Titian. Love, Desire, Death", translated in full for the first time and annotated (see pages: 216-20), comprise the totality of the surviving correspondence between Titian (about 1488-1576) and Philip of Habsburg (1527-1598) concerning the commission of the so-called "poesie".

Columbus’ renowned 1492 voyage marked the beginning of Spain’s quest to reach the fabled riches of Asia by sailing west rather than east. Eighty years later, Columbus’ dream of establishing a westerly trade route to China was achieved with the founding of Spanish Manila. Within a few short decades, millions of pesos ’ worth of New World silver and Asian goods flowed annually across the Pacific via the Manila Galleon trade network. Historians have not neglected the sudden rise of transpacific com m erce in the late sixteenth-century. Woodrow Borah, William L. Schurz, O.H.K. Spate, and other notable twentieth-century scholars were all drawn to the topic. While more recently, economic historians have focused attention on the direct flow of New World silver to Asia from the sixteenth to nineteenth-centuries. This scholarship however, has failed to offer a truly global account of the Manila Galleon’s impact on patterns of consumption in Spanish America, Spanish imperial policy making, or global trade patterns. With the goal of fostering more comprehensive and interdisciplinary research on early modern transpacific trade, this paper situates the early development of the Manila Galleon within a global market fram ew ork. In contrast to past scholarship, which has focused predominantly on Pacific silver flows to Asia, a global market framework explains the rapid development of transpacific trade in the late 1500s as a consequence of the complimentary demand for silver in China and imported commodities in Spanish American markets. By drawing on world-systems analysis, Chinese economic history, Portuguese and Spanish imperial history, along with European, Asian, and colonial Latin American historiography, this paper challenges existing narratives of the Manila Galleon by examining Spanish American market as important sites of both the production and consumption of global commodities. In doing so, it identifies future a v en u es o f research regarding the impact of transpacific commerce on historical developments in colonial Latin America specifically and the early modern trading world more generally.

La (re)creación historiográfica de Carlos de Habsburgo tiene, en la versión “francesa” de la Leyenda Negra, un hito en la publicación de la Histoire de Dom Carlos, fils de Philippe II de César Vichard, abbé de Saint-Réal (1672). En ella, Carlos y su joven madrastra, Isabel de Valois, aparecen como una pareja de enamorados que se enfrentan a un destino adverso debido a los celos de Felipe II. Sus fuentes, sin embargo, pueden remontarse a los últimos años de vida del malogrado Príncipe (Pérez, Fourquevaux) y cimentarían L’Histoire générale d’Espagne, de Louis Turquet de Mayerne (1586) y un famoso manuscrito de Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc de comienzos del siglo XVII, entre otras crónicas (Matthieu, Thou, Brantôme).
Si Saint-Réal condicionó las mistificaciones posteriores de la historia carolina a cargo de Otway, Schiller o Verdi, su rehabilitación arranca sin duda del Don Carlos et Philippe II de Louis Prosper Gachard (1863). Fue él quien primero documentó, desde una óptica hispanófila, la formación humanística y el trasfondo virtuoso —aunque enfermizo y exaltado— de Carlos de Austria. Desde entonces y hasta hoy, gracias al análisis de su biblioteca, sus colecciones y su mecenazgo artístico y literario, podemos definir mejor la autoconstrucción del primogénito del Rey Prudente, contrafigura y émulo, en lo que pudo y le dejaron, de su abuelo el emperador Carlos V.

Here is some work I did on the fascinating Thomas Stukeley - I was doing work on George Peele's Play The Battle of Alcazar (which is important and fascinating for a whole other set of reasons) and then this just grew (and grew!) out of that.

La monarquia de Felipe II a debate, ed. Luis Ribot. Sociedad Estatal para la Conmemoraciön de los Centenarios
de Felipe II y Carlos V, Madrid, 2000

This essay explores the patronage and collections of Juana and Maria of Austria, not only at their respective courts in Spain and Austria, but also during their residencies at the Descalzas Reales Convent in Madrid. This convent founded in 1555, was built by Juana after 1557. The author sourced many unpublished documents and inventories from archives in Spain and in Portugal. A number of documents located in Lisbon, proves for the first time that the renowned court architect, Juan de Herrera, designed Juana of Austria's funerary chapel in the Descalzas convent. Pompeo Leone, court sculptor, was commissioned to executed Juana's funerary statue.

Felipe II (1527‑1598) was one of the first great collectors of
paintings in sixteenth‑century Spain. Apart from his heritage,
his taste is reflected in the acquisition and commissioning of
numerous works to decorate his palaces, highlighting those
destined for the decoration of the Royal Monastery of El Escorial,
the most important artistic enterprise of his reign, where
religious‑themed paintings predominated. However, despite the
fact that it was considered a museum since its foundation, it also
acquires and orders pictorial copies that are analyzed in this
work.
(Actas del Congreso Internacional A Cópia Pictórica em Portugal, Espanha e no Novo Mundo, 1552-1752, Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian/Universidad Abierta de Lisboa, octubre de 2016)

En 2013 y 2014, con motivo del aniversario de la visita de una embajada japonesa al rey Felipe III en 1614 se habló a menudo de los “400 años de relaciones España-Japón”. ¿Existieron realmente esas relaciones? En este artículo se analizan las primeras relaciones oficiales entre Japón y Casti- lla, o más concretamente, entre el gobierno de Toyotomi Hideyoshi y el de Manila, a través de los principales documentos castellanos entre 1592 y 1599.
Se analiza una serie de documentos originales del Archivo General de Indias, en Sevilla, formada principalmente por cartas e informes destinados a la corte de Felipe II. A través de ellos, so- mos testigos de cómo las tímidas relaciones oficiales entre ambos países estuvieron marcadas por la desconfianza y el temor por parte de los castellanos, y de cómo la causa evangelizado- ra –representada por la orden de los franciscanos– jugó un papel decisivo en el devenir de los acontecimientos. En esta documentación aparecen algunos episodios que fueron especialmente significativos de este periodo, como el del naufragio del galeón San Felipe en costas japonesas y la consiguiente ejecución de los que han pasado a la historia como “los 26 mártires de Nagasaki”.
A falta de un análisis de estas relaciones entre ambos países durante el periodo posterior, el del gobierno Tokugawa, podemos concluir afirmando que las relaciones oficiales entre Japón y Castilla durante el gobierno de Toyotomi Hideyoshi fueron claramente pobres: tanto en cantidad como en calidad. Japón sólo estaba interesado en el comercio y, posiblemente, en el vasallaje castellano-filipino; y a Castilla no la movía otra cosa que la evangelización de los japoneses y el evitar una invasión de las Filipinas. Con la excepción de esto último, nadie consiguió ninguno de estos objetivos, por lo que podemos considerar estas relaciones como un fracaso.

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In 2013 and 2014, because of the anniversary of the visit of a Japanese embassy to King Philip III in 1614 there have been constant mentions to the “400 years of relations between Spain and Japan.” Did these relations really exist? In this paper we analyze the first official relations between Japan and Castile, or more specifically, between the government of Toyotomi Hideyoshi and the one in Manila, through Castilian documents between 1592 and 1599.
We analyze original documents from the Archivo General de Indias, in Seville, consisting mainly of letters and reports to the court of Philip II. Through them, we witness how the timid official re- lations between the two countries were marked by mistrust and fear on the part of the Castilians, and how the evangelical cause –represented by the order of the Franciscans– was instrumental in the course of events. In this documentation we see some episodes that were particularly sig- nificant in this period, such as the wreck of the galleon San Felipe in the Japanese coasts and the subsequent execution of the so-called “26 martyrs of Nagasaki”.
Lacking an analysis of the relations between the two countries during the subsequent period, the Tokugawa government, we can conclude by stating that the official relations between Japan and Castile during the rule of Toyotomi Hideyoshi were clearly poor: both in terms of quantity and quality. Japan was only interested in trade and possibly in Castilian-filipino vassalage; and Castile was only moved by the evangelization of the Japanese and preventing an invasion of the Philippines. With the exception of the latter, nobody achieved any of these goals, so we can consider these relations as a failure.

I Presìdi di Toscana, fondati da Filippo II nel 1557, rappresentavano un luogo di grande importanza logistica e strategica per il sistema commerciale e geopolitico spagnolo. Le grandi trasformazioni intercorse nel XVII e XVIII secolo e i conseguenti mutamenti nel quadro strategico spagnolo e mediterraneo, comportarono una lenta e inesorabile decadenza per questo piccolo spazio lontano tanto dalla capitale Madrid quanto dal viceregno di Napoli, sotto la cui supervisione venne posto. Internamente, però, nulla parve cambiare, con un sistema amministrativo, sociale ed economico pressoché identico a se stesso per oltre due secoli, nonostante i rivolgimenti politici. Le trasformazioni avvennero a partire dal 1737, con il passaggio ufficiale al regno di Napoli. Quel tempo che sembrava fermo accelerò improvvisamente, contribuendo ad accentuare la definitiva decadenza di questo piccolo spazio Mediterraneo. Quello che originariamente era uno spazio di grande importanza si ritrovò, dopo due secoli e mezzo, svuotato di ogni precedente significato.

La colección Confluencias del Centro de Estudios Europa Hispánica (CEEH) está dedicada a las relaciones internacionales del arte, las letras y el pensamiento español del Siglo de Oro. Esta serie acoge un conjunto de monografías, tesis doctorales y actas de congresos centradas en aspectos de mutua influencia, paralelos e intercambios entre España y otros países; ideas, formas, agentes y episodios de la presencia hispánica en Europa, así como de lo europeo en España.

The Reformation has often been seen as a force which diminished the North-South connections. Even though it certainly was a new obstacle, relations not only continued but reached unprecedented levels. When Johan III became the new King of Sweden in 1568, as part of his foreign policy, he approached the Catholic powers of Southern Europe and among other things, he proposed formalizing an alliance with Philip H. This episode has been little studied and consequently, it has never been given the importance it really deserves, especially if we consider the great impact it had at political, military and commercial levels. This article uses little known sources mainly preserved in Simancas and contributes to the improvement our knowledge about the relations existing between the Baltic and the Mediterranean in times of the counter-reformation. As we demonstrate, the huge Spanish naval projects and necessities reached to the outskirts of the continent, stretching as far as Sweden and even to the remote tar-burning villages of Finland.

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A menudo la Reforma se ha visto como una fuerza que deterioró las conexiones Norte- Sur. Aunque ciertamente resultó un nuevo obstáculo, las relaciones no solo se mantuvieron, sino que alcanzaron niveles sin precedentes. Cuando Johan III se convirtió en el nuevo rey de Suecia en 1568, como parte de su política exterior, se acercó a los poderes católicos del sur de Europa y, entre otras cosas, propuso formalizar una alianza con Felipe II. Este episodio ha sido poco estudiado y consecuentemente, nunca se le ha dado la importancia que realmente merece, especialmente si consideramos el gran impacto que tuvo a nivel político, militar y comercial. Este artículo emplea fuentes poco conocidas principalmente preservadas en Simancas y contribuye a mejorar nuestro conocimiento acerca del Báltico y el Mediterráneo en tiempos de la Contrarreforma. Como demostramos, los enormes proyectos y necesidades navales españolas llegaron hasta la periferia del continente, alcanzado a Suecia e incluso hasta las remotas aldeas productoras de alquitrán de Finlandia.

This research problematizes how the military, political and ideological conflict which took place between Ottoman and Spanish Empires in 16th century, as well as how self-images of the two international actors were socially constructed and what the sociohistorical background behind this phenomenon was at that time. Historical span of this analysis covers the period between Ottoman conquest of Rhodes (1522) where the first yet latent seed of the conflict was sown and Battle of Alcazarquivir (1578) where the final yet indirect impact of the Ottomans over Spain came to an absolute end. Alexander Wendt's constructivist IR theory, Fernand Braudel's classification of history, Herfried Münkler's model of empire, Edmund Husserl's “lebenswelt” and George Herbert Mead's infamous distinction between “I and me” constituted the main conceptional corpus of this study. This study also aims to combine the intellectual mindsets of history and IR disciplines. Thereby, Introduction chapter criticized the current praxis of history writing (especially in Turkey) and evaluated the current literature. Conceptual Framework chapter described the theoretical elements of this analysis. Chapter of Historical and Social Definitions defined what each historical “social kind” meant in their respective era. Analytical Framework chapter showed the interplay between theoretical framework and historical substance, then Conclusion chapter discussed what the conflict meant as “histoire conjoncturelle” in respect to the larger “histoire structurelle” of civilizational clash in the Mediterranean Basin as well as it summarized the outcomes that were reached by this thesis.

Fra gli indiscussi capolavori di Tiziano si annovera il "Venere e Adone", di cui si conoscono molte variati, la più nota delle quali è la tela del Museo del Prado di Madrid, eseguita nel 1554 per il re di Spagna Filippo II. A partire dalla discussione delle prime due versioni del soggetto, andate perdute, il saggio esamina per la prima volta e in maniera esaustiva la genesi della creazione di tutte le successive variano, analizzandone gli elementi di continuità e le distinzioni e inserendole nelle corrette coordinate storiche e contestuali. Seguendo un metodo di indagine dinamico e interdisciplinare, si indagano inoltre le ragioni sociali e culturali che favorirono il successo dell'opera. Attraverso un confronto con le opere di Veronese, Carracci, Rubens, van Dyck, Poussin, fino a Lemoyne e Picabia, il saggio dimostra come questo modello iconografico e tipologico abbia continuato ad attrarre l'interesse di committenti e artisti nei secoli a seguire e come "Venere e Adone" sia da ritenere a tutti gli effetti una delle immagini fondanti della cultura pittorica visiva europea.

In 1597 Minuccio Minucci (Archbishop of Zara) wrote a letter to the former Venetian Ambassador at the Papal Court, Paolo Paruta, describing his own project for a trade route from the Duchy of Bavaria to Venice, in order to carry to the Most Serene Republic all the grain the Venetians needed. Before examining in details the text of the letter, the author sums up the historical and economic context of the late XVI century grain trade in Venice. After that, he tries to show how the letter written by Minucci is in tune with the political and economical vision of Paolo Paruta (i.e. his interpretation of prudenza as the pragmatic virtue typical of the republican government of Venice).

Nel 1597 Minuccio Minucci, allora Arcivescovo di Zara, scrisse una lettera all’ex Ambasciatore presso la Corte Papale, Paolo Paruta, in cui descriveva il proprio progetto: una tratta commerciale che dal Ducato di Baviera conducesse a Venezia tutto il grano di cui i Veneziani avevano bisogno. Prima di analizzare nel dettaglio il testo della missiva, l’autore riassume il contesto storico-economico dell’approvvigionamento granario nella Venezia del tardo Cinquecento. Dopo l’analisi, egli tenta di mostrare come la lettera minucciana potesse essere in sintonia con il pensiero politico ed economico di Paolo Paruta (per esempio nell’interpretazione della prudenza come virtù pragmatica,tipica del governo repubblicano di Venezia).

interesante la aproximación a este fenómeno que surge en la mayor parte de Europa a comienzos del siglo XVII y del que contamos con una aportación de conjunto, John H. ELLIOTT y Laurence BROCKLISS (dirs.), El mundo de los validos, Madrid, Taurus, 1999.

In 1556 Juan Páez de Castro handed to Philip II of Spain a project he had devised after more than ten years of research in the libraries of Northern and Central Italy. Contemporary experiments in France, as well as ancient Greek and Roman precedents provided Páez’s imagination with examples of a kind of library that he called “public”. Public libraries would be prepared to challenge the dangers of loss and dispersion indissolubly associated with collections owned by noblemen, cardinals or bishops –flesh-and-bone individuals destined to die some day or other. At the same time, the means available to a kingdom would make it possible to establish printers specifically appointed for the publication of the library’s treasures. Preservation and dissemination became therefore the two sides of a same reality devoted to the advancement of learning. By studying Páez de Castro’s project side by side with contemporary reactions and debates aroused by the foundation of the king’s library at El Escorial, I will consider to what extent one might speak for Páez and those who followed his steps of a new paradigm transforming not only ideas on book collection, but also the way the latter relates to scholarly practice. In addition to this, I will analyze the way in which Philip II’s library meant for humanist projects such as Páez’s a contact with reality that entailed a reconsideration of both the convenience and the feasibility of many of the novelties implied by the model they had attempted to lay down.

El nombre de esta batalla se vincula casi automáticamente con el choque de civilizaciones. En Europa se tuvo la sensación de que el invencible Imperio Otomano había sido frenado en su avance hacia el Oeste. Felipe II pudo mostrar que la Monarquía de España se constituía como un poder militar hegemónico incontestable. El papa Pio V la exaltó como una victoria de Dios y así fue celebrada. Coincidiendo con la fecha de la batalla, 7 de octubre de 1571, su sucesor Gregorio XIII estableció la fiesta del Rosario vinculando el acontecimiento al triunfo de la Iglesia. Desde entonces se fue tejiendo sobre aquel episodio un mito que lo fue desfigurando hasta hacerlo irreconocible, transformándolo en un relato fantástico, legendario. Voltaire observó entre divertido e irónico que tal exaltación era exagerada o absurda, anotando las primeras líneas del antimito. Concluyó que aquello no fue para tanto, más bien una ocasión desaprovechada. Después de la batalla, nada cambió, el Imperio Turco se anexionó Chipre y Túnez, alcanzó el Magreb amenazando de manera directa la Península Ibérica. El conflicto no concluyó, los europeos aún siguieron amenazados, en el año 1683 los turcos pusieron sitio a Viena apuntando al corazón de Europa. Lepanto, entre el mito y el antimito, se ha desdibujado de tal manera que procede ser reexaminado. Aquí se hace a la luz de su contexto, no como un fenómeno paradigmático del choque de civilizaciones sino inscrito en la quiebra de la cristiandad en el siglo XVI. La cruzada fue necesaria para unir a los cristianos ante la amenaza turca, pero fue mucho más importante para devolver la iniciativa al mundo católico tras la escisión protestante.

 La relación del Greco con los ambientes cortesanos españoles podría arrancar de su estancia en Venecia entre  y . Allí residieron personajes como el embajador de Felipe II don Diego Guzmán de Silva, que había sido obrero y canónigo de la catedral de Toledo. Aparte de reunir una discreta colección de arte, constantemente proveía al rey de reliquias, libros, pinturas y pigmentos de alta calidad para el monasterio del Escorial. De lo que no hay duda es de que en la ciudad lagunar el candiota admirará el arte de Tiziano, Tintoretto, Bassano y Veronés, algunas de cuyas pinturas tendrán gran acogida en España, especialmente por el rey Felipe II. Allí comenzará a modificar su estilo pictórico hacia otro que será especialmente apreciado en España.