Power management at the Roman Court at the beginning of the 17th century: The case of Cardinal Giovannni Garzia Millini

Abstract

At the beginning of the 17th Century the court of Rome was caught in a tug-ofwar between various pressure groups. In addition to the Cardinals' factions, which were especially active when there was a conclave or at times of crisis, there were more permanent power blocks which looked towards the Catholic monarchs and the great families of Rome and Italy. In this broad dynamic, however, key individuals, leading actors on the great world stage, emerged

A principios del siglo XVII, la corte de Roma estaba recorrida por una vivaz dialéctica entre distintos grupos de presión. Aparte de las facciones cardenalicias, activas sobre todo con ocasión de los cónclaves y en particulares momentos de crisis, operaban centros de poder permanentes que tenían a su cabeza a los soberanos católicos y a las grandes familias romanas e italianas. Sin embargo, en las dinámicas colectivas emergían personalidades de relieve, protagonistas en la escena del gran teatro del mundo