Borelli and the ancient triremes. Antiquarianism and political commitment

As a protegée of Christina of Sweden, in the last years spent in Rome (1673-1679), Borelli happened to liven up the meetings of the former queen Royal Academy at Riario Palace by delivering speeches that his friend Michelangelo Ricci did not hesitate to call worthless ‘distractions.’ Scholarship, that mostly ignores these discourses, seems to agree with him. This paper will focus particularly on Borelli’s academic discourse on the ancient triremes – which he gave at Palazzo Riario on February the 5th, 1675 – an episode of a broader debate that then involved the most authoritative Roman antiquarians. In the light of the cultural scenario of late 17th century Rome and of Borelli’s biography, the discourse turns out to be nothing but a distraction: it propounds a clear epistemological stance even to antiquarians while suggesting a real contribution to the Messina Revolt against the Spanish rule, then still underway.