Formazione politica e pratica dei negotii: il soggiorno in Spagna del cardinale Girolamo Colonna (1620-1627)

In 1620, at the age of only sixteen, Girolamo Colonna was sent to Spain by his father, Filippo I Colonna, to complete his studies in utroque iure at the Com-plutensian University of Alcalà de Henares. Here the young scion of the Roman family was supposed to complete his training, prepare for a curial career and “farsi abile al real servicio di sua Maestà”. Through the extensive documentation of the Colonna Archive and above all through the correspondence of Girolamo Colonna, a fundamental period for the development of the future cardinal’s per-sonality and career is explored. The contribution therefore intends to reconstruct the years of the cardinal’s training and the complex negotiations that will lead to his appointment as cardinal with particular attention to the analysis of the artic-ulations of multiple loyalties, to Girolamo’s relationship with his family of origin and to the complex relationships entertained with the Spanish and Italian elites.