I nunzi pontifici e la diplomazia parallela del granduca Ferdinando I (1587-1609)

The article investigates the unofficial and informal dimension of Ferdinand I's European diplomacy, analysing the correspondence sent by the papal nuncios, resident in Florence, to the Secretariat of State in Rome. On the one hand, the nuncios' letters highlighted the role of figures linked to international trade and finance, such as Girolamo Gondi, Orazio Rucellai and Neri Giraldi. On the other hand, in the correspondence sent to Rome, the unofficial diplomatic function of ecclesiastical men such as Cardinal Alessandro de' Medici and Carlo Antonio Dal Pozzo emerged. In addition, the same Cardinal Alessandro together with Don Giovanni de' Medici gives tangible evidence of the centrality of the family element within the covert diplomatic action performed by Ferdinando. Therefore, the Roman observatory constituted by the nuncios makes it possible to outline a first provisional and insightful synthesis of the men, instances and roles of Ferdinand’s articulate parallel diplomacy.