The International Policy of the Papacy: Critical Approaches to the Concepts of Universalism and Italianità, Peace and War

The paper aims to offer up an interpretation of the Papacy’s international policy during the early modern age through a re-reading of the categories of Universalism and Italianità viewed in the light of the latest scholarly debate on confessionalization and on the missionary church in extra-European worlds. A turning point is identified in the 1580s under Gregory XIII who expanded the network of nuncios, enhanced the creation of colleges and reconstructed the image of Roma sancta while preparing the context that later led to the foundation of Propaganda Fide. A complex picture emerges in which the unquestioned role of the Inquisition in the post-tridentine Church, especially in Italy, is nuanced by the importance of missionary experiences, the circulation of knowledge and the linguistic skills the latter process implied.