Scipione Gonzaga, Fürst von Bozzolo, kaiserlicher Gesandter in Rom 1634–1641

Abstract

Abstract In the first half of the 17th century, the image of the imperial embassy in Rome was dominated by the long-standing service of the brothers Paolo and Federico Savelli. In comparison, the period in between, during which Scipione Gonzaga held the office, has left hardly any traces. Yet a closer look at his years of service reveals the political problems of those years and shows the prince of Bozzolo to be a committed diplomat. Furthermore, the circumstances of his life show the envoy’s activity in an unusual context, that of a lower-ranking prince in Imperial Italy who sought to gain stature for the empire in order to maintain the limited power attained by himself and his family, and to improve their overall status by acquiring another ancestral entail that had fallen into other hands. Beyond his personal involvement in the costly office, his brothers and other relatives placed themselves at the service of the empire and also entered a network of influential noble families close to the imperial court through marriage. The Gonzaga reigns in Bozzolo and Mantua ended with the War of the Spanish Succession. However, the social and cultural influence they had accumulated lasted longer. Through their family connections, the relatives of the former imperial envoy contributed to the pervasive adoption of the Italian language and way of life, which had become established among the upper classes of Austria, Bohemia and Hungary and remained dominant throughout the reign of Emperor Leopold I.