History, Anthropology, Religions

«The Medici spy. Benedetto Dei and Italy in the age of Lorenzo the Magnificent» The course will focus on inter-state relations in late 15th-century Italy through the lens of official and parallel diplomatic practices implemented by appointed ambassadors and information agents. Specifically, the point of view adopted will be that of the republic of Florence in the age of Lorenzo de' Medici (1469-1492) in order to examine an extremely particular case study from the point of view of both the negotiation practices adopted by the Florentine government and the parallel diplomacy implemented by the Magnifico. Going into even greater detail, the personage through whom the theoretical premises will be put into practice will be Benedetto Dei, traveller, polygraph, merchant and above all spy on behalf of Lorenzo de' Medici from the 1470s onwards. By means of his correspondence (unpublished and so far very little used), various drafts of his memoirs and sources from other centres of production, the aim is to contextualise current lines of research on late medieval diplomacy in concrete situations. The lectures will take place according to the following schedule, which may change on the basis of the breadth of the classroom discussions in which the students will be actively involved. - The first five lectures will be devoted to an overview of the political and diplomatic situation in Italy in the second half of the 15th century. - The next three will be devoted to the Florentine case, to its specificities with respect to the other Italian states, and to the ways in which the Medici power asserted itself. - Once the factual informations have been acquired, at least two lectures will focus on the current lines of research dedicated to the history of early medieval diplomacy, to the new diplomatic history, and to the documentary typologies produced by negotiating exchanges and by ambassadors in the late 15th century. - Another three lectures will be dedicated to the figure of Benedetto Dei, his biographical notes, the characteristics of his personality, and the services he rendered to the Florentine government and the Medici. - The next block of lectures will be based on Dei's activities during the years of Lorenzo de' Medici's government, with the analysis of examples taken from his epistolary, contextualised in the various fields of action on the basis of the information acquired by the students in the previous lectures and with information taken from his memoirs - unpublished as well as the correspondence - and from his chronicle, published in a critical edition.

As this is a course taught in the third year, the prerequisites are as follows: - having taken and passed at least the examination in Medieval History I; - having at least attended the Latin Palaeography course. The prerequisites are valid both for students enrolled in the History, Anthropology and Religions degree course and for students enrolled in other degree courses who wish to include Medieval History III among their elective courses. For foreign students - attending and non-attending - a fundamental and binding prerequisite for passing the examination is the ability to read, understand and speak Italian fluently with more than good language skills as well as the ability to read 15th century sources.

Volker Reinhardt, «Il Rinascimento in Italia», Bologna, Il Mulino, 2004; Nadia Covini, Bruno Figliuolo, Isabella Lazzarini e Francesco Senatore, «Pratiche e norme di comportamento nella diplomazia italiana. I carteggi di Napoli, Firenze, Milano, Mantova e Ferrara tra fine XIV e fine XV secolo», in «De l’ambassadeur. Les écrits relatifs à l’ambassadeur et à l’art de négocier du Moyen Âge au début du XIXe siècle», a cura di Stefano Andretta, Stéphane Péquignot e Jean-Claude Waquet, Roma, École française de Rome, 2015, pp. 113-161 (the essay is available in open access free of charge and will be uploaded on the Classroom platform); Maria Pisani, «Un avventuriero del Quattrocento. La vita e le opere di Benedetto Dei», Genova-Napoli-Città di Castello-Firenze, Perrella, 1923, pp. 1-40. This volume is the only biography of Benedetto Dei published in monographic format to date. However, since it is a bibliographical resource that dates back a long way and is not available in a printed edition, the pages that are part of the examination programme will be made available to students in pdf via the Classroom platform. All materials presented, discussed and analysed in class, which will be uploaded on the Classroom platform, form part of the bibliography and examination interview.

Attendance is not compulsory, but strongly recommended.

The learning assessment test will take the form of an interview exclusively in Italian. Foreign students will also take the test in Italian. They must possess more than good language skills and express themselves in fluent Italian. Students will have to report not only on the compulsory texts, but also on all the materials that will be analysed and discussed. There will be no examinations, in itinere tests, written or oral examinations during the course or even after the end of the lectures. The dates of the examinations will be entered in the InfoStud system according to the teaching calendar decided and distributed by the Faculty and will be the institutional occasions for demonstrating the skills acquired.

The lectures will be face-to-face with the contribution of supplementary materials (sources, maps, images) that will be read, discussed and analysed in the classroom. Students will be invited to propose topics for discussion, ask questions and make their own critical contribution to the common dialogue. Lessons will take place exclusively in Italian, therefore foreign students must possess more than good skills in the Italian language, and therefore be able to understand and express themselves fluently in Italian, as well as the ability to read 15th century sources.