Strategie nobiliari. La famiglia Godi fra Vicenza e l'Europa (1480-1588)

The research examines nobility in Europe and in particular in Northern Italy during the Sixteenth century. The structure of the phD dissertation is the following: in the first part the focus is on the historiographical problem of the concept of nobility in Early Modern Age in the Republic of Venice. The central part describes the Godi politicians between Roma, Torino and Antwerp during the the Sixteenth century. My research emphasizes the social history and the international networks of the Godi family in Vicenza in the Sixteenth century. Vicenza was the eldest city of the Republic of Venice. In 1404 Vicenza gave herself to Venice spontaneously and throughout the Fifteenth century it was faithful to Venice. However, Vicenza was not the capital and during the first Italian Wars the Venetian faction waned. In the first part of the Sixteenth Century Vicenza increased so much that it had 25000 inhabitants, about one quarter of the number of inhabitants of Venice. The study of one lineage allows us to examined in depth these issues historiographical problems and address and resolve in relatively specific spheres. In addition, in the first part of the Sixteenth century, this family was in contact with Niccolò Machiavelli, Andrea Palladio and the Head of State, the Dutch (or il Doge). Members of the Godis were essentially jurists and were resident in Padua, Venice, Rome. The focus on a single family could better reveal the relationship between the nobility of the Mainland and the Republic. Historians have traditionally believe that the Godi family was an ordinary family. Nevertheless, from 1490 until 1536, the founder, Enrico Antonio Godi was the richest person in Vicenza and presumably one of the richest people in the Venetian Mainland (or Terraferma). He was a Knight, a Lawyer and one of the most eloquent orators who was celebrated all around Europe due to his eminence in law, council, prudence, wisdom and sharpness of intelligence. Employing a rhetorical mode, typical of the time, Enrico Antonio was known by the a judge and the councillors of Venice, for his excellent skills as a lawyer in Venice and for his orations which he pronounced with such gravity, fluency and vehemence and because of which he was dubbed the Second Demosthenes. His family lived on his prestige. An important episode might be quoted as an example of this reputation to Venice was in 1509 when Enrico Antonio Godi was temporarily taken prisoner due to his fidelity to Venice by Emperor Maximilian I. The fact that, during the Italian Wars, Enrico Antonio, in contrast with many of the nobles of Vicenza, remained faithful to Venice does not seem surprising owing to his public and lucrative career there. In fact it was quite useful in order to increase the prestige of the family in both cities. He set his neighbourhood against the imperial troops, but he was seized and a large ransom had to be paid for him to be released. He was the first in his family to participate in the great events of the century. In 1527 one his sons was present during the sack of Rome and another was a friend of Pietro Bembo and the patron of Andrea Palladio. His grandchildren did not share Venetian politics and fought in the court of Emanuele Filiberto in Turin. From the promoters of the Venetian party they became head of the imperial party. Venice did not support the autonomy of the nobility of Mainland although its dominance over the Mediterranean sea and its territories was in crisis. One possible reason for this phenomenon may be, rather than the opposition to Venice, is the fact that the cities needed a certain degree of autonomy to control their offices and their territory. This may be one of the reasons why the Godis went to Turin under the government of Emanuele Filiberto. In fact, after having established their name in Venice, the Godis tried to gain the trust of Emperor Charles V, but they were not invited to the Spanish court. Emanuele Filiberto was the grandson of Charles V and the Italians considered him to be under Spanish influence. After the 1560 it seemed natural that many of the Godis felt at home in Emanuele Filiberto is fledgling court. All the Godis at the court of Savoy were military and participated as volunteers in the wars in Flanders. In the same period there were more than 4000 Italian soldiers in Flanders. Simultaneously, the Godis remained the most intransigent from a religious point of view. Not only were they not heretic, but they were "knights of Catholicism". As in Piedmont, as in the Flanders, they were “the soldiers of Christ” against the Protestants. It is not surprising that from the Flanders two Godis went on a secret and suicidal mission as spies to the English and Scottish coasts. They were the vanguard of the “Invincible” Spanish Armada and they worked directly for Alessandro Farnese.