Drawing from new archival research, Pius IV and the Fall of the Carafa shows how the popes of the mid-sixteenth century sought to re-assert and project their authority over the Catholic Church during the first phase of the Counter-Reformation. Its narrative focus is the trial of cardinals Carlo and Alfonso Carafa, nephews of Paul IV (1555-1559), who, together with Carlo's brother Giovanni, were arrested and indicted by their uncle's successor Pius IV (1559-65) on charges of murder, theft, and corruption. Taking place from June 1560 to April 1561 as preparations were underway for a resumption...
Drawing from new archival research, Pius IV and the Fall of the Carafa shows how the popes of the mid-sixteenth century sought to re-assert and projec...
The sixteenth century was a critical period both for Spain s formation and for the imperial dominance of her Crown. Spanish monarchs ruled far and wide, spreading agents and culture across Europe and the wider world. Yet in Italy they encountered another culture whose achievements were even prouder and whose aspirations often even grander than their own. Italians, the nominally subaltern group, did not readily accept Spanish dominance and exercised considerable agency over how imperial Spanish identity developed within their borders. In the end Italians views sometimes even shaped how their...
The sixteenth century was a critical period both for Spain s formation and for the imperial dominance of her Crown. Spanish monarchs ruled far and wid...