«Un’amicizia sincera e di buona fede». La Spagna nelle relazioni degli ambasciatori lucchesi a Madrid (1700-1750)

Abstract

This paper, a preview of a more extensive work across a wider time frame, contributes to the understanding of the European balance of power, the cultural exchanges, and the image of Spain during the complicated phase of the War of the Spanish Succession and the following ‘Spanish resurgence’. The reports of successive ambassadors to Madrid (Giovanni Lando Diversi, Pierfrancesco Boccella, Carlo Orsucci, Giovan Battista Domenico Sardini, Andrea Sbarra) allow the reader to appreciate little-known details, to examine the change in court ritual and taste (with typically Spanish traits such as bullfighting taking a back seat), to witness the machinations of princess Orsini and the backrooms of foreign policy, and to enjoy the portraits – warts and all – of prominent ministers and of the sovereigns themselves: Philip V, Elisabeth Farnese, and Ferdinand VI.