Henry Wotton e Gregorio Barbarigo: rapporti anglo-veneti all’inizio del Seicento

Abstract

The aim of this study is to outline the relationship between Henry Wotton, the English ambassador to Venice, and the Venetian society in the first decades of the XVII century. Despite his supposedly limited private connections with the members of the patriciate of the Serenissima, Wotton managed to enter the political and social dynamics of the Republic exploiting the common views on jurisdictional principles. This system of relations was mapped out through the analysis of the dispatches, the ambassador’s hearings in the Collegio, and the writings of Gregorio Barbarigo, a member of Paolo Sarpi’s inner circle. The research is structured in two different parts: the first one focuses on the Englishman’s opinions on the dispute between the Church of Rome and secular power; while the second defines Barbarigo’s stance on the matter by analysing one of his unpublished manuscripts kept in the archive of the Doge Leonardo Donà and his diplomatic and private correspondence.