Despite its limited resources, the Fraknói Research Group is actively involved in Roman studies. In addition to the Vatican Archives, its active and creative contacts extend to several foreign institutions and universities in Rome. One of the results of nearly two decades of Roman presence is Giulio Merlani's monograph in Italian, published in the spring of 2023 in Budapest. The Collectanea Vaticana Hungariae I/22, published jointly by the Fraknói Research Group and the Gyula Moravcsik Institute, is entitled 'Papato e politica internazionale nel Seicento. Il nunzio Francesco Buonvisi alla cortedi Leopoldo I d'Asburgo imperatore e re d'Ungheria" (Budapest-Roma2023), in English: "Papacy and International Politics in the 17th Century in the Court of Francesco Buonvisi Nuncio to Emperor Leo I and King of Hungary". The author of the doctoral dissertation, Giulio Merlani, which is the basis of this monograph (download here), which follows a fresh approach and excellent methodology, will defend his thesis in February 2020 before the professors of Sapienza Università di Roma.
The Roman university origin of the research explains why the volume was presented at La Sapienza on the morning of 17 October 2023. The event, attended by a large number of La Sapienza teachers, doctoral students and students, was organised by Prof. Michaela Valente of the University and moderated by Prof. Elena Valeri. The event, which lasted for more than an hour and a half in the lobby of Palazzo di Lettere II, was opened by the head of the Doctorate in History, Professor Alessandro Saggioro. Gaetano Platania, President of the Istituto Nazionale di Studi Romani, was the main speaker of the presentation, presenting the main findings of the volume.He began by underlining that it focuses on the foreign policy activities of the Lucca-born papal diplomat Francesco Buonvisi until 1678, with a special focus on his early years at the imperial and royal court. Through the prism of the nunciatures, the guidelines of the Secretariat of State and the curial methods of operation, it describes the aims and effects of the complex process of redefining and redefining the papacy in the second half of the 17th century. It describes the Roman efforts that led to the liberation of almost all of Hungary from a century and a half of Ottoman rule in the 1680s and 1690s. Professor Platania's lecture, which included many other interesting aspects and details, and the author Giulio Merlani's speech, were followed by a lively discussion with the audience at the end of the event.
The ceremony was also addressed by Peter Tusor, series editor of the celebrated volume. His speech is available in Italian here and in Hungarian here. The full audio recording of the event can be found here. A more detailed description of the book can be found here. The event was a special occasion for both Hungarian historical research in the Vatican and Italian-Hungarian scientific cooperation.
