'Una suprema magnificenza' : Niccolo' Ridolfi, a Florentine Cardinal in sixteenth-century Rome

Abstract

The College of Cardinals was one of the most exclusive elites of any period, with respect to both church and society. Traditionally, its members formed a well-defined group possessing special privileges and status. In the sixteenth century, however, the College was far from being an homogeneous body, either in social or economic terms, although they must have appeared as such to an outsider. /.../ The present study is based on the account books and other perscnal papers of Cardinal Niccolo Ridolfi (1501-1550). The Ridolfi were a wealthy Florentine family, and formed part of the mercantile aristocracy of that city. Niccolo himself was a grandson of Lorenzo the Magnificent and was related to both the Medici Popes of his time. His surviving accounts cover the period 1535-1550, but a large collection of letters, both to him and to his family, extends over a much longer period. In addition to these two principal sources, extensive material has been found in other Italian archives, notably in Rome and the Vatican. Following a brief biography of Cardinal Ridolfi, two chapters are based on an analysis of his household and of his personal relations between the Cardinal, his relatives and famiglia. The last four chapters of this work turn from the study of the household of Cardinal Ridolfi, to an analysis of his financial affairs.