Report by Carolina Ferraro, M.A., from her internship in the NAWA STER NextGenPhDs project

As part of the “Next Generation Global PhDs” project, co-financed by the National Agency for Academic Exchange, Ms. Carolina Ferraro completed a two-month research internship in Rome at the University Niccolò Cusano, at the Department of Political, Legal and Social Sciences. The research staying in Rome enriched the sources apparatus of her doctoral dissertation thesis on the reception of Tacitus in the context of early modern Spain.

It is precisely in Rome that the most important sources on Tacitus, one of the greatest historians of Roman antiquity, can be found. Indeed, the Rome of the early modern age had indissoluble ties with the Spanish monarchy (which owned a large part of the Italian peninsula) both because of the relations between the court in Madrid and the Papacy, and because of the continuous cultural and intellectual exchanges between the two powers.

The PhD student spent most of her stay in Roman libraries and archives. In Rome, Ms. Ferraro prepared photographic and descriptive documentation on political and religious books of the 16th–17th century. Most of them where found in the National Library, the Biblioteca Angelica, the Biblioteca Vallicelliana, and the Biblioteca Casanatense. At the same time, she visited the Niccolò Cusano University, where her doctoral supervisor teaches, and the library of the Sapienza Faculty of Philosophy, where she enriched the bibliographical apparatus of her dissertation with contemporary sources, especially journals on philosophy and politics.

The Vallicelliana Library’s collection of ancient printed works from the 16th to 19th centuries comprises around 40,000 volumes. A considerable part of the antique collection consists of editions from the 16th century, which are the subject of the doctoral student’s study. Of particular relevance was the consultation of: Saavedra Fajardo, Idea principis christiano-politici (Amsterdam 1659); the translation of the first book of Tacitus’ Annales by Bernardo Davanzati (Firenze 1596); Pedro de Ribadeneira, Tratado de la religion (Anversa 1597); Bartholomeo Bonfandino, Capitoli et conditioni della perpetua pace (Ferrara 1598). In the Casanatense Library’s collection, one of the most famous in Europe, she found interesting editions by Antonio de Herrera y Tordesillas, one of her most important authors.

During her stay in Rome, Ms Ferraro had the opportunity to present her research on Antonio de Herrera y Tordesillas at the international conference Boteriana IV, organised by the Centro Studi Giovanni Botero and held in Turin and Bene Vagienna from 8 to 9 November 2024. On 1 December, she also accepted Prof. Paolo Fedeli’s invitation to take part in the conference on the topic of man and the environment in the Roman world. Finally, Mrs Ferraro had the opportunity to complete this stage of her studies with a seminar at La Sapienza University, Department of Political Science. She had the honour of meeting Prof. Francesco Benigno, who presented his latest publication La Storia al tempo dell’oggi.