Forging an Image for the Spanish Monarchy in Seventeenth-Century Rome. Habsburg Religiosity and Visual Propaganda

Abstract

The militant Catholicism of the Spanish Habsburgs and their need for the support of the Holy See gave rise to the creation of a solid model of representation in seventeenth-century Rome in order to gain papal approval. This model encountered problems when it came to promoting traditional signs of the nation, such as the simulacra of the dynasty, as the city lay outside the domains of the crown. However, the author proposes that in seventeenthcentury Rome the Spanish Monarchy successfully applied a model of representation based on the national religiosity and articulated around three core elements: art, festival culture, and printing.

El catolicismo militante de los Habsburgos y su necesidad del apoyo de la Santa Sede dieron lugar a la creacion de un s olido modelo de representacion en la Roma del Seiscientos con el objeto de conseguir la aprobacion papal. Este modelo se enfrent o a la imposibilidad de emplear s ımbolos tradicionales de la nacion, como los simulacros din asticos, al estar la ciudad fuera de los dominios de la monarqu ıa. Sin embargo, el autor propone que, durante el siglo XVII, la Monarqu ıa de Espana consigui ~ o aplicar con exito un modelo de representacion basado en la religiosidad nacional y articulado en torno a tres elementos fundamentales: las artes, la cultura festiva y la imprenta.