Profili della mediazione diplomatica di Ferdinando I de’ Medici alla corte spagnola (fine secolo XVI-inizio secolo XVII)

After retracing some stages of the historiographical review on Spanish and non-Spanish Italy, highlighting issues still waiting to be considered in new ways, Paola Volpini dwells upon the case of the Grand Duke of Tuscany Ferdinand I de’ Medici (1587-1609) who, unlike his predecessor Francesco, did not want to fully submit to the Spanish hegemony on the Italian peninsula and in some phases identified the possibilities to acquire political autonomy. Through the examination of some figures involved in formal and informal diplomatic mediation, Volpini reflects on the instruments that Ferdinand I could obtain, also examining the importance of ambitions for personal growth that high officials could cultivate.