Römische Historische Mitteilungen 63/2021, pp. 263-300, 2021/11/02
The edition includes 26 unpublished diplomatic letters which were sent between 1482 and 1484 from Naples to Mantua. These dispatches are stored at the Archive of the City of Mantua (envelope no. 806 – Gonzaga Archive): most of them were written by Giorgio Brognolo from Mantova and addressed to the marquis Federico I Gonzaga. The letters disclose numerous details about King Ferrante of Aragon, the Royal Family as well as the “condottieri”, aristocrats, ambassadors, cities or about political and military events in general, also considering the fact that the “War of Ferrara” was taking place at the same time; the dispatches were partially supplemented by copies of letters attached to Brognolo’s letters, which reached Naples from other cities. The edition is based on the criteria laid down by Francesco Senatore in his work “Dispacci sforzeschi da Napoli (1997)”. All dispatches have been selected according to the keyword “Turk”: this publication aims at shedding light on the Kingdom of Naples and on King Ferrante shortly after the Ottoman invasion of Otranto (1480–1481) and the subsequent Aragonese reconquest of Italy’s easternmost point. The edition also contains some comments about the diplomatic relations between King Ferrante and Sultan Bazeyid II after the conflict came to an end.
