Narrative Interlude #9: When in Rome...
Roma, 28 March 1848 - Papal Department of State
Gizzi was the first to speak (those who have least to say are always the first to speak, thought Patrizi Naro):
"We must certainly support Ferdinand as best as we can. His Holiness should strongly and publicly condemn these actions against a God-anointed king, and admonish the ill-doers in Palermo so that they may repent of their sins."
Antonelli was more prudent in his advice:
Patrizi Naro took a moment to make his intervention. He rose, and walked in the room, seemingly staring into the void. He then stopped to look with apparent interest to a beautiful painting on the wall, a delicate XVI century Pietà. In the meantime he was reviewing in his mind Antonelli's words:
"You burned your fingers by supporting the Pope's urge to become a focus for Italian aspirations, and now you are doubly cautious. I noticed that you put all the responsibility to maintain order in Rome on my shoulders, little worm. But in fairness that is my task, and I know how to do it. I've to admit your advice was sound, though: let our friends know we are not deserting them, and at the same time let's avoid firing up the masses against us."
He suddenly turned again, looking straight into the eyes of the three buffoons in the room, a sudden chill filling his voice-and the air.
Footnotes
The Cardinal Vicar of Rome, Costantino Patrizi Naro (1), considered the other three men sitting with him in a well-appointed meeting room in the Papal Department of State with mixed feelings, even bordering on distaste, although no emotion creased his patrician face.
For a curious coincidence, all three had been chosen as Secretary of State by Pius IX, in sequence like pearls on a string, and all their tenures had been quite short.
The first one had been cardinal Giovanni Gizzi (2): his tenure had been the longest of the three, almost 18 months, but the only result he was able to achieve had been to anger both the conservatives and the liberals. It was not a surprising outcome, considering his lack of political sensibility. A strange choice for a Pope who had been Secretary of State himself and knew what the office demanded, but possibly a bone tossed to the conservatives: although Gizzi was considered a liberal, Patrizi Naro was not fooled, the man was a conservative in disguise. His resignation for medical reasons, which was true enough, was a relief, though hardly a blessing.For a curious coincidence, all three had been chosen as Secretary of State by Pius IX, in sequence like pearls on a string, and all their tenures had been quite short.
The second choice of the Pope had also been unusual: Cardinal Deacon Giacomo Antonelli was not born to a noble family, not even to a family of literati from Rome. He had been born in Sonnino (a true burino! (3)): his father had accumulated a fortune by participating in a large number of land sub-divisions and assorted shady deals, climbing the social ladder and becoming a leader among the so-called Country Merchants, the businessmen from Latium who controlled a big chunk of the Roman economy. The gentleman had sent one of his sons, Giacomo, to study in Rome: Roman College, then law studies at the university La Sapienza, finally an entry in the Prelatura Iustitiae (4). Giacomo was intelligent, hard-working and if he was a burino, by 1830 he had been spruced and trimmed up enough to make the smell of the countryside go away. Cardinal Lambruschini (4) had taken him under his wing, and his career had been meteoric. He proved to be a good no-nonsense administrator, and a financial wizard which managed to help the parlous state of Papal finances (and to help his family even better (5), but the Bible says "Don't bind the mouth of the kine..."). He had never taken Holy Orders, just a lay deaconate, but this had not stopped His Holiness from choosing him as Secretary of State, and Antonelli had tried to repay the honor by implementing what appeared to be the dreams of the Pope: he had been behind the ill-advised decision to send a strong contingent of regulars and volunteers to the Veneto border, and even to convince the Pope to bless them on their departure from Rome. However, if Antonelli was not a man of strong faith (if he has a god, he's named Mammon, mused Patrizi Naro) he proved to be a political animal: as soon as reports from Austria and the German states indicated a growing resentment against the Pope making a grand-stand for what appeared to be a liberal cause, Antonelli had smoothly started to distance himself from liberal positions, and had grabbed the opportunity to submit his resignation after the news of Goito reached Rome. A flawed man, like the other two, but at least his apparent flaw was a lack of conscience and an abundance of greed: therefore a man worth cultivating, a tool good for all seasons.
The resignation of Antonelli had heralded the entry on the scene of Cardinal Orazio Orioli, who received the appointment as Secretary of State ad interim. Another man born to a family of modest means, and from the Legations, but at least a man of faith, whose allegiance had always been to the zealot faction of the Church: no fear that this man would be infected by liberal ideas, but also no hope that he might be gifted with the flexibility of mind that was required from a Secretary of State in these troubled times. His tenure was very unlikely to last long, but God had blessed the world with useful idiots, and he could well be one of those. One might hope that the fourth choice of the Pope would be more inspired (6).
All these thoughts flashed across the mind of Patrizi Naro in a few seconds: when his attention returned to the room, Cardinal Orioli was still droning platitudes. Finally, he managed to come to what needed to be discussed today:
"Brothers in Christ, I have asked you to join me today to discuss the political issues which are sprouting almost by day in this troubled year. The very last one is the news coming from Sicily, concerning the rash actions of the self-elected parliament: Ferdinand of the Two Sicilies, a good king and a dutiful son of Mother Church, has been stripped of his God-given Sicilian crown, a new kingdom proclaimed and the crown offered to the daughter of Carlo Alberto of Sardinia. I feel that we have to assure Ferdinand of our support. I am also concerned that these events might incite the liberal and Jacobin elements in Rome and create a danger for the order in our city. However, as you well know, I have been appointed to this office just two days ago. I would beseech some sage advice from those who have preceded me in the same office, and from the Esteemed Cardinal Vicar of Rome too."The resignation of Antonelli had heralded the entry on the scene of Cardinal Orazio Orioli, who received the appointment as Secretary of State ad interim. Another man born to a family of modest means, and from the Legations, but at least a man of faith, whose allegiance had always been to the zealot faction of the Church: no fear that this man would be infected by liberal ideas, but also no hope that he might be gifted with the flexibility of mind that was required from a Secretary of State in these troubled times. His tenure was very unlikely to last long, but God had blessed the world with useful idiots, and he could well be one of those. One might hope that the fourth choice of the Pope would be more inspired (6).
All these thoughts flashed across the mind of Patrizi Naro in a few seconds: when his attention returned to the room, Cardinal Orioli was still droning platitudes. Finally, he managed to come to what needed to be discussed today:
Gizzi was the first to speak (those who have least to say are always the first to speak, thought Patrizi Naro):
"We must certainly support Ferdinand as best as we can. His Holiness should strongly and publicly condemn these actions against a God-anointed king, and admonish the ill-doers in Palermo so that they may repent of their sins."
Antonelli was more prudent in his advice:
"Palermo is but the last wound on the body of the Holy Alliance, but not the greatest or the most dangerous. Everything hinges on the situation in Northern Italy, which is very troubling. The insurrections of Milan and Venice were but the beginnings, and opened the dam for similar insurrections in Parma and Modena. There are rumors of troubles in Romagna too, and even in Ferrara, where the long Austrian occupation was resented by the populace. All these news are disturbing, no God-fearing man could feel otherwise. I would remind you that similar outbursts of Jacobinism have happened in the past too, in 1821 and 1831 for example, and within a few months the order was established again. This year, unfortunately, discontent and insurrections are much more widespread. A king, an anointed king whom we believed to be a dutiful son of the Church, is waging war against the emperor of Austria, who has always been our shield against Jacobinism, and, even worse, he appears to be succeeding. I deeply regret to have supported His Holiness in his impulse to heed the voices of his children, and lead them: it was a mistake, I forgot that the lures of Satan can lead even the best men astray. I've tried to make amend for such a mistake, and I've instructed the Nuncio in Turin to admonish the Sardinian government, to let them know that the Holy Father is troubled by the news he receives from all of Italy, all of Europe and that papal support to an enterprise which threatens the very pillars of Order cannot continue. I'm not confident that this will be enough to bring them back from their madness, their pride is fired by the victory at Goito, and now the news from Sicily will add fuel to that fire. We have to be cautious, though, in order to avoid making the situation worse. Let us signify our friends and champions that we will guard their backs, that they can rely on us, but it should be done by confidential letters, not by proclamation. We must make sure that there will be not new disturbances in Rome, of course: the news from Palermo come on top of the news from Northern Italy. The Cardinal Vicar knows much better than me the best ways to make sure that the order in Rome is neither threatened nor disturbed. I also hope that His Holiness may soon reach a decision : a pronouncement from the Holy See would resonate strongly throughout Italy and Europe."
Patrizi Naro took a moment to make his intervention. He rose, and walked in the room, seemingly staring into the void. He then stopped to look with apparent interest to a beautiful painting on the wall, a delicate XVI century Pietà. In the meantime he was reviewing in his mind Antonelli's words:
"You burned your fingers by supporting the Pope's urge to become a focus for Italian aspirations, and now you are doubly cautious. I noticed that you put all the responsibility to maintain order in Rome on my shoulders, little worm. But in fairness that is my task, and I know how to do it. I've to admit your advice was sound, though: let our friends know we are not deserting them, and at the same time let's avoid firing up the masses against us."
He suddenly turned again, looking straight into the eyes of the three buffoons in the room, a sudden chill filling his voice-and the air.
"Cardinal Antonelli's advice appears to be eminently sound. I suggest that Cardinal Orioli prepares suitable confidential letters to be dispatched, while I address the need of keeping Rome untainted by riots and insurrections. I have to talk to the Pope too: His Holiness must understand and accept that there is only one way to show the world that he is the Father of all Catholics, not just of the Italians. Sia lodato Gesù Cristo."
"Sempre sia lodato", the other three responded mechanically, with a slight, almost imperceptible tremor in their voices.Footnotes
- Cardinal Costantino Patrizi Varo, born in 1798, was a scion of a noble family of the Roman patriciate. Intellectually gifted and backed by his ties to Roman aristocracy, his career in the Church was very fast: ordered as bishop at 30 years old, received the biretta of cardinal 8 years later. In 1841 he was appointed Cardinal Vicar of Rome (effectively governor of the city, with full control of the justice system and the police and wide discretional powers). He had always been a member of the conservative faction of the Church, and got some votes in the Conclave till the end. The new Pope confirmed him in his position (they had known each other since when they were both young monsignori climbing the ladder of power).
- Cardinal Tommaso Gizzi, born in 1787, to a well-to-do family from Frosinone, that later moved to Rome. His ascent in the Church hierarchy was not as meteorical as the one Patrizi Varo had, but he became a well-renowned jurist and diplomat. Nuncio in Turin in 1829 , he did fit very well in the reactionary court of Carlo Felice and then Carlo Alberto. In 1835, travelling from Turin to Bruxelles where he had been appointed as Nuncio to Belgium, he met prince Metternich in Vienna: the prince wrote in his diary that Gizzi was "a man who had given good proof of his ultramontane beliefs". He was a conservative always, and a good friend of Solaro della Margarita, but in 1837 he started to be regarded as liberal, following his tenure in Ancona during the riots of that time, and later on as Nuncio in Switzerland. He was made cardinal in 1844, when he was already 57 years old, and at the Conclave of 1845 was regarded as one of the leading lights of the liberal faction. The new Pope appointed him as Secretary of State, but the problems encountered during 18 months of tenure as well as his very bad health led him to resign on 5 July 1847, the day after having signed the act allowing the recruitment of a National Guard in Rome. The judgment that Patrizi Naro gives of him is a bit harsh, but in truth his tenure as Secretary of State was not a success, and the popular belief accused him to be the obstacle to the reforms that the Pope wanted to institute
- A "burino" is a rural bumpkin, smelling of onions and pig-shit
- Cardinal Luigi Lambruschini, theologian and philosopher, the leading light of the hard conservatives for all his life. He was Secretary of State in the 1830s, as well as the main contender for the conservatives in the Conclave of 1845.
- Cardinal Deacon Antonelli was appointed Treasurer General of the Church in 1845, and soon managed to solve in a satisfactory way a problem dating back to 30 years before, during the Congress of Vienna. The Papal States were required to compensate the princely family Beauharnais - Lichtenberg for there extensive possessions in the Papal State, but they were never able to fund the enormous payment (4 million papal ecus). Antonelli negotiated a bank loan, secured by the value of the lands, which were then subdivided and sold in parcels to repay the loan - and obviously to compensate the Antonelli family who had managed the subdivision and the sales. Let's say that the financial operation was beneficial to all sides ).
- IOTL, the subsequent choices of the Pope were even less inspired: Pius IX burned 6 Secretary of States in 30 months. In November 1848, Antonelli suggest to the Pope to leave Rome for Gaeta, where he reached him a few days later. It is rumored that Pius IX remained in Gaeta upon the advice of Antonelli, who dissuaded him from seeking an exile abroad. On 26 November 1848, Antonelli was appointed again to the position of State Secretary, and held it for the next 20 years.
Made in @LordKalvan e Tarabas