Opening Keynote Lecture - Prof. Francesco Benigno (Scuola Normale Superiore Pisa)
On the death of Philip II, his successor, the young Philip III entrusted the government of the Spanish monarchy to the Duke of Lerma. Thus a model of political organization was implemented which was destined to last and to become hegemonic throughout Europe, establishing itself in England, France and in the Habsburg Empire. Therefore, for about sixty years the main European monarchies was guided by individuals chosen by the sovereigns for their deep trust that they had in them, including well-known figures such as Olivares, Richelieu and Buckingham. However, the historiography has analysed these characters along national perspectives, avoiding facing the question of the existence of a model of government, such as the one of the valimiento or ministeriat, in which the common features prevail over the differences. The paper will try to explain the reasons for the emergence of this practice of delegating the royal power but also the causes of its disappearance in the 1660s, when Louis XIV's decision not to designate a principal minister at the death of Mazarin was followed by other monarchies.
Francesco Benigno is Full professor of Modern History at Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa. He has been President of Teramo University Foundation and Director of the local PHD program in history; in the same University he has been Dean of the Faculty of Communication Sciences and Director of the Department of History. Visiting Professor at the University of Cambridge, Marseille, Coimbra and Barcelona, in 2014 he has been appointed distinguished scholar by the University of Santander.
His main theme of research is the political conflict and the formation of social identities in Modern Europe, a topic investigated in several books (also translated into English and Spanish) and in more than one hundred articles and essays in Italian and European journals.
Among his research interests, one can recall: the social-economic history of Sicily during the Seventeenth century; the government of the favourites in the Spain of Philip III and Philip IV; the revolutions in western Europe during the Early Modern age; the historiography and the intellectual debate on history and uses of the past; the history of concepts and ideas; the origins of mafia and camorra in nineteenth century Italy.