«Aunque no nací en España, en ella me crié que es lo más». Un futuro cardenal genovés en Salamanca: Giannettino Doria (1586-92)

Abstract

Young noble scions coming from the vast geography of the Spanish Empire coincided within what have been identified as the “Lecture Halls of the Catholic Monarchy”, that is the buildings of the University of Salamanca. Among these nobles, generous and (Church) dignitaries, between 1546 and 1668 Italians amounted to a half hundred students. This paper aims to present the case of the Genoese Giannettino Doria – son of Gian Andrea, prince of Melfi and captain general of the Sea –, who was Canon law student (1586-92) and rector (1589-90) in Salamanca. This case is investigated by analysing not only a variety of archival documentation about Giannettino, but also historiography about the University of Salamanca and its students’ daily life. The young Doria’s stay in Salamanca was the first step of his long ecclesiastical career as cardinal (1604) and archbishop of Palermo (1609-42). His years in Salamanca are also the confirmation of how sharing the same classrooms with Iberians, Americans and other students coming from diverse domains of the Monarchy, besides conferring an imperial scope to students’ formation, increased business relationships among their own families.