Italian Physicians and the Habsburg Courts (1550-1600)

The research project focusses on a large group of Italian physicians, who served the Habsburg family in the second half of the sixteenth century. They worked at the imperial courts at Vienna, Prague and Innsbruck, which were critical hubs of political power as well as for the circulation of scientific knowledge. In order to comprehend in depth the role such physicians had as health care professionals and developers of medical knowledge, one has to investigate their academic training as well as their medical, theoretical and practical skills. Their scientific interests and their research methods in the medical, botanical and pharmaceutical fields have to be considered as equally important. The project also aims at investigating w hy and under which circumstances these physicians entered the service of the Habsburg family: What kind of professional, economic or political relationships connected the physicians with the courts before and after their appointment? Concerning the professional tasks they fulfilled at the courts, one has to bear in mind that these physicians were health care professionals as well as scholars who carried out scientific studies. It is als o nec es sary to raise the question of their role as educators of members of imperial family, but also as political advisors to the Emperor. From a clinical point of view, it is interesting to understand on what evidence they based their diagnos es and to what medical texts they referred to in order to confirm them. Furthermore, what kind of treatments did they prescribe for their patients, and what reasoning undelay their therapies? The healing methods also depended on the cultural and scientific relations the Italian physicians built up, but also and more in general, the relationships among European physicians influenced the development and transmission of medical knowledge. Studying the aforementioned issues, the influence of the different cultural-scientific and religious c ourt- environments as well as of the Austrian medical institutions, such as the medical faculty of the University of Vienna and the city hospitals, will be taken into account. A further crucial factor is represented by the Italian humanistic culture, which the cultural Habsburg centres were imbued with. What role did such a culture play in forging the medical knowledge circulating at courts and the socio-cultural court identity? Finally, from a methodological point of view, the research attempts to seize the connections between intellectual and social history. In fact, an all-round insight into the life and work of Italian physicians is provided, and their role as users and producers of knowledge, health care professionals and historical ac tors with a specific social status will be analysed.

My research project has investigated the professional paths covered by the Italian learned physicians who permanently or temporarily served the Habsburg family in the period 1545-1620. This highly specialized professional group developed a strong sense of identity and cohesion. To reconstruct their careers and relationships with the political power, their peers, and patients, I have considered the close connections between the socio-professional roles the physicians fulfilled on the one hand, and the dynamics of production and dissemination of scientific knowledge on the other. Recommendations made by influential authorities decidedly favoured the hiring process, whereas medical erudition and academic titles turned out to be less important in this phase of career. However, to maintain the positions they had gained, the physicians relied on target-oriented strategies, including the ostentation of medical skills, the development of networks of professional relationships, and forms of collaboration at the level of medical practice, research "in naturalibus", and scientific production. The position as medical professional at the Habsburg courts was extremely unstable due to both the Emperor's changing will and the particular interests which crisscrossed the court . In such a precarious context, establishing trust-based relationships with patients also featured in the preservation of the imperial service. In this respect, two contrasting needs had to be conciliated. On the one hand, the physicians attempted to match up to the patients' expectations by paying particular attention to their individual characteristics. On the other, they needed to both ascertain the outcomes of the treatments they provided and update their scientific orientations. Thus, they tried to impose their therapeutic prescriptions by eliciting the patients' confidence in learned medicine and involving them in the healing process. In general, long-term careers were favoured by the ability to earn the sovereign's trust. However, the loyalty towards the House of Austria was not sufficient to pursue a successful career. In fact, the Habsburg courts were complex political, religious and cultural systems, and the imperial entourage often instrumentally interpreted the physicians' behaviours for political, religious or personal purposes. Furthermore, professional rivalries between court physicians could undermine the reputation enjoyed. These complex dynamics led, in some cases, to a premature interruption of the imperial medical service. Documental evidence also shows that the Italian physicians filled a prominent role compared to their non-Italian court colleagues in terms of recruitment, duration of career, tasks, and socio-economic privileges. Furthermore, the Italian medical knowledge experienced a great circulation and was appreciated in the Habsburg territories. Local physicians looked up to the Italian medical practice as a model. Finally, at methodological level, I have combined a qualitative study of narrative sources - imperial diploma and letters, medical correspondence and consultations, dedicatory letters - with a quantitative analysis of the court financial documentation.