Princely Patronage on Display: The Case of Cardinal Pietro Riario and Pope Sixtus IV, 1471–1474

Following on from the translation of Nikolaus of Modruš’ funeral oration for Cardinal Pietro Riario in issue 5.2 (December 2018), which explored his developing posthumous reputation, this study examines the role of Pope Sixtus IV’s nephew as a representative of the pontificate. Less constrained than the pope by behavioral restrictions, cardinal-nephews could mix ecclesiastical and secular activities, welcoming and hosting visiting ambassadors and princes. The cardinal-nephew’s blood ties emphasized his elite position in his uncle’s pontificate, while his wealth, derived from lucrative benefices bestowed by his patron the pope, allowed a magnificent display that projected messages about power based on liberality. This practice shows a sort of resource-sharing that benefitted both the pope and his nephew, while performing necessary ceremonial, political, and social functions. Via these events observers could identify important members of the papal court and thus the pope’s relatives were able to establish alliances that benefitted both clerical and lay papal kin. Using Nikolaus of Modruš’ funeral oration, ambassadorial letters, contemporary chronicles, and household inventories, the cardinal’s household emerges as an important vehicle for the display of dignity and the development of diplomatic relationships. Read together with the translation of Nikolaus of Modruš’ funeral oration, this essay presents Pietro Riario as a frontrunner in the use of elite households as a conduit for patronage systems that extended papal reach across and beyond the city of Rome, at the onset of a period of change characterized as a papal monarchy.