“Delle Guerre Di Qua”: The Sack of Rome, Crisis, and Commercial Correspondence

This paper examines accounts of the Sack of Rome from the perspective of Florentine merchants. As opposed to the polished, retrospective histories of their compatriots—such as the brothers Guicciardini—these men recorded their responses in the moment, as part of the daily routine of commercial correspondence which always involved passing on any news relevant to business affairs. The paper examines how the sack of Rome was perceived and given meaning within the context of what seemed like a decade of cascading crises that descended on Italy in the 1520s interrupting and restricting commercial activities. In such letters, news of the sack unfurls on a distinct tempo and with a particular resonance, tangled within family updates, business strategy, and the concerns of commerce. Recounting what we, five-hundred years later, might think the most significant events of the spring of 1527 in Italy takes a backseat to more immediate personal and local concerns, as well as a broader framing within the context of the crises of the early sixteenth century.