Magnificence, Power, and Private Finance in the Seventeenth Century: Flavio Orsini and Marie-Anne de La Trémoille, between Rome and Paris (1675–1686)

Abstract : In the second half of the seventeenth century, many of the great Roman aristocratic families regularly organised magnificent performances requiring significant financial investment despite these families’ serious economic difficulties. By concentrating on the artistic performances organized by Flavio Orsini, Duke of Bracciano and the main representative of the francophile noble circle in Rome, and his wife Marie-Anne de La Trémoille (known to posterity as Princess des Ursins), this essay provides an overview of the economic difficulties facing the couple in the Duke’s native city, and contextualises these difficulties within the framework of transnational relations on a European scale, ultimately demonstrating that the Franco-Roman magnificence advocated by the Dukes of Bracciano was an effective strategy.