Michelangelo Caetani, a Roman intellectual, politician, and aristocrat, personally experienced the transformation of Rome from papal city to capital of a unified Italy. Interested in art, literature and politics, Caetani created a tight network of local and international relations in his palace on Via Botteghe Oscure, where he often hosted visiting intellectuals and scholars.

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Michelangelo Caetani, Prince of Teano and Duke of Sermoneta, intimately experienced the transition of Rome from papal city to capital of a unified Italy. Interested in art, literature, and politics, Caetani garnered a network of local and international relations in his palace on Via Botteghe Oscure, where he often hosted intellectuals and scholars visiting Rome “in a very free spirited and generous way” which became “a point of reference in the city.” (Fiorani 2007, transl. I.Poggi)

Shaken by the economic and political circumstances that led his father to squander the family patrimony, Caetani became a rigorous administrator of his estate and succeeded in fully restoring it for his two children, Ersilia and Onorato. Tragically in 1842, at the age of 38, his wife passed away, just six months after the birth of their second child.

With a secular, yet not anti-clerical, point of view, Caetani was actively involved in the political life of the city. He managed the Fire Department for three decades beginning in 1833, an experience which exposed him to the social and political problems of the city.

One of his most significant political initiatives was to facilitate the opening of the Jewish Ghetto of Rome. Through his efforts, the Jewish population, which had been confined behind walls for three hundred years, were now for the first time allowed to conduct business openly and live freely.

In February and March 1848, during the interim governance of Cardinal Bonfondi, Caetani was nominated head of the Police Department, a position he held only briefly. He decided to step down because of the rampant political anarchy he encountered.

In 1861, at age 57, Caetani fulfilled the last of his civic duties when he delivered the results of the Roman election to King Victor Emmanuel II, upon the Italian Unification.

Caetani’s life and opinions are documented in his extensive correspondence which he maintained with friends who visited his palace. His third wife Enrichetta published his letters in the Epistolario which attests to his tight-knit friendships and scholarly relations.

Although it is not known how the Lecchi album came to Palazzo Caetani, it was here that, on September 20, 1849, it was presented to Edward Cheney, as a hand-written note in the album indicates.

We know from the published letters that Caetani and Edward Cheney maintained a close personal friendship. From 1831 to 1864, they corresponded regularly; the Epistolario includes 29 letters by Caetani to Cheney, whom he called Odoardo, and to his brother Henry, whom he called Enrico. Although, regretfully, the letters from Cheney to Caetani have not been accounted for, Caetani’s surviving correspondence reveals a strong reciprocal trust.

Their two families knew one another well and the letters refer to domestic ordeals and health issues on both fronts. For example, in 1836, Caetani discussed the sad circumstances that led to his brother Enrichetto’s death.

Cheney and Caetani shared a deep passion for art and collecting, and they often exchanged gifts that ranged from antiquarian objects to practical items such as pens and toothpicks.

Caetani visited England twice as a guest of Cheney or his family (as in the Summer 1835, when Cheney was in Venice instead), and throughout his life longed in vain to return there. Unfortunately, his later years were consumed by his constant obsession with the management of his estate and the tragic disease that bound him to full blindness.

He counted on Cheney’s English business connections to acquire materials from a British steel vendor, Mr. Tilley of London, to cast objects he designed, such as spoons. In addition, in his civic role, he twice commissioned Mr. Tilley to manufacture modern fire-fighting pumps for the price of 75 Pounds each.

Caetani was amused by Cheney’s fascination with Italy, and wrote him on October 5, 1836: “if I ever will be Pope and you King of England, we will gladly exchange kingdoms and, once fulfilled our own happiness, hopefully we will fulfill the wellbeing of our people.” Caetani’s admiration for England continued throughout his life. In his letter from March 6, 1848, he called people of England the “real descendants of the ancient Romans…” and expressed that England was his country of choice.

Caetani’s political views are a common theme throughout his correspondence with Cheney. The letters between the years 1848 and 1849 unveil his cynicism towards the Roman Republic. Already afflicted by sight loss, Caetani was distraught by the enormous transformation about to impact Rome from within and without.

He criticized the inertia of the Roman state under the rule of Pope Pius IX, who “has no understanding of politics whatsoever and relies on mystic and devotional wisdom to make state decisions.” And Caetani continued, “day by day, the delays are more and more fatal…. Thus, while the reform was fought, the constitution was written, while the constitution was delayed, here was born a republic; hesitating to save everything, thus everything will be lost” (Rome, March 6, 1848). This letter analyzed the political tension triggered by “the purest chief, a pope who could not reconcile opposite points of view, the clergy plotting in secret chambers, and the embittered fanaticism of people of all backgrounds and beliefs.”

Caetani understood the difficulty of introducing reforms, particularly following the assassination of Prime Minister Pellegrino Rossi, who was his last hope for a reformed government under the Pope.

He continued to lead the Fire Department during the siege of Rome, thus playing an important role during the battle of Janiculum. Enrichetta Caetani described her husband’s historic efforts to extinguish fires caused by the French cannonballs during the siege. The public records of the Fire Department show that Caetani was present at the barricades of Porta San Pancrazio in an official role. He was even summoned by Giuseppe Garibaldi to carry out the impossible plan of pumping water out of the river Tiber and flood the French trenches that were fast approaching the city walls.

Blinded in 1865, Caetani withdrew from public life and fully devoted himself to the study of Dante’s Divine Commedy.

For more detailed and in-depth information on Caetani, please refer to the Italian biographical dictionary of the Treccani Encyclopedia, which can be consulted on the website http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/michelangelo-caetani_(Dizionario-Biografico).

(Isotta Poggi)