A Multidisciplinary Approach to Roman Curia Governance
Challenging traditional historiographical paradigms and proposing new research directions, Benedetta Albani's research project examines the role of the Congregations of Cardinals within the Roman Curia. The project explores the hypothesis of a persistent Roman model of governance that emerged in the late Middle Ages and has evolved, with significant interruptions and variations, until the present day.
From the second half of the sixteenth century, and in some cases even earlier, new political and religious balances, increased demands on church governance, information management and complex issues from an expanding world increased the workload of the Curia. This complexity led to the creation of new permanent bodies by redefining the roles and tasks of existing temporary commissions known as 'Congregations'. These congregations were charged with providing expert advice to the pontiff-sovereign and preparing legal proceedings. They were often delegated by the Pope to exercise judicial, administrative and governmental powers in both the spiritual and temporal spheres.
To date, scholars have mainly focused on individual congregations, neglecting their interrelationships. The primary aim of the project is to provide the first comprehensive and integrated approach to the study of the Roman Curia and its various bodies. The project adopts a multidisciplinary approach, integrating the history of law, institutions and ideas with political, social and cultural history in the light of medium- to long-term dynamics. This approach challenges the categories of centralisation and rationalisation and reformulates the interpretation of the 'depersonalisation' of the Curia in modern and contemporary times.