The Saggi di Naturali Esperienze as a Diplomatic Gift

Historical studies on the publication strategies of the Accademia del Cimento’s 'Saggi' have mostly focused on the policies designed by Prince Leopoldo de’ Medici and the academicians for selecting and presenting the experiments they performed between 1657 and 1662. By focusing on the exchange of letters between Prince Leopoldo and the figures to whom he submitted the 'Saggi', I argue that the Saggi was conceived as a diplomatic gift aiming to position the Medici Court at the head of a European network of royal academies. I analyse how Prince Leopoldo identified the courts that could be potential allies in the constitution of such a network by examining why he did not submit any copy of the Saggi to Spain, despite the country having been politically allied to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany since the sixteenth century.