Crossing Political Borders: Notes on Trans-European and Trans-Mediterranean Diplomatic Encounters in the Duchy of Milan (XV Century)

The focus of this contribution is on the Duchy of Milan and its trans-European and trans- Mediterranean connections during the second half of fifteenth century, a time when a longstanding tradition of cultural encounters and diplomatic negotiations among Italian principalities and the wider world extended considerably. In those occurrences, objects, animals, and artisans moved from one place to another and were exchanged purposefully: the giving and receiving of such goods constituted a significant element in the formation of cross-cultural connections among political actors that were divided by a multiplicity of borders. In the international scenario of Milanese diplomacy, gift-giving could be seen as an effective tool that propagated connections: gifts acted as bridges to interconnect different cultures. However, these considerations require caution in their proceedings, also considering that the field of investigation is the non-neutral one of diplomacy and its context is the complex construction of ducal powers. Thus, the aim of the present case studies is to summon the role of diplomatic gifts as vehicles that could lead to the crossing of geographical, political, cultural, and religious borders that divided the Duchy from its most distant (on multiple levels) interlocutors: the far Moscow, the near Buda, and the Muslim powers.