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As part of the DiplomatiCon Seminars series, we were pleased to welcome Nicola Fazioni for a presentation entitled Historiography and Diplomacy: the “Diplomatic Rhetoric” of Gian Giacomo Caroldo.

Nicola Fazioni studied at the University of Padua, where he completed both his BA and MA in Medieval History. He holds a PhD in Cultural and Environmental Heritage at the University of Bologna under the supervision of Giorgio Vespignani. His research focused on the chronicle of the Venetian secretary and diplomat Gian Giacomo Caroldo (c. 1480–1539), with particular attention to the history of the medieval eastern Mediterranean and Venice’s relations with the Byzantine world.

In his presentation, Fazioni explored the relationship between historiography and diplomatic practice through the chronicle of Gian Giacomo Caroldo, a Venetian secretary and diplomat active in the early sixteenth century. While Caroldo’s chronicle has long been valued as a source for Venetian maritime expansion and commercial activities, Fazioni argued that it should also be read as a product of its author’s diplomatic experience. Drawing on episodes concerning Venice’s relations with Milan, Padua, and the Papacy, he showed how Caroldo devoted unusual attention to embassies, negotiations, speeches, protests, and other diplomatic rituals, treating them not as marginal details but as essential drivers of political and military events.

The paper focused in particular on a series of recurring rhetorical strategies found throughout the chronicle. These included the use of polite excuses to justify political choices, the deployment of implicit threats in negotiations, and formulaic expressions such as bone parole (“good words”) and protesto, which functioned as markers of diplomatic tension and failure. Through these examples, Fazioni demonstrated how Caroldo’s narrative was shaped by a specifically diplomatic understanding of politics, in which wars, alliances, and conflicts emerged as the outcomes of negotiations, speeches, and diplomatic exchanges. Rather than simply recording historical events, Caroldo interpreted the past through the categories and practices of his own professional world, turning diplomatic rhetoric into a key framework for writing history.

The seminar was discussed by Prof. Frédéric Bauden. After studying Oriental History and Philology at the Université Libre de Bruxelles and completing a PhD in Oriental Philology and History at the University of Liège, he joined the latter institution, where he has held the Chair of Arabic Language, Islamic Studies, and Islamic Art since 2001. His research focuses on the history of the Mamluk Sultanate, with particular attention to diplomatics, diplomacy, and historiography. His work on documentary practices and diplomatic communication offered a valuable perspective for discussing the ways in which political language, diplomatic culture, and historical writing intersected in late medieval and early modern Mediterranean societies.