Federico III e Niccolò V. Römische Historische Mitteilungen|Römische Historische Mitteilungen 63|

The visit of Frederick III to Rome in 1452 has been reconstructed on the basis of published and unpublished sources, including correspondence between the orators in the Roman Curia (especially between orators coming from Siena and Milan), urban chronicles (by Stefano Infessura e Paolo Dello Mastro), biographies (De vita ac gestis Nicolai quinti summi pontificis by Giannozzo Manetti) and several historiographic and literary sources (Historia Austrialis by Enea Silvio Piccolomini). Particularly noteworthy is what has been written about the relations between the emperor and Pope Nicholas V, with the latter being concerned that the Roman citizens would revolt during the emperor’s visit, as had already occurred in previous centuries when other emperors arrived in Rome. Most of all, the pope was scared about the conspiracy against the papacy orchestrated by Stefano Porcari, which occurred in 1453, and about an alliance between Frederick III and Alfonso of Aragon, King of Naples. Among all the international controversial issues that emerged during the visit, there was also the issue of Francesco Sforza, Duke of Milan, demanding that the coronation of Frederick as King of Italy be held in Milan, prior to him being crowned in Rome by the pope, thus following the old tradition with the Iron Crown of Lombardy. The meeting between Frederick III and Nicholas V, at which no particular problems arose, was partly conducted with Piccolomini’s skilful mediation