Oprar sempre come in teatro: the Rome of Alexander VII as the theatre of papal self-representation

The pontificate of Alexander VII was marked by a number of controversies about his public appearance in Rome. One discussion concerned the erection of an honorific statue on the Capitol, another the choice of his main residence. By reading the opinions of his close friend Sforza Pallavicino on these matters against the background of Pallavicino's own biographical portrayal of Alexander VII, a notion of theatricality emerges that has less to do with the spatial or typological qualities of the buildings that Alexander commissioned and supervised than with the particular condition of the ruler and his physical presence in the city.The pontificate of Alexander VII was marked by a number of controversies about his public appearance in Rome. One discussion concerned the erection of an honorific statue on the Capitol, another the choice of his main residence. By reading the opinions of his close friend Sforza Pallavicino on these matters against the background of Pallavicino's own biographical portrayal of Alexander VII, a notion of theatricality emerges that has less to do with the spatial or typological qualities of the buildings that Alexander commissioned and supervised than with the particular condition of the ruler and his physical presence in the city.A