D. Religious Discourse in Italy: 1490–1530

“Criticism of ecclesiastical institutions and proposals for church reform,” writes Gleason, “had been persistent themes of Italian religious thought during the first three decades of the sixteenth century.”69 This criticism was due to several factors, including an inadequate resolution of the Conciliar Movement in the Fifth Lateran Council (1512–17); the conspicuous immorality of Pope Alexander VI and his Borgia famiglia on whom he had lavished abundant privilege and wealth;70 the Medici papacies which had made the city of Rome into a veritable haven of humanism;71 ongoing conflict between the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V and the pope(s);72 the popularizing of humanist ideals by public intellectuals such as Erasmus (who visited Italy between 1506 and 1509);73 and the distribution of Protestant tracts—multiplied numerously thanks to the new printing press technology—into Italy that questioned the accuracy of Catholic Church doctrine.74

On account of these factors, there was widespread recognition of the need for reform.75 In the opening address at the Fifth Lateran Council in 1512, for example, the Augustinian Cardinal Egidio da Viterbo (1469–1532) declared: “Men must be changed by religion, not religion by men.”76 This “religious uneasiness,” common to the whole of Europe at the start of the sixteenth century, sent thoughtful Christians to re-examine the roots of their faith.77 This examination produced a wide range of initiatives aimed at producing spiritual renewal, the form of which differed according to the various geographical, political, cultural, and economic realities peculiar to each distinct region of the peninsula. At this time, the notion of a unified Italian nation was at best a theoretical abstraction in the poetry of Dante and Machiavelli. In reality, Italian states were divided from each other and often at war among themselves.78

In this context, it is not surprising that Evangélisme itself developed amidst numerous other movements, ensuring its complexity. As mentioned, its origins are significantly indebted to the humanist project of Erasmus, with Inquisitio de fide and Enchiridion Militis Christiani producing an intellectual climate that encouraged discovery. The ad fontes orientation of Erasmus piqued the interest of his contemporaries, motivating many to take up and read the sources they had neglected.79

This renewed focus upon the Bible could be seen, for instance, in the Benedictines of Santa Giustina of Padua, whose attention to Scripture paralleled the text-centered approach of Protestants.80 Reading the Gospels served as an initial step toward studying the Pauline epistles and, eventually, discussing the doctrines of “justification, faith, works, papal power, purgatory, and a whole range of other theological issues.”81 While little more than embryonic, these developments represented a conscious re-appropriation of sacred resources in defiance of the ignorance, corruption, and superstitious practices of the early sixteenth-century clergy.82

In Spain, Erasmian ideas joined the existing current of alumbrado spirituality that was moving through educated aristocrats and simple contadores alike.83 This movement emphasized “religious individualism founded on the illumination of the spirit as the sole source of truth, in opposition to the official doctrines of the Church.”84 Out of this milieu emerged reform-minded individuals such as Juan de Valdés (c. 1500–1541).

Although Simler’s Oratio only refers to Valdés in passing, there is no doubt that the Spaniard exerted influence on Vermigli’s theological development.85 Simler assesses that “the first praise for this (Neapolitan) church is due to Valdés.”86 In this group of disciples were high-ranking Italian prelates, women of nobility, and Literati who gathered around Valdés to study the Bible with particular attention to justification by faith alone.87 Pietro Carnesecchi, who was part of the Valdésian circle, described these gatherings as “regno di Dio” (the kingdom of God).88 According to Simler, it was at this time that Vermigli acquired books by Martin Bucer and Ulrich Zwingli.89 As study of Reformed teaching deepened, so did the friendship of Vermigli and Valdés.90

During this period, it was increasingly common for Protestant tracts, which questioned Catholic doctrine, to circulate through southern Europe. For instance, Juan de Valdés, in his Dialogue in Christian Doctrine (1529), quotes from the works of Luther, Melanchthon, and Oecolampadius.91 Not only did Italian printing presses make possible a “diffusion of writings by northern reformers,” they also unleashed a catalog of “works on religious subjects by Italians.”92 Schutte, in her meticulous study of Italian lettere volgari (letters written by famous people in the Italian vernacular during the mid-sixteenth century),93 demonstrates that Protestant texts popularized Evangelical values, especially the doctrine of justification, beyond clerical circles and reaching into the lower social classes.94

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