Page - 569 - in Jacopo Strada and Cultural Patronage at the Imperial Court - The Antique as Innovation, Volume 2

569Strada’s Circle two brothers, ‘Thomas et Rubertus Auserstulfer’ from Tirol had been found prepared to testify against him.44 Strada appears not to have hidden his opin- ions to his contemporaries, so it may merely be a coincidence that we are not better informed about them. Already in October 1567 Niccolò Stopio—himself a suspect, as results from an anonymous report to Philip ii—had responded to a query from Hans Jakob Fugger about Strada’s trouble with the Inquisition: <…>though I have never heard from his talking that he is against Rome, except that he is very free in his reasoning, and once he gets angry he respects no one, whomsoever it may be.45 Strada’s ‘free’ verbal criticism probably included the Pope himself, Pius v: he did not hesitate to write it down in a letter to Duke Guglielmo of Mantua.46 After the death of Emperor Maximilian ii, Strada’s protector, the Duke had even less reason to interfere, and in 1581 Strada was burnt in effigy, together with his son Paolo, canon of Mantua cathedral. Even though Rudolf ii had with- drawn his support of Strada already by 1578, it remains a moot point whether Duke Guglielmo would have allowed the two Strada’s to be burnt in the flesh, had they been so careless as to let themselves be caught.47 It is quite ironical that at about the same time that he was burned in effigy, Strada planned the entertainment for Riccardo Riccardi already described, including among the guests not only the Archbishop of Kalocsa, the later Cardinal Juraj Drašković, but also two Dominican friars, belonging to the order intensively involved in the eradication of heresy.48 There can be no doubt that Strada maintained at least the pretence to have remained faithful to the Roman Catholic Church until the  end of his life, indicating in his will of 1584 that he wished to be in- terred in the Minoritenkirche, the Franciscan church near to his house.49 44 Pagano 1991, p. 200, n. 23. 45 Niccolò Stopio to Hans Jakob Fugger, Venice, 5 October 1567, quoted above. Niccolò Sto- pio was himself suspect, as results from an anonymous report to Philip ii preserved at Simancas (Archivo General, Papeles de Estado, Venecia, legaja 1548, nr. 52, fol. 248). 46 Doc. 1568-10-11, cited above: Strada tells the Duke that he will not for the moment make use of a safe-conduct to come to Mantua, ‘si per non haver io di presente da negotiar costà, come anche di non voler L’Excellenza Vostra importunare, e tanto più in questi tempi di questo Pont[efice], il quale non à rispetto a niun Principe dove si puole attacare (quantunque dal canto mio la mia consienza sia netta)’. 47 Doc. 1578-07-16: Already in 1578 Rudolf had indicated he did not care if ‘Giacomo Strada antiquario’ were to be deprived of [his son Paolo’s] benefice in Mantua, ‘perchè non lo tiene per buon cristiano, anzì per heretico<…>’. 48 Above, Ch. 11.3. 49 Doc. 1584-07-01; Appendix B.