Dialogues across the Alps?

In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, both the Low Countries and the various Central and Northern Italian regional states underwent important political, socio-economic, cultural, and religious transformations. Moreover, at the same time span Europeans brought large swaths of the globe in their fold. These were separate, yet closely entangled phenomena. Indeed, thousands of Italian soldiers campaigned in the protracted Dutch Revolt and several of them reflected upon their experiences and on the nature of the nascent Republic in northwestern Europe they fought against. Meanwhile, Italian merchants, both protestant exiles and devout Catholics were attracted by the business opportunities in Antwerp and later onward in Amsterdam. Both cities were important financial centers and served as hubs for the distribution of colonial wares across Europe. By using Italian ports as stop overs in the triangular trade, Italian merchants based in Amsterdam fostered local economies. At the other hand, Flemish and Dutch entrepreneurs…