ABSTRACT
A liminal man, he was and is hard to place, and his actions, crossing boundaries ethical and social, remind us not to put Rome and Romans into boxes. His name reveals his hybrid nature—Ludovico Santa Croce. Ludovico is sufficiently Santa Croce that, back in Carnevale of 1557, a noble Santa Croce helped bail him out of prison. In June, 1563, Ludovico was wounded in a brawl where he, a reluctant fighter, stabbed a spice-trader in the chest. In a trial of another unruly gentleman, the court asks the suspect’s serving woman if her master ever wanted to kill Ludovico. Ludovico, uneasily perched on several margins, could build coalitions, trading his noble connections, hospitality, slovenly rapaciousness, and access to paid female sex and company for male support and applause. To Cesare he offered a pathway down, to the others perhaps a step upwards.
