ABSTRACT
The wide range of uses to which saints were put in early modern Italy highlights how adaptable their identities. The triumphalism of Spanish saints reached its apex in 1622, Dandelet argued, when not one, or two, or three Spaniards were canonized, but four. This unique occasion was interpreted as a mark of Spanish influence in Rome and an opportunity to parade the spoils of victory on the streets of papal city in such a way that they ritually claimed Rome for Spaniards. Within this reading, canonizations were a sign of papal and celestial patronage, both received, embodiment of Spanish power in Rome that stretched across both spiritual and temporal domains. In July there was first canonization in 65 years, that of Spanish Franciscan Diego de alcala. The latter was striking moment for Spain since Iberian men and women had not featured amongst the canonizations of the pre-Reformation period, despite many having become objects of significant devotions and lobbying attention.
