The Emperor will return to Italy for the first time and with the titles of King of the Romans, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, King of Bohemia, Margrave of Brandenburg, King of Lombardy, depicted in a bust with the effigies of his 4 wives next to him.
If Italy was fundamental for Charles IV, helping to make him a humanist and father of that immense Bohemian homeland that embraced almost all of modern Europe, Monza and the Iron Crown made him a great emperor.
The fourteenth century was in fact a politically delicate moment for our territory, in which a decisive match was being disputed between the Visconti, who aspired to the vicariate, and the imperial power of Charles IV. In this context it was decided to focus on the delicate and prestigious relics paper, to which the emperor was particularly sensitive, and among these on the most important of all, the relics of the Passion of Christ.
If with the collapse of Constantinople in the Fourth Crusade (1204), Jesus' crown of thorns had been sent to the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris by Louis IX, the Viscontis could boast of two unique relics in the world: the Holy Nail, kept in the Cathedral of Milan, and the Iron Crown, jealously guarded within the walls of the Cathedral of Monza.
Therefore, on 6 January 1355 Charles IV, with a solemn ceremony celebrated in S. Ambrogio in Milan and Francesco Petrarca as chronicler, had the privilege of being crowned King of Lombardy precisely with the Iron Crown - now kept in the Teodolinda Chapel.
Charles, a man of exceptional acumen as well as a skilled statesman, intellectual fine, capable of anticipating humanism and of making Bohemia and its capital Prague one of the cultural centers admired in Europe, was a sovereign very careful not to deprive himself of any of the symbols of candies.
In addition of course to the effigy of Charles IV, the four busts present recall the many carefully planned weddings. Indefinite, but certainly very large, the number of excellent relationships that the fiery Emperor had for his pleasure but also for state interests. He was also very skilled in placing relatives or trusted people in strategic places, such as the Patriarchate of Aquileia, confirming his extraordinary strategic ability in this too.
To complete and enhance the celebration of Charles IV, in addition to the didactic contributions on his life and reign, is the presence in the Cathedral of a slab by the famous architect Matteo da Campione depicting the Coronation by the Archpriest of Monza of the emperor to King of Italy with the Iron Crown. The analytical epigraphic complement allows the precise identification of the characters including the king of Bohemia and the coronation rite according to the prescriptions of the Golden Bull issued by Charles IV.
The Monza stage is promoted by the Gaiani Foundation and the Czech Center, in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, Universitas Carolina Pragensis, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic and the Tourism Board - Czech Tourism, the following stages they will be in Florence, Bologna, Milan, Pisa, Mantua, or in some of the cities linked to the Italian affairs of the Bohemian Emperor. The exhibition, promoted by the Czech Center, an institute that represents and promotes Czech culture in various countries around the world, was conceived by the National Gallery of the Czech Republic.
“There have been various interactions and collaborations between the Cathedral of Monza, the Gaiani Foundation and the Czech Republic in recent months to ensure that the emblem of Christian roots and of the West, the Iron Crown, could once again be the protagonist of the life of Charles IV" comments the President of the Gaiani Foundation "It is therefore a pleasure to be able to contribute, precisely in Monza, to elevating such an important figure also for our territory"
“We celebrate the figure of Charles IV, through this traveling exhibition, as a historical figure of fundamental importance for politics, art, culture and the very evolution of Europe as we know it today. Happy to collaborate with the Gaiani Foundation, we intend to remember Charles IV in Italy as king, emperor and man of culture, founder of the Carolina University and promoter of many works of art and public buildings, who made Prague, during his kingdom, one of the most important cultural and political centers of the time.”
Monza, Museum and Treasury of the Cathedral of Monza
From September 14 to October 2 2016
