From 1 to 10 May 2026, Associate Professor Nikša Varezić conducted research at the Vatican Apostolic Archive and the Vatican Apostolic Library in Rome.
The primary aim of the research was to identify, catalogue, and preliminarily analyse archival and manuscript material relevant to reconstructing the activities of Petar Beneša (1586–1642) within the papal administration, with particular emphasis on the period in which he served as the private secretary of Cardinal Francesco Barberini and later as Secretary of State between 1632 and 1634.
The main focus of the research was directed toward the manuscript collections of the Vatican Apostolic Library, especially the archival holdings of the Barberini family. Certain manuscript volumes containing administrative and diplomatic correspondence, notes of the curial administration, documentation related to the affairs of the cardinal’s household and the papal curia, as well as records connected to political and ecclesiastical processes during the pontificate of Urban VIII, were examined. In this phase of the project, particular attention was devoted to identifying Beneša’s handwriting, marginal notes, and traces of his involvement in the administrative procedures of the Barberini circle.
In order to gain a more detailed insight into Beneša’s administrative activity during his service as Secretary of State under Urban VIII, the research also included the collections of the Vatican Apostolic Archive, especially the fonds of the Secretariat of State. The research provided preliminary insights into Beneša’s role within the administrative structure during the period 1632–1634, when he held the office of Secretary of State.
Alongside the archival research, relevant secondary literature was consulted in several Roman scholarly libraries, including the library of the French institute École française de Rome, the Bibliotheca Hertziana (Max Planck Institute), and the library of the Pontifical Gregorian University. Particular attention was devoted to studies within German historiography important for understanding the structure and functioning of the curial bureaucratic apparatus during the pontificate of Urban VIII.