Antonio Foscarini (c. 1570 in Venice – 22 April 1622) belonged to the Venetian nobility and was Venetian ambassador to Paris and later to London. He was the third son of Nicolò di Alvise of the family branch of San Polo and Maria Barbarigo di Antonio. In 1622 he was sentenced to death for high treason by the Council of Ten and executed.
Ten months later, the same council rehabilitated Antonio Foscarini and explicitly informed the European courts of his posthumous exoneration, and the revocation of the guilty verdict and death sentence. Notwithstanding the about turn, mystery still remains as to why an art-loving nobleman was embroiled in a Venetian tale of political intrigue, that involved factional infighting, institutional disputes between Church and State, and religious hostilities over Protestantism and Catholicism at the beginning of the Thirty Years' War, that led to the death of an innocent man.
Background and early political career Antonio Foscarini had two brothers, Alvise (1560–1617) and Girolamo (1561–1580), and three sisters, Caterina, Agnesina, and Lucia Contarini. The Foscarini family lost a substantial part of their wealth, from the Ottoman–Venetian War (1570–1573) and only the sons received financial support. His father Nicolò died in 1575, and his mother died in 1582, probably by suicide.
Antonio studied in Padua, where he made several lifelong friendships. From 1590 he and his remaining brother Alvise led the household, and in 1592 they agreed to share the considerable fortune of about 70,000 ducats that remained. The family property included estates in Padua, Mestrino, Verona and Venice, including the family home in San Polo. In 1595 Foscarini gained a seat in the Grand Council and in September 1597 was elected to the 'Savio agli Ordini', - the lowest level in the council of ministers the 'Collegio' - where he was witness to the factional infighting between 'conservatives' and 'innovators', the two opposing groups of the nobility. He became a supporter of the 'innovator' Paolo Sarpi.
Diplomatic career Foscarini began his political career as an envoy to the court of Henry IV of France in 1601 and was present at the king's marriage to Maria de Medici. On 26 May 1607 he was appointed as ambassador to France but did not assume the role until February the next year. He reported the activities of English diplomats, including "Signor Ghintrot" (Henry de Gunderot), an envoy who received a letter in July 1608 suggesting that Anne of Denmark was displeased with Henry IV.Horatio F. Brown, Calendar State Papers Venice, 11 (London: HMSO, 1904), p. 150 no. 282. In July 1610, Foscarini was made ambassador to England, but here too he delayed taking up the position until 4 May the following year.
These delays in taking up his two appointments formed part of the accusations against him during his two trials, but it was found that he otherwise behaved fittingly. Accusations that he dressed poorly and was stingy were not trivial matters in the estates society. His opposition to the Pope and the Jesuit order was no secret.
In June 1611 Foscarini wrote that Anne of Denmark had received a jewel with the initials "C4" set in diamonds from her brother Christian IV of Denmark.Jemma Field, Anna of Denmark: The Material and Visual Culture of the Stuart Courts (Manchester, 2020), p. 143. She gave the outgoing Venetian ambassador Marc' Antonio Correr a box with pearls, a diamond ring with the royal portraits, and jewels to his son Vincenzo. He had a private audience with Anne of Denmark in a gallery at Hampton Court in July. There was music, and she talked of her family.Horatio Brown, Calendar State Papers Venice, 1610-1613, vol. 12 (London, 1906), pp. 162-3 nos. 250, 253, 185-6 no. 284. In November he watched a tournament from a palace window with Anne of Denmark. King James rode by and called him down, and showed animals in his menagerie.Horatio Brown, Calendar State Papers Venice, 1610-1613, vol. 12 (London, 1906), p. 238 no. 171.
Sir John Throckmorton reported Foscarini's arrival at Vlissingen in May 1612, on his way to Brussels. Throckmorton said he was "an honest proper man, for he speaketh well of us (the English), and seemeth not to be much affected to the Spaniards".William Shaw & G. Dyfnallt Owen, HMC 77 Manuscripts of the Viscount De L'Isle, vol. 5 (London, 1962), pp. 54-55. Anne of Denmark and Honora, Lady Hay enjoyed the company of Foscarini's secretary Giulio Muscorno, an accomplished musician who joined him in England in June 1612.Allen Hinds, Calendar State Papers, Venice: 1613-1615, vol. 13 (London, 1907), pp. xlviii, 8 no. 13, 481 no. 870. In August 1612 Foscarini followed the king on his progress and went to Apethorpe, Burleigh, and Belvoir Castle, where the 5 August anniversary of the Gowrie House Conspiracy was celebrated.Clare Jackson, Devil-Land: England under Siege, 1588–1688 (Penguin, 2022), p. 141: Horatio Brown, Calendar State Papers Venice, vol. 12 (London, 1905), pp. 410-11 no. 612. He visited Walter Cope at Holland House and hunted with him at Hyde Park. Cope was a cousin of Dudley Carleton, ambassador in Venice.Thomas Birch & Folkestone Williams, Court and Times of James the First, vol. 1 (London, 1849), pp. 187-8: Calendar State Papers Venice, vol. 12 (London, 1905), p. 439 no. 671.
Foscarini attended the wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Frederick V of the Palatinate on 14 February 1613 at Whitehall Palace and wrote a full description.Horatio Brown, Calendar State Papers Venice, 1610-1613, vol. 12 (London, 1906), pp. 498-500 no. 775.Jemma Field, "Dressing the Stuarts: The Sartorial Politics of Mourning and Matrimony, 1612–1613", British Art Studies 29 (December 2025).
An Italian poet, Antimo Galli, wrote of an embarrassing incident while Foscarini was at a play. At the end of the performance, it was customary for the audience to shout out the name of the play they next wanted to see. Foscarini joined in, but his costume and shouts drew attention to himself. The audience thought he was Spanish and began to whistle at him.Richard Preiss, Clowning and Authorship in Early Modern Theatre (Cambridge, 2014), p. 61.
Visiting Scotland Foscarini had an audience with King James at Beaulieu in August 1613 and discussed his forthcoming visit to Scotland, and James was delighted that he would see the country where he was born. Muscorno was sent to London to fetch money for the Scottish journey. Foscarini went to see Anne of Denmark at Wells and discussed her love of Scotland. He had a Scottish servant, William Lumsden.Allen Hinds, Calendar State Papers, Venice: 1613-1615, vol. 13 (London, 1907), pp. xlviii, 31 no. 60, 36 no. 70. In September he took leave from his post and went to Scotland, and saw Newcastle-upon-Tyne busy with ships and the deserted fortifications of Berwick-upon-Tweed on the way. He visited Haddington, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Stirling, Falkland, and Linlithgow. Business recalled him to Edinburgh, where he met Alexander Seton, 1st Earl of Dunfermline. He returned to King James at Theobalds on 10 October full of enthusiasm for the beauty and strength of the northern kingdom.Allen Hinds, Calendar State Papers, Venice: 1613-1615, vol. 13 (London, 1907), pp. 40 no. 84, 46 no. 95, 53 no. 111. In August 1614 he met Christian IV of Denmark in London, who was dressed in the French fashion.Allen Hinds, Calendar State Papers Venice, 1613-1615, vol. 13 (London, 1907), p. 172 no. 356.
Leaving London Lewis Lewknor took Foscarini to hunt deer for two days in September 1615 in Waltham Forest.HMC Laing Manuscripts in the University of Edinburgh, vol. 1 (London, 1914), p. 145. Foscarini described an audience with Anne of Denmark in October 1615 at Greenwich Palace. She told him she preferred that Prince Charles would marry a French princess rather than a Spanish infanta. Foscarini said farewell to King James on 20 November, and waited to take his leave of Anne of Denmark who was unwell. He introduced his successor as ambassador, Gregorio Barberigo, to her at Greenwich. This was a grand occasion and the ambassadors were escorted to the palace by the Queen's Master of Horse Thomas Somerset. Foscarini met the Queen again in a gallery at Greenwich on 4 December for a more private audience, accompanied only by the Mistress of the Robes, Audrey Walsingham, and his secretary, Giovanni Rizzardo. Anne of Denmark sent him a diamond ring. King James allowed him to add the lion of England to his coat of arms and gave him some silver gilt plate. Although he had made his formal farewells, King James summoned him for an audience at Newmarket on 12 December. On his return to London he was laid low with a cold for a few days and then sailed home.Leeds Barroll, Anna of Denmark, Queen of England: A Cultural Biography (Philadelphia, 2001), pp. 158-9: Allen Hinds, Calendar State Papers, Venice: 1615-1617, vol. 14 (London, 1908), pp. 38, 64, 74, 76, 79, 85, 96.
First Arrest Foscarini and his secretary Giulio Muscorno quarrelled in 1613, perhaps over the favour Muscarno received from Anne of Denmark. Muscorno beat William Lumsden, Foscarini's Scottish servant, and accused Foscarini of inciting Lumsden to murder him. A manuscript the Sayings and Doings of Antonio Foscarini circulated in London damaging his character, which was thought to be the work of Muscorno and Giovanni Francesco Biondi.Allen Hinds, Calendar State Papers Venice, 1613-1615, vol. 13 (London, 1907), pp. xlviii-xlix.
On 20 February 1615 Muscorno wrote to the Council of Ten, accusing Foscarini of selling state secrets to Spain. When Muscorno returned to Venice in August he was arrested. His replacement, Giovanni Rizzardo, was requested to secretly gather evidence against Foscarini. Rizzardo was unable to secure a copy of the manuscript libel.Allen Hinds, Calendar State Papers Venice, 1613-1615, vol. 13 (London, 1907), pp. xlix-li, 391 no. 716. He seems to have sided with Foscarini and reported that Anne of Denmark and Lady Hay had helped their friend Muscarno to cast shade on the ambassador.Allen Hinds, Calendar State Papers, Venice: 1613-1615, vol. 13 (London, 1907), p. 481 no. 870.
Foscarini was arrested on his arrival in Venice. Three years later he was released without charge and formally absolved on 30 July 1618. In London between January 1616 and June 1617 his successor as ambassador to England, Gregorio Barbarigo, and his secretary Lionello, had searched in vain for evidence against him. In 1620 Foscarini was elected to the senate.Rizzardo's letters to the Inquisitors of State in Vols. XIII and XIV of Calendar & Appendix latter vol.
Countess of Arundel and the Second Arrest In 1621, Alethea Howard, Countess of Arundel, reached Venice. She was the granddaughter of Elizabeth of Hardwick, a goddaughter of Queen Elizabeth I, and wife of Thomas Howard, 21st Earl of Arundel, a leading person at the court of King James I of England. Foscarini was a friend of the art-loving couple from London and visited the pair at the Palazzo Mocenigo on the Grand Canal where they were staying.
On 8 April 1622 Foscarini was arrested leaving the Senate. The Council of Ten accused him of meeting with ministers of foreign powers, both in Venice and abroad, and of betraying in words and in writing the most intimate secrets of the Republic. Foscarini was accused of disclosing state secrets to the secretary of Emperor Ferdinand II and to the nuncio of the Pope at the Arundel residence. The agents of the State Inquisition, Domenico and Girolomo Vano were the key witnesses. These, in turn, had received their information from Gian Battista, the servant of the Spanish Ambassador.