On the Traces of Magnificence: Family Archives as an Image-Building Tool in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries

International audience; This contribution is a reflection on the noble ‘family archive’ as a patrimonial asset, as well as a space dedicated to the keeping and preservation of documents, exploring its dual function and methods of use by the Roman aristocracy in the Modern Age. In light of several case studies, and through examination of the process of formation of certain types of documents, how families related to the documentation they produced is discussed, as well as the reasons underlying its conservation and transmission, particularly in relation to these families’ need to mark their social pre-eminence. The strategies adopted by aristocratic families to entrust their archives the task of handing down their memory and the image of their magnificence are highlighted.