L’azione dei cardinali di Santa Romana Chiesa nel ‘sistema’ e nel mercato delle arti fra Seicento e Settecento: il contributo di Alessandro Albani

I cardinali del XVII e del XVIII secolo giocarono un ruolo attivo nel 'sistema' e ancor più nel mercato dell'arte. L'articolo affronta il caso del cardinale Alessandro Albani

Viaggiar per chiese: l’itinerario di Rubens fuori dall’Italia

Il saggio ricostruisce l'esperienza visiva e culturale di Peter Paul Rubens durante i suoi viaggi al di fuori dell'Italia, concentrandosi in particolare sul soggiorno nella penisola iberica, intrapreso per incarico del duca di Mantova Vincenzo I Gonzaga. Grazie a una ricca documentazione d'archivio e all'analisi iconografica delle opere successive, si evidenzia come la permanenza spagnola – specialmente la visita all'Escorial, a Valladolid e ad altri centri della monarchia asburgica – abbia influenzato profondamente la produzione rubensiana. L'artista assimilò modelli compositivi e iconografie derivate da capolavori di Tiziano, Rogier van der Weyden e dalla scultura ispanica, rielaborandoli nella propria pittura in funzione delle esigenze politiche e religiose delle corti cattoliche europee. Lo studio mette inoltre in relazione l'attività rubensiana con i paradigmi visivi asburgici, ponendo le basi per comprendere l'evoluzione del linguaggio artistico dell'artista fiammingo nel contesto della Controriforma.This essay reconstructs Peter Paul Rubens’s visual and cultural experience during his travels outside of Italy, focusing in particular on his Iberian sojourn commissioned by Vincenzo I Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua. Drawing on extensive archival sources and iconographic analysis of his subsequent works, the study demonstrates how Rubens’s stay in Spain—especially his visits to the Escorial, Valladolid, and other key sites of the Habsburg monarchy—profoundly influenced his artistic production. The Flemish master absorbed compositional models and iconographic motifs from masterpieces by Titian, Rogier van der Weyden, and Spanish sculpture, reworking them to suit the political and religious needs of Catholic courts across Europe. The research also connects Rubens’s activity with established Habsburg visual paradigms, shedding light on the development of his distinctive artistic language within the framework of the Counter-Reformation

Comparative proteomics of Listeria monocytogenes strains of food and clinical origin reveals strain-specific adaptation mechanisms

Listeria monocytogenes is a foodborne pathogen capable of surviving in diverse environments, including food-processing settings and the human host. This study compared the proteomic profiles of two Listeria monocytogenes strains grown at 37 ◦C to simulate host-associated conditions: a hypovirulent, food-derived strain and a hypervirulent strain isolated from a human clinical sample. This approach enabled the identification of temperature-induced changes in virulence factors, providing valuable insights into molecular determinants of pathogenicity and potential intervention strategies. Mass spectrometry identified 954 proteins, 642 of which were predicted to be immunogenic. Among these, 128 were unique to the food-derived strain (F), and 29 were specific to the clinical strain (H). Functional analysis revealed that F-specific proteins were primarily involved in terpenoid backbone biosynthesis and the production of secondary metabolites, processes associated with membrane integrity, stress resistance, and metabolic adaptation. In contrast, H-specific proteins were related to acid resistance and bacteriophage-associated functions. Although the number of H-specific immunogenic proteins was insu cient for statistically significant enrichment analysis, six highly interconnected proteins were identified. These results suggest that L. monocytogenes undergoes targeted proteomic remodeling under host-mimicking conditions, facilitating its transition from a food contaminant to invasive pathogen. The identification of immunogenic, strain-specific proteins enhances our understanding of bacterial adaptation and virulence, with important implications for diagnostics, surveillance, and targeted mitigation efforts