[lively classical music]
[chirping birds]
[horses walking]
Female Narrator: At first glance, the most important figure in this oil sketch seems to be either the youthful king Charles of Naples just right of center, dressed in red and gold and wearing a tri-corner hat… or Cardinal Aquaviva, facing him in flowing red robes. But take a peek through the open doorway at upper left. The figure sitting on a golden throne, bathed in sunlight, is none other than His Holiness Pope Benedict the Fourteenth. Yet King Charles, not the Pope, commissioned the finished painting for which this oil sketch is a study. You can see it hanging nearby.
A contemporary newspaper report describes what happened on this bright November day in Rome.
Male Actor with Italian Accent: “[They] proceeded along the garden’s grand boulevard towards the [Coffee] House, where His Holiness await them. The King was met by the master of the papal household, together with all the secret advisors and many prelates and members of the Roman nobility, including Cardinal Aquaviva […].”
Female Narrator: We’re seeing the moment just before Charles actually meets Pope Benedict. The young ruler carries himself with a royal bearing, but you can also sense the hesitancy he must have been feeling before meeting the pope for the first time. The newspaper records what happened next:
Male Actor with Italian Accent: “He was led to the threshold of the main room, where Cardinal Valenti, Secretary of State, and Cardinal Colonna, the Majordomo, were standing. On seeing [the pope], His Majesty knelt for the first time and then, having come closer, he knelt again to kiss the feet of His Holiness.”
