The Spogli Cardinali of the Archivio Segreto Vaticano are collections of papers considered personal by individual cardinals but deposited in the ASV. These are not official records of the Roman Curia. However, because these cardinals have, for the most part, held positions of the highest rank within the Vatican, the collections are very complementary to the official records. The spogli cardinali is a large and diverse group of papers. Although it is difficult to characterize major subjects in the collection, there are several areas of strength in the collection as a whole. The bulk of the Spogli dates from 1780 to 1900. Major themes include penal and judicial reform in Italy and the Papal States (19th century), the Napoleonic invasion of Rome, the Austrian invasions of Rome, and various apostolic delegations and legations. At the time of this survey, the Spogli represented collections of assorted materials from 206 (primarily) Cardinals, but also from some minutanti (in the Secretariat of State), and from several archivists of the Secretariat of State. Records in the buste seem to be very wide ranging, from notes concerning their positions in the Roman Curia to minute books of letters in their role as archbishops of sees. There is some disagreement as to the relationship of these papers to the Vatican Archives proper. Boyle puts the Spogli with the Collegio dei Cardinali, but Pasztor seems to make an equally convincing argument for placement within the Secretariatus Status. Please note that in some cases the biographical information of the particular cardinal or official could not be determined. In other cases only minimal information could be found. Also in many cases the precise inclusive dates of the documents were not available. The cataloger did not have the time to consult each of the Spogli to determine the earliest and latest documents. In any case, all the individual Spogli are listed with varying degrees of supporting information.
