ROBERTO RIDOLFI. — Born in Florence on 18 November 1531, son of Pagnozzo and Maddalena Gondi, died there in 1612. Having moved to London around 1562, he headed a prosperous banking firm; but his intelligence, his connections, and his notable diplomatic skills soon turned him toward greater enterprises.
Ridolfi, through his banking dealings, had convenient means of corresponding abroad without arousing suspicion. Those English nobles who wished to restore their country to the Catholic faith made him their intermediary with the Pope, and he was chosen to represent them; the Pope, recognizing his abilities (Adriani, Istoria dei suoi tempi, XXI, 4), appointed him as a secret nuncio—a perilous mission in those turbulent times. As early as 1569, he was accused of complicity in the Northern Earls' Rebellion for having paid large sums to the rebels, was imprisoned, and subjected to rigorous interrogation. Yet through his steadfastness and with the aid of powerful friends among Queen Elizabeth’s councilors, he convinced the judges of his innocence and justified the payments as ordinary commercial transactions. Acquitted of the charges, he formed even closer ties with Cecil and Walsingham, who were convinced of his devotion to Elizabeth. This emboldened him to greater daring.
From 1570 onward, Ridolfi became the moving force behind the conspiracy that bears his name (the Ridolfi Plot), aimed at deposing Elizabeth and placing Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, on the throne—she was to marry the Duke of Norfolk. It was Ridolfi who received from Pius V the hazardous task of publishing in England the famous bull of 25 February 1570, by which the Pope declared Elizabeth deposed and absolved her subjects from their oaths of allegiance. Having received from Rome eighty copies, printed and manuscript, he arranged their distribution in London and throughout the kingdom. The publication inflamed the passions of English Catholics, and their leaders pressed Ridolfi, who served as intermediary among them, the Pope, Philip II, and the Duke of Alba, to finalize the arrangements. On 24 March 1571, acting on instructions from the Duke of Norfolk and the Queen of Scots, he left England to conclude agreements with the Pope and the King of Spain. In Brussels, at the court of the Duke of Alba, who was to serve as the military arm of the conspiracy, he found only great coldness. Taken to Rome, he was received with great joy by Pius V. Having easily obtained from the Pope what his principals requested, Ridolfi departed with fresh papal commissions for Spain. He was then ordered to proceed to Flanders to meet the ever-hostile and dilatory Duke of Alba; but there he learned that the principal conspirators had been arrested, including the Duke of Norfolk. Norfolk paid with his life; Ridolfi lost all his considerable fortune through the confiscation of his goods, the unfortunate result of his bold venture. Returning to Rome to report on his mission, he received ample recognition from Pius V. There the Grand Duke of Tuscany employed him as his agent at the papal court before sending him, in 1574, as extraordinary ambassador to Spain and Portugal. Finally returning to his native land, he held numerous public offices and in 1600 was appointed senator.
English Protestant historians dubbed him the arch-conspirator; Froude called him “the most ardent torch of Europe,” while others went so far as to brand him a traitor. Yet for Ridolfi, a Catholic who was not even English, to stake his life and fortune on the triumph of his faith does not seem to have been treason—if words have any meaning. It is worth noting that, as multiple sources confirm, he was devoted to the memory of Fra Girolamo Savonarola. He was also accused of possessing a genius for intrigue and of acting with duplicity, yet Pollen described him as “substantially honest”; nor should one forget the constant mortal dangers amid which he had to operate.