Ph.D. project: Supervisors: Prof. Dr. Birgit Studt (Freiburg)/PD Dr. Jörg Schwarz (München)/Prof. Dr. Thomas Zotz (Freiburg) Giovan Francesco Capodilista – a venetian diplomat of the 15 th century and his networks During his stay as ambassador at the council of Basel in 1434 the venetian diplomat Giovan Francesco Capodilista composed a manuscript that is can now be found at the Biblioteca Civica di Padova. It is known as the Codice Capodilista, a richly illustrated family book containing autobiographical remarks, recounts of family history, and a collection of documents and other writings by Capodilista himself. It thus reflects the career of Capodilista as ambassador for the Republic of Venice and later as orator of pope Eugenius IV. His travels took the originally from Padua hailing lawyer to cities as far as Budapest, Mainz, Nürnberg, and Bourges. The Codice Capodilista therefore marks only the beginning of a fruitful diplomatic career, and reflects the self-representation of a learned lawyer. It is the aim of the Ph.D. project to reconstruct the career and travels of Capodilista, and ultimately to answer the question whether the representation visible in the Codice Capodilista turned into reality, based upon an examination of the personal and political networks Capodilista build and used. Kristina Odenweller, August 2013