Cósimo III of Medici and the Portuguese Restoration – a Voyage to Portugal in 1668-1669

In many seventeenth century European courts the prince’s formation and education were understood as matters of state, such that the prestige surrounding the quality of the heir’s upbringing could in the future reserve him a position of both national and international distinction. One of the most popular means used to complete the prince’s political, military, economic, religious, literary and artistic formation was by way of educational voyages through various European countries. This tradition is present in the case of Cósimo III of Medici, who during 1668-1669 undertook a trip to Spain, Portugal, Ireland, England, Holland, France and Flanders. The present study is dedicated to the itinerary followed by the Prince in Portugal as well as the contacts he established with local society in other countries, and will analyse the diaries that narrate the trip he carried out during the decades following the Restoration, a very delicate period in Portugal’s history.