Una contestazione d’oltremare. L’opposizione dei missionari francescani di Tripoli alla sacralizzazione del potere napoleonico

The relationship between the French consular representations and Catholic missionary activities in the Mediterranean basin during the Napoleonic era is surely a theme that has long been ignored by historians. The analysis of the relations established between the Franciscan missionaries in Tripoli of Barbaria and the French delegates in the period of National Convention and in the years of the Napoleonic Consulate and Empire allows to understand more deeply the hostility shown by the apostolic fathers active in the Libyan centre towards the French regime. This work aims to investigate further the reasons for the development of this profound hostility and to highlight, at the same time, the motivations of the resistance opposed by the Franciscans missionaries in front of the resolutions taken by the Transalpine government in religious politics and practices finalized to increase the sanctification of Bonaparte’s power and person.