Describing the splendor of the cathedral of Padua today, Matteo Melchiorre guides the reader from the very beginning of his book into the heart of his work, describing not only the beauty of today’s church, but also the changes the Quattrocentro cathedral underwent in the last centuries. Leaving the church, we follow him to the neighboring Archivio Capitolare, and it is from there, as well as a large number of other regional archives and libraries, that he draws the wealth of documents used to construct his work on the Quattrocento Paduan cathedral and its chapter. Although it isn’t visible from the index on a first glance, Melchiorre’s work is structured in three general thematic complexes. The first part of the book introduces the cathedral of Padua, the cathedral chapter, and the canons. Tracing the history of the Paduan cathedral S. Maria from its very first appearance in funerary documents in 899 (20) to its deterioration during the Quattrocento and final restoration from 1552 onward, the chapter sets the scene for the second and third part of the book, also offering a detailed analysis of the anatomy of the cathedral chapter with its various offices and, most notably, introducing the historical sources used with a focus on the chapter’s books of accounts (libri contabili).

The second part details the history of the cathedral chapter chronologically, from the reign of the Carrara over Padua, the chaos of the first years under Venetian rule from 1405 onward, to the years of stabilization and stagnation, and, finally, the turmoil of the War of the League of Cambrai (1509). The seven chapters unfold a detailed account, examining the changes of personnel as well as organizational structures within the chapter across the decades. The chapter’s libri contabili remain one of the main sources used throughout the entire analysis, offering insights into the changes the cathedral chapter faced with the shift of political power within Padua. Not surprisingly, the cathedral chapter mirrors political developments in the city — for example, from 1405 onward, as Carrara clients (eighteen from twenty-one holders of benefices in 1404) are quickly but not without struggle replaced with members from illustrious Venetian families, leading to a continuous Venetian dominance in the chapter for the next decades. It thus becomes the only cathedral chapter on Venetian territory with a majority of benefice holders from Venice itself, which highlights the important role of the chapter in the framework of Venetian ecclesiastical politics for the next hundred years. At the same time, the character of the chapter and the cathedral itself as “chiesa della città” (387), or church of the city, change rapidly.

The third part focuses on a variety of functions and characteristics of the cathedral chapter. Embedded in this part, and maybe a bit too well hidden, is a prosopographical study on 199 holders of benefices at the cathedral chapter, with a well-arranged and useful statistical appendix added. Further topics of the last seven chapters include the distribution of benefices to Paduans, the status of non-Paduans in the chapter, problems of residential obligations for canons, and the important role the cathedral chapter took on in the network of Venetian ecclesiastical politics, and especially in relation to the papal curia.

Melchiorre is one of the first to offer an accessible overview of the development and structure of the rich and important Paduan cathedral chapter in the fifteenth century. Tying in with preexisting literature on the cathedral chapter as a whole, as well as with the various published works on individual canons, the author for the first time concentrates on the at-times tumultuous period from 1405 to 1509. Additionally, the broad spectrum of topics covers a variety of interesting questions, showing structural changes in an ecclesiastical organization arising from shifts in secular power, as well as offering discussions on the role the cathedral chapter was able to play in extended networks, dealing with both the Republic of Venice and the papal curia. At the same time, the wealth of prosopograhical and economic details can help us to further understand the role and influence of the cathedral chapter on a much more local level in the city of Padua itself.