TheCouncil of Italy, officially theRoyal and Supreme Council of Italy (Spanish:Real y Supremo Consejo de Italia,Italian:Reale e Supremo Consiglio d'Italia), was a ruling body and key part of the government of theSpanish Empire inEurope, second only to the monarch himself. It was based inMadrid and administered the Spanish territories inItaly: theKingdom of Naples,Kingdom of Sicily,Duchy of Milan,State of the Presidi,Marquisate of Finale (until 1713) and other minor territories.
Before the 1556 creation of the Council due to the historical rule of theCrown of Aragon over most of the territories, Spanish possessions in Italy were administered by theCouncil of Aragon.
By the year 1556, theCrown of Aragon had complete dominance overSouthern Italy and theDuchy of Milan. Local councils and viceroys (inNaples andPalermo) or governors (inMilan) controlled the internal affairs of these lands. In an effort to better coordinate Spanish rule in Italy,Philip II decided to separate the Italian states from the Council of Aragon in 1556. Thus, Naples, Sicily and Milan were incorporated into the newly created Council of Italy and were represented by two regents each (oneCastilian, one native-born).
TheKingdom of Sardinia remained under the jurisdiction of theCouncil of Aragon, as demanded and claimed by its ownStamenti on the basis of political, religious, geographical, linguistic and anthropological affinities,[1][2] until its eventual transfer toAustria and later to theHouse of Savoy.
In 1713, EmperorCharles VI established a "Supreme Council of Spain" with its seat inVienna, in order to assert his sovereignty over all the formerly Spanish ruled states transferred to the Austrian Habsburgs after theWar of the Spanish Succession. The Council of Italy, left without any territories to govern, was abolished byPhilip V of Spain on 1 May 1717.
The Council of Italy consisted of:
The Council of Italy was responsible for all affairs of state and law concerning the Italian states governed by the Habsburg main line. It nominated theviceroys of Sicily,viceroys of Naples, and theGovernors of the Duchy of Milan to theSpanish Council of State which was presided over by the king, and it approved the more important civil and military appointments in the individual states. The council's functions were solely consultative. Its opinion was reported in a document (consulta), edited by the secretary, which was then submitted to the king, who then annotated it with his own decision. If there was no unanimous decision in the council, the opinions of different members were all reported.