Antonio Bonvisi

An Anglo-Italian merchant

Antonio Bonvisi is an Anglo-Italian merchant in London. He is also a banker, and employed by the English government, as well as being an agent for the Italians appointed as Bishop of Worcester. He is on good terms with the English humanists of the time and a close friend of Thomas More.

The story so far…

Week 5: Make or Mar / Three-Card Trick

In Spring 1530, Cromwell is invited to dinner by Antonio Bonvisi, an Anglo-Italian merchant friendly with Thomas More. And the Lord Chancellor is there, “among a company of lawyers and aldermen.” Cromwell starts a fight, and the party is not long over. “Oh, have I spoiled your party?” says that brewer’s boy from Putney.

Afterwards, he, Cromwell, and Bonvisi slip into Italian. He wants to know about Thomas Wyatt, who ran away on a diplomatic mission to Italy three years ago. Why the haste? Was it something to do with Lady Anne Boleyn?

Week 11: 'Alas, What Shall I Do For Love?' (Part 2) / Early Mass

What is it like to be Thomas More’s friend at the funeral of a man he killed? Awkward, one imagines. He offers to help Lucy Petyt, widow of John Petyt. ‘I have it in hand,’ says Thomas Cromwell.

Week 16: The Map of Christendom (Part 1)

Cromwell lets Bonvisi send Thomas More food in the Tower:

“I’ve known him for forty years. A lifetime, Tommaso. You wouldn’t hurt him, would you? Please assure me, if you can, that no one will hurt him.”