In recent years, diplomatic history has undergone a major renewal led by the historiographical movement known as New Diplomatic History that has opened many new multidisciplinary research possibilities. The focus on issues dealing with political communication, social networks, ceremonials, protocols, and cultural issues, among others, has considerably broadened the field. Two crucial elements of this renewal have been the field's transnational expansion—currently one of the most dynamic historiographical perspectives, especially when referring to political networks such as the Spanish Monarchy—and its revisionary perspective on gender, which has shed needed light on the diplomatic roles played by women.

These two aspects will be of primary significance when studying the case of the Italian noblewoman, Anna Colonna (1631–1686), who assumed the politically important role of ambassadress together with her husband. A descendant of the ancient Roman house of Colonna, she was the daughter of Isabella Gioeni Cardona y Córdoba, princess of Castiglione, and Marcantonio V Colonna, prince of Paliano. She became the third marquise of Los Balbases after her marriage to Pablo Spinola Doria (1632–1699), grandson of the famed Genoese military commander, Ambrosio Spinola, whose military achievements for the Spanish crown gained him the title of first marquis of Los Balbases.

The Colonna family possessed immense material and, especially, symbolic and cultural capital in the form of contacts, titles, etc., all of which made Anna Colonna a very important asset to her husband's family.