Pope Clement XIV's brief conferring the Golden Spur to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1770). (Le pape Clement XIV confere l'Eperon d'Or ?Mozart)As a teenager; Mozart went on tours of Italy; accompanied by his father. During the first of these; Leopold and Wolfgang visited Rome (1770); where Wolfgang was awarded the Order of the Golden Spur; a form of honorary knighthood; by Pope Clement XIV. The papal patent for the award said: ' Inasmuch as it behoves the beneficence of the Roman Pontiff and the Apostolic See that those who have shown them no small signs of faith and devotion and are graced with the merits of probity and virtue; shall be decorated with the honours and favors of the Roman Pontiff and the said See.' (4 July 1770)The following day Mozart received his official insignia; consisting of 'a golden cross on a red sash; sword; and spurs;' emblematic of honorary knighthood. The papal patent also absolved the awardee from any previous sentence of excommunication (unnecessary in Mozart's case) and stated 'it is our wish that thou shalt at all times wear the Golden Cross.'- The Vatican Secret Archives (Archives secretes du Vatican - Archivio Segreto Vaticano) is the central repository in the Vatican City for all of the acts promulgated by the Holy See. The archives also contain the state papers; correspondence; papal account books and many other documents which the church has accumulated over the centuries. More than 1000 years of history on 85 km of shelving. The papal archives has served the Holy See for 400 years and is one of the most important and renowned research centres in the world. Ii is a treasure trove of peerless precious documents: millions of papers and parchments that can be accessed by scholars of all nationalities and all faiths.- Vatican Secret Archives (2012)