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Juan, de Aragón, 1300?-1334. Miscellaneous Villafiorita documents, 1340-1869.

Title: Miscellaneous Villafiorita documents, 1340-1869.

Documents, primarily legal, notarial, and financial, pertaining to various Sicilian aristocratic families (including the Alliata, the Burgio, the Balsamo, the Branciforte, the Ventimiglia, the Platamone, the Naselli, the Valguarnera, and others) and territories (such as Racalmuto, Agrigento, and Comiso). Most of the notarial documents are either grants and privileges (Folders 460-461) conferred over the centuries by the Spanish crown to Sicilian noblemen and passed along from one generation to the next (arranged in chronological order and covering the years 1340-1734), or wills (Folders 462-491, with, in frequent cases, multiple copies of the same will) of individuals who were members of or related to the aforementioned families (also arranged chronologically, and dated 1498-1639). The legal documents (Folders 492-510) are prevalently 19th-century trial proceedings and expert witness reports (containing tables and maps) concerning the improper use of the sulfur mines in the Racalmuto area. The remaining items (Folders 511-524) consist of documents pertaining to the Guardia Nazionale of Palermo (including numerous printed booklets issued during the Revolution of 1848); a guide to the rules of whist, a card game; and miscellaneous accounts and credit records. Various stamps, perhaps indicating the payment of the customary governmental stamp tax to issue official documents, appear on numerous items; they are the same as or similar to stamps on other documents in the Villafiorita Ducal Records. A document ratifying the ordination of a clergyman in Comiso, as well as more printed papers concerning the Guardia Nazionale are housed in the Oversize series.

ArchivalResource: 67 folders (5 boxes)

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/693870575 View

Requesens family. Requesens family papers, 1336-1860.

Title: Requesens family papers, 1336-1860.

Collection of documents concerning the Requesens, a family of Spanish origin who lived in Sicily and Naples. Over the centuries, the Requesens remained strong supporters of the Spanish crown, from whom they received numerous privileges and grants. About half of the items contained in the Requesens family papers pertain to these privileges, the most important being the concession of the island of Pantelleria, as well as territories in the areas of Syracuse, Marsala, and Palermo. The Requesens were also in charge of collecting taxes and customs fees in numerous locations of the Kingdom of Naples on behalf of the Spanish crown. Moreover, the Requesens were politically and military active during the Neapolitan Wars in support of the Spanish coalition. This long standing connection with the Spanish crown is emphasized in many documents, including personal and official correspondence, legal and notarial papers, petitions, and accounts. The Requesens also had connections, mostly through marriage, with other southern Italian aristocrats, such as the Naselli, the Morso, the Alliata, the Bonanni, the Fuentes, the Carretto, and the Branciforte. These relationships are chronicled in a small number of documents covering the genealogical history of the family over the centuries. Letters between family members and friends and relatives all over Italy (Sicily, Naples, Genoa, Venice, Milan, and Turin) and France and Spain are also present. Various stamps, perhaps indicating the payment of the customary governmental stamp tax to issue official documents, appear on numerous items; they are the same as or similar to stamps on other documents in the Villafiorita Ducal Records.

ArchivalResource: 2 boxes (36 folders)

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/690901217 View

Naselli family. Naselli family papers, 1351-1924.

Title: Naselli family papers, 1351-1924.

Collection of documents pertaining to the Naselli of Sicily. They lived in Sicily as well as in other areas of the Kingdom of Naples thanks to strong relationships with the Spanish crown, from which they received many privileges and land grants over the centuries. They were also connected with several other local aristocratic families (especially the Morso, the Alliata, the Galletti, the Carretto, the Branciforte, and the Aragon), through marriage. More than half the documents are family records, and they include marriage records and dowries; guardianship records; documents describing the circumstances that lead some female members of the family to become nuns; and death certificates, wills, and related inventories. In certain cases, especially for larger and more complex wills or dowries, accounts and receipts are also present. Other items in the Naselli family papers include notarial and financial documents (pertaining to sales, purchases, and tax collection); legal documents (including some records of trials, especially for the misuse or misappropriation of land and sulfur mines in the Racalmuto area, important source of income for the local aristocrats); and correspondence, both private, between family members, and official, related to tax collection, finance management, and local politics (including communication with clergymen in Palermo, Syracuse, and other Sicilian dioceses). A document pertaining to the emancipation of an African slave, dated 1820, is also present. Various stamps, perhaps indicating the payment of the customary governmental stamp tax to issue official documents, appear on numerous items; they are the same as or similar to stamps on other documents in the Villafiorita Ducal Records. Most of the items are manuscript (both on paper and on parchment), but printed material is also present. Additional private correspondence, genealogical documents, and maps of the Racalmuto mines are stored separately in the Oversize series.

ArchivalResource: 8 boxes (133 folders)

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/689075160 View