Thirty-six manuscripts of a political or diplomatic nature relating to Spain and its domains, in particular in Italy, between 1543 and 1611, collected in a single volume bearing the general title: Notizie istoriche appartenente al Regno di Spagna, di Portogallo, e di Sicilia. Bound volume, comprising a variety of mss. including letters and reports, discourses, instructions and histories, including missives directed to Kings Philip II and Philip III of Spain. The texts frequently enumerate members of the Spanish nobility and the Spanish ecclesiastical hierarchy. With the exception of two manuscripts in Spanish and one in Latin, the collection comprises manuscripts either composed in Italian, or translated into Italian and based on earlier documents probably in Spanish. Several manuscripts have authors and among the authors represented in the collection are, Filippo Pigafetta, Italian humanist; Federico Zuccari, Italian painter and architect; Giralomo Conestagio, Genoese nobleman and merchant; Gonzalo Perez, Secretary of State to Philip II; and, Pedro Fernandes de Queiros, Portuguese navigator. There is a letter from Philip II addressed to his son and successor, Philip III. The manuscripts constitute narrative sources on the Spanish administration of its Italian dominions of Milan and Sicily, including Spain's military presence, the rapport with ecclesiastical powers, rivalry between Spain and France and the threat of the Turks. The historical narratives relate to Spain, Portugal and France.
