Details

Subjects:

Ferdinand I, King of Naples, 1423-1494.
Orsini del Balzo, Giovanni Antonio, principe di Taranto, 1386-1463.
Sanseverino, Antonello II.
Innocent VIII, Pope, 1432-1492.
Sanseverino family.
Trial practice -- Italy.
Trial practice.
Naples (Kingdom) -- History -- Spanish rule, 1442-1707.
Naples (Kingdom).
History.
Basilicata (Italy) -- History.
Italy.

Form/Genre:

Codices.
Histories.
Manuals (instructional materials)
Manuscripts, Italian.
Manuscripts, European.

Language:

Italian.

Biography/History:

Italian historian and lawyer (1526-1580), from a wealthy and noble Neapolitan family. Studied law, first at Bologna and later at Pisa, and after graduating in utroquejure, practised as a lawyer in Naples.

Summary:

Manuscript containing two different works, La congiura de' Baroni del Regno di Napoli, written by Camillo Porzio in 1565, and Admonitio ad nepotes, written by Francesco D'Andrea in 1696. The first work is a detailed account of the conspiracy of the barons, which represented the last phase of the war of the southern-Italian aristocracy against the Spanish king Ferdinand I. Ferdinand aimed at modernizing the political structures of the kingdom of Naples and strengthening the power of the Spanish crown over the local barons; in order to do so, he focused on limiting the baronial privileges of the feudal families of Naples, Calabria and Basilicata. The first phase of the conflict between the barons and the king, between 1459 and 1462, was won by Ferdinand, but the conflict was not resolved and the baronial discontent was still very strong. In 1485, a group of noblemen from some of the most important baronial families of the kingdom of Naples, including the Prince of Salerno Antonello II Sanseverino and the Prince of Altamura Giovanni Antonio Orsini Del Balzo, formed a tight revolutionary group with the intention of attacking the king of Spain. They had the support of the pope, Innocent VIII, who was also displeased with Ferdinand I over tribute due to the Papal States that the Spanish crown had commuted into a gift of much inferior value. However, in spite of the papal support, the conspiracy was discovered and repressed by Ferdinand, who had been informed by Alfonso, Duke of Calabria, a southern-Italian nobleman who felt threatened by the barons. The barons asked Innocent VIII and the Republic of Venice for help, but assistance proved to be insufficient and Naples had to surrender in 1486, after complex and laborious negotiations in which the Papal States, Venice, and Milan were also involved. Not only did the barons have to succumb to Spanish power, but they were also forced to cede important strategic possessions, including the city of L'Aquila, in the northern part of the kingdom of Naples. At the end of the work there is a short table with the most important names and episodes that appear in the book. The second part of the manuscript contains the most famous work of the Neapolitan lawyer and judge Francesco D'Andrea, Admonitio ad nepotes, a collection of philosophical and practical advice for lawyers, written in 1696. After analyzing the role of the lawyer in different parts of Italy, D'Andrea explains how the Neapolitans surpass their Italian colleagues in terms of skills, knowledge of the law and rhetoric and litigation technique. Their superior skills are also the best way to ingratiate the favor of supreme magistrates, and, in Admonitio, the author encourages his younger colleagues to exploit this to their advantage. After these initial suggestions, various examples of the lives and works of famous Neapolitan lawyers, including Giovan Angelo Barile, Duca di Caivano, the Marquis Torello and Antonio Caraccio, are presented and commented. The work is concluded with a short essay where D'Andrea explains how important the role of the lawyer is and how hard a lawyer should fight to maintain his position in society.

Contents:

1. f.1r-101v: La congiura de Baroni del Regno di Napoli/Camillo Porzio.
2. f.107r-203v: Admonitio ad nepotes/Francesco D'Andrea.

Notes:

Ms. codex.
Title from title page (f. i recto).
Foliation: Paper, 208; [i], 1-101, [102-207], contemporary foliation in ink, modern foliation in pencil, upper right recto. Catchwords, lower right corners.
Layout: Written in 27-28 long lines.
Script: Written in a cursive script.
Decoration: Sprinkled edges in blue.
Watermark: Unidentified watermark containing mountains, a circle and decorative designs.
Binding: Contemporary parchment, Storia del Porzio on spine.
Origin: Probably written in Naples between 1696 (date of completion of second work) and 1750.

Penn Provenance:

Sold by Mario Somma, Bottega Apulja (Rome) in 1967 (note laid inside manuscript).

Cited in:

Described in Zacour, Norman P. and Hirsch, Rudolf. Catalogue of Manuscripts in the Libraries of the University of Pennsylvania to 1800 (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1965), Supplement A (2), The Library Catalogue 36 (1970), no. 1, p. 23 (Ms. Lea 420).

Cited as:

UPenn Ms. Codex 1472

Contains:

D'Andrea, Francesco, 1625-1698.
Admonitio ad nepotes.

OCLC:

318079229