Details

Subjects:

Law -- Italy -- Rome.
Ordinances, Municipal -- Italy -- Rome.
Merchants -- Italy.
Commercial law -- Italy -- Early works to 1800.
Customs administration -- Italy -- Rome -- History.
Wine and wine making -- Law and legislation -- Italy.
Wine and wine making -- Law and legislation.
Customs administration.
History.
Commercial law.
Merchants.
Ordinances, Municipal.
Law.
Italy.
Italy -- Rome.

Form/Genre:

Codices.
Statutes.
Manuscripts, Italian.
Manuscripts, European.

Language:

Italian and Latin.

Summary:

18-century copy of the statutes of Ripa and Ripetta del Porto di Ripa Romea, two boroughs of Rome, originally issued by Pope Pius II in 1463 and copied by the notary Bernardo Finucci in 1668. A note on the introductory page states that in 1668, he was appointed to make a transcription of the original manuscript by officers of the Università dei Mercanti of Rome (an association of businessmen), as they only had a single copy of the statutes in their possession and it had become severely damaged by frequent use. The present manuscript is a later copy, with further additions dated 1743. Ripa and Ripetta had two river ports located on the banks of the Tiber River, a very important waterway which allowed the local merchants to establish business relationships with counterparts from both Italy and Europe. A large number of the articles contained in the statutes aim at regulating trades between Roman businessmen and their foreign counterparts. In particular, strict rules regulate customs, clearance of goods, prohibited goods, and the fees that visitors had to pay to the customs officers in order to be granted access to the city via river. The statutes also includes various chapters on the rights and responsibilities of Roman customs officers, whose duties included collecting revenue from imports; inspecting all goods entering the city; protecting both local and foreign merchants who traveled for business; preventing the smuggling of prohibited items; and enforcing immigration and international commerce law in case of violations. Although customs agents were not considered members of the military and were exempt from serving in the army, the statutes granted them permission to carry arms at all times. Customs officers were also granted immunity or reduced punishments in case of violations or mistakes made while serving in office. Moreover, customs agents had the authority to arrest suspects and have them appear before a camerlengo (a papal officer in charge of revenues with some judicial powers), who could issue a summary judgment for which no appeal was available. Another professional figure who had almost unlimited authority was that of the notary, who was in charge of validating customs agents' decisions and to supervise customs operations. A special set of articles of the statutes regulated wine trade, one of the most important products of the local economy. The regulations aimed at protecting Roman wine merchants and promoting their products, while discouraging wine imports from abroad by imposing high duties on foreign products.

Notes:

Ms. codex.
Title from introduction (f. 1r).
Pagination: Paper, i (paper) + 320 pages + i (paper); 1-305, [306-320], contemporary pagination in ink, modern pagination in pencil, upper outer corners.
Layout: Written in 27-30 long lines.
Script: Written in a cursive script.
Decoration: Sprinkled edges in blue; gilt on spine.
Watermark: Unidentified watermark containing a circle with a bird, mountains, and the letters G and N inside, and the letter F on top.
Binding: Half parchment (Zacour-Hirsch); Finucci manoscritti on spine.
Origin: Written in Rome in 1743.

Cited in:

Described in Zacour, Norman P. and Hirsch, Rudolf. Catalogue of Manuscripts in the Libraries of the University of Pennsylvania to 1800 : Supplement B. The Library Chronicle 45 (1981), p. 24 (Ms. Lea 595).

Cited as:

UPenn Ms. Codex 1488

Contributor:

Finucci, Bernardino, notary.
Università de' mercanti (Rome, Italy)

OCLC:

319535873