Miscellanea Armaria
Item
Country
IT
Name of institution (English)
Vatican Apostolic Archives
Name of institution (official language of the state)
Language of name of institution
ita
Contact information: postal address
Cortile del Belvedere, 00120 Vatican City
Contact information: phone number
0039 06 69883314
0039 06 69883211
Contact information: web address
Contact information: email
archivio@aav.va
Reference number
Misc., Arm.
Type of reference number
Archival reference number
Title (English)
Miscellany
Title (official language of the state)
Miscellanea Armaria
Language of title
lat
Creator / accumulator
Archivio Apostolico Vaticano
Date note
15th century/19th century
Language(s)
ita
lat
spa
Extent
1,488 storage units
Type of material
Textual Material
Physical condition
Good
Scope and content
The Miscellanea Armaria collection is composed of documents of several provenances and typologies divided into 15 distinct series, preserved in individual "Armaria" (Cabinets), numbered sequentially with Roman numerals. Each "Armario" has a specific index with individual descriptions of its contents. These indexes serve as an essential orientation throughout the vast and varied documentation held in each "Armario". In the "Armaria", it could be found various typologies of documents, such as correspondence, diaries and memoirs, theological treatises, papal bulls, edicts, papal legislation, and collections on certain questions, among others.
Among this broad variety of records, there are some materials regarding the Western Sephardic Diaspora and, specifically, on some of its protagonists. It is the case of a few letters written by the Portuguese New Christian Matias Bicudo Folgado, a spy and strategist, preserved in the Armario II, which were recently published by Luis Gil Fernández (2019, 2020). Two of these letters were addressed to Don Juan de Austria on April 3, 1573 (116, fols. 76-81v) and November 9, 1572 (fols. 234-237v). In both, Bicudo advises the commander-in-chief of the Holy League army on the way to settle an intelligence network with branches in Constantinople, Ragusa (Dubrovnik) and Naples and provides some suggestions of agents whom Don Juan could trust to get confidential information on the plans and advances of the Ottomans. In another letter on March 2, 1573, Bicudo suggests a diplomatic manoeuvre to Don Juan by sending an emissary to notify the Shah of Persia of the victory against the common enemy (fols. 219-232v). Another recipient of Bicudo's letters was Pope Pius V, to whom he addressed a letter on November 15, 1571, sharing his insights on strategies to capitalise on the victory in the Battle of Lepanto (116, fol. 72-75v).
Among this broad variety of records, there are some materials regarding the Western Sephardic Diaspora and, specifically, on some of its protagonists. It is the case of a few letters written by the Portuguese New Christian Matias Bicudo Folgado, a spy and strategist, preserved in the Armario II, which were recently published by Luis Gil Fernández (2019, 2020). Two of these letters were addressed to Don Juan de Austria on April 3, 1573 (116, fols. 76-81v) and November 9, 1572 (fols. 234-237v). In both, Bicudo advises the commander-in-chief of the Holy League army on the way to settle an intelligence network with branches in Constantinople, Ragusa (Dubrovnik) and Naples and provides some suggestions of agents whom Don Juan could trust to get confidential information on the plans and advances of the Ottomans. In another letter on March 2, 1573, Bicudo suggests a diplomatic manoeuvre to Don Juan by sending an emissary to notify the Shah of Persia of the victory against the common enemy (fols. 219-232v). Another recipient of Bicudo's letters was Pope Pius V, to whom he addressed a letter on November 15, 1571, sharing his insights on strategies to capitalise on the victory in the Battle of Lepanto (116, fol. 72-75v).
Archival history
The vast collection known as Miscellanea Armaria was formed during the Early Modern Age. From time to time, this collection incorporated documents from the various institutes and dicasteries that composed the Roman Curia from the 15th to the 19th centuries, such as the Segreteria di Stato (Secretariat of State), as well as from various congregations, the Cancelleria Apostolica (Apostolic Chancellery) and private fonds. From 1920 to 1952, several manuscripts were transferred to the Biblioteca Vaticana. In 1974, a concordance Index was prepared between the new and old signatures (Index 1107, available in the Index room).
Administrative / Biographical history
The Vatican Apostolic Archive (AAV) was created from the plan of Paul V to establish a central and personal "Archivum Novum" of the pontiff, with respect to the various archives already existing in the city of Rome. The official creation act is recognised in the appointment, on January 31, 1612, of a custodian, in the person of Baldassarre Ansidei. Initially, the AAV would be a conservation institution linked to the Vatican Apostolic Library. Only in 1630 Urban VIII decreed its autonomy calling it the "Archivum Apostolicum Vaticanum". In a general index of the preserved documentation, drawn up in 1646, the name “Archivio Segreto Vaticano” – that is, personal (Secretum) to the popes – appears for the first time. This designation would identify the central historical archive of the Holy See until 2019 when Pope Francis renamed it the Vatican Apostolic Archive. The archive has suffered several losses and dispersions, particularly during the attempt to recover the documentation transported to Paris by Napoleon in the early 19th century. It collects most of the documentation produced by the offices and tribunal of the Roman Curia and the various pontificates along the centuries of the modern and contemporary age, receiving, at the time of establishment, the previous deposits from the Middle Ages. It represents the central historical archive of the Holy See, open to scholars since 1881, by the decision of Leo XIII.
Access points: locations
Access points: subject terms
Access points: document types
System of arrangement
The Miscellanea Armaria is divided into 15 series, named as "Armaria" (Cabinets) and numbered sequentially with Roman numerals.
Finding aids
Indexes available for consultation in the archive:
Armadio II: Indici 110, 136, 1029 (I-II), 1107, 1280.
Armadio II: Indici 110, 136, 1029 (I-II), 1107, 1280.
Links to finding aids
Author of the description
Andrea Cicerchia and Carla Vieira, 2022
Published primary sources
Linked resources
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|---|---|---|
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