Sant’Ufficio
Item
Country
IT
Name of institution (English)
Historical Archive of the Archdiocese of Naples
Name of institution (official language of the state)
Language of name of institution
ita
Contact information: postal address
Largo Donnaregina 22, 80138 Naples
Contact information: phone number
0039 0815574295
Contact information: web address
Contact information: email
archiviostorico@chiesadinapoli.it
Reference number
Sant’Ufficio
Title (English)
Holy Office
Title (official language of the state)
Sant’Ufficio
Language of title
ita
Creator / accumulator
Sant’Ufficio (Naples)
Date note
16th century/18th century
Language(s)
lat
Extent
252 folders
Type of material
Textual Material
Scope and content
The Sant'Ufficio fonds comprises documentation related to the inquisitorial activity in the Kingdom of Naples between the 16th and the 18th centuries. It is divided into three sections: Denunce (Complaints), Denunce di concubinati (Complaints of concubinage), and Processi (Trials).
Since, over the 16th century, several conversos persecuted by the Iberian Inquisitions settled in Southern Italy, in particular in the city of Naples, they were also one of the targets of the inquisitorial activity undertaken both by the local ecclesiastic authorities and the representatives of the Roman Inquisition in the territory. Therefore, the Sant'Ufficio fonds preserves relevant information regarding Portuguese and Spanish conversos accused of Judaism, namely on their social background, economic activities and, naturally, on Judaizing practises they supposedly kept. The repressive campaign undertaken between 1569-1582 against alleged Judaizers particularly affected the Iberian New Christians settled in Naples, and this fonds provides essential documentation to report this wave of arrests and prosecutions. In his PhD, Peter Mazur (2008) analysed this campaign based on a vast sort of sources, including the records comprised in the Sant'Ufficio fonds, and provided the transcription of some trials and other documentation related to Iberian conversos.
During the Iberian Union (1580-1640), the number of Portuguese and Spanish New Christians who settled in the Kingdom of Naples increased. Based on the documentation related to a new repressive campaign against Judaizers in the mid-17th century, Pilar Huerga Criado (2012) found evidence on the evolution of the Iberian converso community in Naples over the previous decades. These are only a few examples of how historiography has searched on this fonds pieces of evidence on the evolution of the Iberian New Christian settlement in the Kingdom of Naples over the 16th and 17th centuries.
Since, over the 16th century, several conversos persecuted by the Iberian Inquisitions settled in Southern Italy, in particular in the city of Naples, they were also one of the targets of the inquisitorial activity undertaken both by the local ecclesiastic authorities and the representatives of the Roman Inquisition in the territory. Therefore, the Sant'Ufficio fonds preserves relevant information regarding Portuguese and Spanish conversos accused of Judaism, namely on their social background, economic activities and, naturally, on Judaizing practises they supposedly kept. The repressive campaign undertaken between 1569-1582 against alleged Judaizers particularly affected the Iberian New Christians settled in Naples, and this fonds provides essential documentation to report this wave of arrests and prosecutions. In his PhD, Peter Mazur (2008) analysed this campaign based on a vast sort of sources, including the records comprised in the Sant'Ufficio fonds, and provided the transcription of some trials and other documentation related to Iberian conversos.
During the Iberian Union (1580-1640), the number of Portuguese and Spanish New Christians who settled in the Kingdom of Naples increased. Based on the documentation related to a new repressive campaign against Judaizers in the mid-17th century, Pilar Huerga Criado (2012) found evidence on the evolution of the Iberian converso community in Naples over the previous decades. These are only a few examples of how historiography has searched on this fonds pieces of evidence on the evolution of the Iberian New Christian settlement in the Kingdom of Naples over the 16th and 17th centuries.
Archival history
After the abolition of the Holy Office in the Kingdom of Naples in 1782, King Ferdinand ordered the destruction of the Holy Office archive, which occurred in June 1783.
The remaining documentation regarding the activity of the Inquisition in the Kingdom of Naples is preserved both in the Archivio della Congregazione per la Dottrina della Fede in Rome and the Archivio Storico Diocesano di Napoli.
The Sant'Ufficio fonds of the Archivio Storico Diocesano di Napoli only became available for public consultation in 1970, after an intervention to rearrange and catalogue it undertaken by the archive staff and Franco Armento, then a graduate student of the University of Salerno. More recently, Giovanni Romeo coordinated the composition of a new inventory of this fonds (2004).
The remaining documentation regarding the activity of the Inquisition in the Kingdom of Naples is preserved both in the Archivio della Congregazione per la Dottrina della Fede in Rome and the Archivio Storico Diocesano di Napoli.
The Sant'Ufficio fonds of the Archivio Storico Diocesano di Napoli only became available for public consultation in 1970, after an intervention to rearrange and catalogue it undertaken by the archive staff and Franco Armento, then a graduate student of the University of Salerno. More recently, Giovanni Romeo coordinated the composition of a new inventory of this fonds (2004).
Administrative / Biographical history
Even after Southern Italy became part of the Spanish crown in 1503, the Inquisition in Naples did not fall into the jurisdiction of the Spanish Holy Office nor follow its model. However, there were efforts to introduce the Inquisition in the Kingdom. In 1509, King Ferdinand sent one inquisitor, Andrea Palazzo, to investigate crimes of heresy in the territory. Later, in 1546, Emperor Charles V undertook a new unsuccessful attempt by requesting the Pope to send a delegate to Naples.
Since 1553, the Roman Inquisition was represented in the Kingdom by the vicario (vicar) of Naples, who served as a commissioner of the Holy Office. However, his power was very limited, and the jurisdiction over crimes of faith continued to fall into the hands of the archbishop and, outside the city of Naples and in the rest of the Kingdom it rested with the local bishops.
After the mid-1560s, the archepiscopal court became more active in persecuting and punishing suspects of heresy. Since 1569, the vicar of the archepiscopal court in Naples undertook an investigation over supposed Judaizers that triggered a wave of arrests and trials that lasted until the early 1580s.
In 1585, in the aftermath of this repressive campaign, Pope Sixtus V nominated a minister of the Holy Office in Naples, Carlo Baldini, to exercise control over causes of faith. Thus, from then on, an anomalous situation was installed in the city: two "inquisitions" were active in Naples — one headed by the archbishop and another represented by the Holy Office minister.
Since the 1630s, the Roman Inquisition eased its pressure over the archepiscopal court. However, in the late 1680s and 1690s, the Roman curial and the local ecclesiastical authorities engaged again in closer collaboration to prosecute a group of atheists. This process raised a particular widespread uproar expressed in a large number of pamphlets and other writings on this subject published in the following decades.
The 18th century was marked by a power struggle between the Church and the civil magistratures that attempted to take control over some crimes until then under the jurisdiction of the ecclesiastic authorities. Such tensions worsened after the accession to the throne of Naples of the Bourbons and the foundation of an autonomous kingdom. Finally, on March 16, 1782, Ferdinand of Bourbon decreed the abolition of the Holy Office.
Since 1553, the Roman Inquisition was represented in the Kingdom by the vicario (vicar) of Naples, who served as a commissioner of the Holy Office. However, his power was very limited, and the jurisdiction over crimes of faith continued to fall into the hands of the archbishop and, outside the city of Naples and in the rest of the Kingdom it rested with the local bishops.
After the mid-1560s, the archepiscopal court became more active in persecuting and punishing suspects of heresy. Since 1569, the vicar of the archepiscopal court in Naples undertook an investigation over supposed Judaizers that triggered a wave of arrests and trials that lasted until the early 1580s.
In 1585, in the aftermath of this repressive campaign, Pope Sixtus V nominated a minister of the Holy Office in Naples, Carlo Baldini, to exercise control over causes of faith. Thus, from then on, an anomalous situation was installed in the city: two "inquisitions" were active in Naples — one headed by the archbishop and another represented by the Holy Office minister.
Since the 1630s, the Roman Inquisition eased its pressure over the archepiscopal court. However, in the late 1680s and 1690s, the Roman curial and the local ecclesiastical authorities engaged again in closer collaboration to prosecute a group of atheists. This process raised a particular widespread uproar expressed in a large number of pamphlets and other writings on this subject published in the following decades.
The 18th century was marked by a power struggle between the Church and the civil magistratures that attempted to take control over some crimes until then under the jurisdiction of the ecclesiastic authorities. Such tensions worsened after the accession to the throne of Naples of the Bourbons and the foundation of an autonomous kingdom. Finally, on March 16, 1782, Ferdinand of Bourbon decreed the abolition of the Holy Office.
Access points: locations
Access points: corporate bodies
Access points: subject terms
Access points: document types
System of arrangement
The trials are arranged chronologically, while the complaints follow alphabetical order, according to the name of the reported person or the complainant.
Finding aids
Links to finding aids
Author of the description
Carla Vieira, 2022
Bibliography
Published primary sources
Linked resources
Filter by property
| Title | Alternate label | Class |
|---|---|---|
| Archivio della Congregazione per la Dottrina della Fede | Collections (official language of the state) | |
| Archivio Storico Diocesano di Napoli | Collections (official language of the state) |