Treatise on the history of the Sicilian and southern Italian resistance against the attacks of the Turks in the 16th century. The whole region was repeatedly assaulted by the Ottoman fleets over the century, first by Barbarossa Hayreddin Pasha in 1537, then by Turgut Reis in 1552, who inflicted a humiliating defeat on the Spanish king Charles V. In spite of the hardships Sicily and Naples had to endure, the author describes the courage and tenacity of both the military forces and the local populations against the Turks. A parallel between the events which afflicted Sicily and Naples in the 16th century and similar difficulties experienced by Roman armies and sovereigns centuries before is drawn at the beginning of the manuscript; the metaphor is then repeated and reinforced multiple times throughout the entire book, which aims at conferring a higher level of prestige and historical meaning to the suffering of the Sicilians. However, the work intends to convey an historically faithful account of the events, and detailed descriptions of battles, war episodes and other events are very frequent. There are also lists of the cities that were either occupied or attacked by the Turks and those who managed to limit the damage. The baronial fleets, assembled by the local noblemen to help the Spanish, are also praised for their skilled crews, and the work of the barons, in conjunction with that of the Spanish soldiers, is also lauded.
Ms. component part.; Title from title page (f. [ii] recto).; Foliation: Paper, 65; [iv], 1-61; contemporary foliation in ink, modern foliation in pencil, upper right recto.; Layout: Written in 19-21 long lines.; Script: Written in a cursive script.; Origin: Probably written in Italy between 1600 and 1625 (Zacour-Hirsch).; Italian.
Physical Location:
Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, Manuscripts, Oversize Ms. Codex 1477
Collection:
Istruzioni a voi Signor Pietro d'Agostino della relazione che s'aver à Sua Maestà delle cose di Sicilia
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