Metadata: Notarial Archive of Mantua
Collection
- Country:
- Italy
- Holding institution:
- Mantua State Archive
- Holding institution (official language):
- Archivio di Stato di Mantova
- Postal address:
- via Roberto Ardigò 11, 46100 Mantova
- Phone number:
- +39 376324441
- Web address:
- http://www.asmantova.beniculturali.it
- Email:
- as-mn@beniculturali.it
- Reference number:
- 94
- Title:
- Notarial Archive of Mantua
- Title (official language):
- Notarile di Mantova
- Date(s):
- 1300-1899
- Date note:
- 14th-19th century
- Language:
- Italian
- Latin
- German
- Extent:
- 20,000 boxes
- Type of material:
- Textual material
- Physical condition:
- good
- Scope and content:
- This fonds contains acts issued by notaries enrolled as members of the Collegio dei Notai in Mantua. Several of them also worked for the Jewish community. Particularly interesting is folder no. 1591 (1600-1606), drawn up by the notary Antonio Bassi, with a special section on “Banco Feneratizio” (1583-1603), containing many documents related to it. This Jewish bank was established in the small village of Bozzuolo by a Jew, Sansone Cantoni, after receiving a special permit by the Duke and an indult by the Pope. Although everything had been done properly, Sansone met a lot of difficulties in finding a notary who would be willing to draw up deeds for Jewish customers. Urged by the general vicar, Antonio Bassi accepted. Also very interesting is the case of the notary Cristoforo Belloni, whose activity is documented between 1602 and 1610. Looking at his folders, a specialisation process of his activity for Jewish customers gradually emerges. If around the years 1604-1605 only few deeds concern Jews, in 1610 a large majority of his work is devoted to Jews and it seems also that the Jewish community of Mantua relied upon this notary for internal acts of the community itself. The number of acts drawn up for Jews by notary Belloni in a very short period (September/December 1610) is remarkable, such as the sale of a jewel to a Christian woman by a Jewish banker (Baruc Nepthalim Norsa) and a large number of acknowledgments of credit to Jewish bankers (such as Laudadio Levi, Simone Basilea, Crescino de Levitico) made by their Christian customers.
- Administrative/biographical history:
-
The Collegio dei notai (Notaries Collegium) was included in list of Mantua associations of arts and craft guilds. Both the notaries' deeds and other magistratures' deeds were collected in a public archive. In the second half of the 18th century, as a consequence of the reforms of Maria Theresa, the notaries’ archives were separated from the other magistratures' archives. After 1806, the Napoleonic laws stated that all the municipal notarial archives of the "Dipartimento del Mincio" (except for that of Castel Goffredo) should be concentrated in a single archive located in Mantua. No significant changes were wrought by the later Italian legislation on archives of notaries.
For historical information about the holding institution, the State Archive of Mantua, see http://guidagenerale.maas.ccr.it/document.aspx?uri=/istituticonservatori/IC0460022101
- Finding aids:
- Guida generale degli Archivi di Stato. Archivio d Stato di Mantova
- Yerusha Network member:
- Contemporary Jewish Documentation Center - Milan
- Author of the description:
- Samuela Marconcini; Centro di documentazione ebraica contemporanea; 2017