The state of the hospitaller commandery of Santa Maria Maddalena del Tempio di Parma in the 1780s

Abstract

The present dissertation is mainly concerned with the Hospitaller Commandery of Santa Maria Maddalena del Tempio di Parma. It focuses on the state of the commandery particularly in the 1780s. One of the main sources consulted were the miglioramenti carried out by Commander Alvaro Ruffo during his tenure between 1782 and 1787. Furthermore, it hopes to provide a thorough understanding of how the Hospitaller Commandery in general functioned, while also attempting to outline the development within Santa Maria Maddalena del Tempio di Parma. The purpose of this dissertation is also to provide an overview of the commandery while keeping in mind that the amount of literature written about the topic is very limited. Predominantly the sources used throughout this study were primary sources, in the form of cabrei and miglioramenti. Hence, in this sense the present dissertation, with all its limitations, hopes to cover up till now unexplored territory.