La presenza della famiglia Spinola a Malta, nota su alcuni manoscritti inediti : stato dell’arte e ipotesi di ricerca

Abstract

The history of the Spinola family is intertwined with the history of Genoa and Malta. In 1768 Genoa ceded its last possession, Corsica to France. In 1797, French military pressure resulted in the end of aristocratic rule and the formation of the Ligurian Republic. During this period the Spinola family, which had members in the Order Hospitaller of St.John, acquired various possessions in Malta. This is an example, the result of careful archival research, of the power of the family in eighteenth century Malta. A box containing archival documents, was recovered at the Archivio Storico del Comune in Genoa. These documents had been mislocated , so they were never investigated, and therefore they are a new source for historians. This box contains the financial statements of the landed possessions of the noble lineage of Spinolas in Malta, plus a few sheets of purely personal notes and accounts of the notary writer. The present short note contains the results of my research at the Archivio Storico del Comune in Genoa. It aims to analyze some, so far almost completely neglected, aspects about the Spinola presence in Malta. This short article traces the background to this development, and also presents a first snapshot of the benefits which this kind of study should provide to scholars of late eighteenth century Malta.