The Order of St. Lazarus in Southern Italy and Sicily

The Order of St. Lazarus in
Southern Italy and Sicily
Charles Savona-Ventura
Published by the Office of the Grand Archivist & Historian,
Torri ta’Lanzun, Malta © 2015
2
The Order of Saint Lazarus saw its formal organization in Jerusalem during the
early decades of the 12th century. The philanthropic crusader nature of the Order
soon attracted land donations throughout Europe thus establishing numerous commanderies in France, Spain, England, Scotland, Hungary, Germany, Austrian Netherlands, Genova, Switzerland and Italy—in Vercelli [Piedmonte] established by 1241
and Southern Italy established in 1228.
The establishment of the Order of Saint Lazarus in Southern Italy dates to the
donation of land holdings made by the nobleman Lazaro di Raimo in 1228 with the
approval of Frederick II. This donation allowed for the establishment of the magister infirmorum Ecclesiae S. Lazari, quae east foris hanc Capuanam Cibitatem in the
southern Italian town of Capua, eventually becoming the Commanderie de Capua.
This initial donation was followed by other donations in Sicily, Calabria, Vallegratis,
Apulia, and Terra Laboris.
The Church and the Hospital of St Lazarus in Capua were founded "extra
moenia" by Lazaro di Raimo, a Capuan nobleman, on the 2nd March 1228 during the
reign of Emperor Frederick II. This contract, extant as a transcription in the Notarial
Registers of Capua, was witnessed by Pier della Vigna who according to Dante
"ambo le chiavi del cor di Federico". This act of donation defines the aims of the
Order of St Lazarus with its knightly attributes, its investiture regulations, and its
charitable duties. 1
"In nomine Salvatoris Christi anno MCCXXVIII. Regnante Imperatore Federico, die
2 mensiis Martii. Io Giovanne Curiale sono stato pregato per parte dell'onesto huomo, e nobile Lazaro di Raimo , gentiluomo della città di Capua, presente Pietro
delle Bigne Giudice a contratto, come l'honesto huomo Lazaro di Raimo have fonnato una Cappella nominata Santo Labaro, la quale detta Cappella, ut supra, detto
fondatore l'have fatta consacrare per il Reverendissimo Vescovo di Nocera Valerio
Ursino, et in detto Altare di detta Cappella, ut supra, ci è la reliquia di S. Stefano, e di
S. Raimo, e delle reliquie di S. Paolo, et l'honesto huomo ut supra l'have dotata di
docati ducento cinquanta l'anno sopra molte case dentro di Capua, et vole detto
Fondatore, che detta cappella sia commenda di S. Labaro, et allo Spidale che ci sia
lo Priore con tre Commendatori colla Croce Verde, e abbiano docati ducento l'anno,
1.
Museo Campano di Capua. Santuario di San Lazzaro in Capua http://
www.verginedegliultimitempi.com/lazzaro.raimo.htm (accessed 3rd June 2005).
By 1273, five lepers were being tended by at this hospital.
3
et li cinquanta docati siano dello Spidale delli poveri Lazzarosi, quale detto Spidale
sta iusta con la Cappella. Item detto Fondatore, ut supra vole, che detti Commendatori, e Priori siano gentiluomini approbati de legitimo matrimonio et abbiano l'entrata di detta Cappella et detti Commendatori nobili habbiano a pigliare l'Ordine di
S.Pietro il primo el secondo, et siano fatti Cavalieri in arme da Re o reali. Et l'Arcivescovo di Capua debbia dire la Messa Pontificale presente quello, che si vole fare
cavaliere di S. Labaro, et detto Cavaliero se vole mettere a piedi l'Altare, come ha
fenito la Messa si stenna in terra con un panno negro lungo, il quale si deve dire
l'Ufficio doppio, ed ordinato dei morti. Come è fenito detto Ufficio il Reverendissimo
Arcivescovo fa levar suso detto Commendatore, e li metta la Croce Verde con trionfi,
e suoni, e il detto Arcivescovo debbia aprire il Messale, et detto Cavaliere debbia far
giuramento di osservare castità, et obbedienza, et favorire li poveri gentiluomini, et
donne vedove, et favorire li lazzaruti, et andare contro l'Infedeli, et detto Commendatore di S. Lazaro è tenuto di dire cento Pater Noster et Ave Maria, et comunicarsi
tutte le Pasche et feste delli Apostoli. Item detto Fondatore vole, che quando è la
festa di S. Labaro ci siano le Vespere, e messa solenne, et detto Priore è tenuto al
primo di Raimo un pesce d'un rotolo, e quando la Candelora detto Priore è tenuto
dare una cannela di cira d'una libra al primo di casa di Raimo, e dell'herediscennenti. Scritto per mano di me notaro Giovanne Curiale, ersottoscritti testimoni, et signo
signavi.
Locus + Sigilli
Io Pietro delle Bigne Giodice a contratto, il quale sono stato nominato ut sopra.
Io Nicola Boffa sono testimonio.
Io Basilio Longo sono testimonio.
Ego Thomasius De Capua testis sum.
Hospital at Capua: 18th century elevation plan
4
Before this donation, there does not appear to be any documentary evidence
for leper-houses in southern Italy, even though archaeological evidence confirms
the presence of leprosy in early medieval Europe. The Byzantine legislation promulgated by Emperor Justinian - Corpus Juris Civilis (529 AD) – failed to make specific
reference to leprosy; but sufferers may have been considered persons subject to a
perpetual malady and thus bound by the legal title: “Persons who are of unsound
mind, or who are deaf, mute, or subject to any perpetual malady, since they are
unable to manage their own affairs, must be placed under curators”.2 In contrast,
the early 7th century code of laws promulgated by the Lombard King Rothari make
specific reference to the status of leprosy sufferers: “176. On Lepers. If anyone is
afflicted with leprosy and the truth of the matter is recognized by the judge or by
the people and the leper is expelled from the district or from his house so that he
lives alone, he shall not have the right to alienate his property or give it to anyone.
Because on the day that he is expelled from his home, it is as if he died. Nevertheless, while he lives he should be nourished on the income from that which remains…… 180. Concerning the girl who becomes a leper after her betrothal. If it
happens that after a girl or woman has been betrothed she becomes leprous or mad
or blind in both eyes, then her betrothed husband shall receive back his property
and he shall not be required to take her to wife against his will. And he shall not be
guilty in this event because it did not occur on account of his neglect but on account
of her weighty sins and resulting illness”. 3
Leprosy was thus looked upon as the victim’s own fault and it was customary to
expel him/her from the community. Similarly, Islamic society also looked at leprosy
as a punishment by God for immorality, and the Maliki law allowed either partner
to dissolve a marriage on account of leprosy.4 In a hadith (traditions of the Prophet
Muhammad) the Prophet is reported as saying: "wa-firr min al-majdhumin kama
tafirru min al-asad" (Flee from the leper as you flee from the lion). In another hadith we find the Prophet unwilling to meet a leper who, when calling on him to
pledge his bay'a (oath of allegiance), was asked to stay away and was told his bay'a
was accepted. A document signed by Abu al-Tahir in the 13th century Geniza
2
O.J. Thatcher (ed.): The Library of Original Source. Vol. III: The Roman World.
University Research Extension Co., Milwaukee, 1907, p.100-166. (Scanned in and
modernized by J.S. Arkenberg. Source: the Internet Medieval Source Book)
3
P. Skimmer: Health & Medicine in Early Medieval Southern Italy. Brill, Netherlands, 1997, p.59-61, 77. The Lombards expanded southwards during the 8th century pushing the Byzantines down into the southern tips of Apulia and Calabria,
isolated outposts on the Tyrrhenian coast around Naples, and the island of Sicily.
4
P. Skimmer, 1997: op. cit., p.61. Sicily was under Moslem control during the 9th mid-11th centuries.
5
writings states: “In the name of God the Compassionate, the merciful. Those who
set their hand hereto and have fully declared their names, among those men in positions of trust whose word in their attestations is accepted, hereby attest that they
attended Ibrahim al-Yahudi, who has been affected by such black bile as has caused
him to develop leprosy, and that fact is such that it debars him from mixing freely
with the Muslims and from earning his living. Having ascertained the truth of the
matter by their having attended and established an accurate diagnosis of his illness,
and, having been requested to issue an attestation of their finding, they have complied with the request, such attestation being issued on the first day of Rabi` alAkhir of the year six hundred and sixty [23 February AD 1262]. Testimony: I attended the above named and The Am-in All ... in him, which is his found him to be suffering from illness leprosy. He may not mix freely with the Muslims because that condition is a transmissible and communicable disease. Signed by Abu al-Tahir b. alHusayn.5
The mid-11th century was to see the Latin culture return to Sicily, initially with
the Norman expansion but becoming more entrenched with the expulsion of all
Muslims by Emperor Frederick II in about 1249. In 1231, Frederick II (King of Sicily
1198-1250) formulated a set of legal constitutions – the Liber Augustalis – covering
various aspects of civil life. These extensive regulations failed to make any specific
reference to leprosy , even though earlier in 1228 Frederick II had allowed the Order of St Lazarus to set up its Priory and leprosarum in Southern Italy. 6
The main focus of land ownership of the Order of St Lazarus in southern Italy
was in Puglia, and particularly around Barletta which had a St Lazarus quarter of
the town and was a major port of embarkation for Eastern expeditions. The hospital at Capua had churches at Barletta and Foggia, the latter eventually becoming a
preceptory. Ancient documentation suggests that the hospital at Capua was situated about a third of a mile from the city along the road that led from the Casale of S.
Maria Maggiore. An inscription commemorating Lazaro di Raimo as the founder of
the hospital was to be found at the entrance. Further donations made to the Order
by 1266 included the leprosarium of St Agatha in Messina. The establishment of
the Saint Lazarus of Barletta (diocese of Trani) has left few documentary traces.
5
Ms. T-S NS 327.51: Geniza writings, Cambridge University Library
J.M. Powell: The Liber Augustalis or Constitutions of Melfi, Promulgated by the
Emperor Frederick II for the Kingdom of Sicily in 1231. University Press, Syracuse,
1971
6
6
There is mention of a church during the Crusader Period, formerly known as "Saint
Lazarus of the lepers", along the shores of the Adriatic Sea. In 1232, a "village of
Saint-Lazare" is mentioned for the first time in a text. We eventually find evidence
in 1295 that the inhabitants of this village were required to pay an annual rent to
the church. Barletta in southern Italy was a very important outpost on the Adriatic
coast linking the Order in Europe to the Holy Land. May other Crusader Orders has
similar outposts in the harbour town.
Map of Barletta
Remains of Church at Barletta
St John of the Lepers, Palermo
During 1268-1272, Charles I of Anjou adopted Pope Clement IV’s bull of
August 1265 and ordered that all the leprosaria in his domains were to be
placed under the protection and government of the Order of St Lazarus. He
further proposed the confinement, by force if necessary, of all lepers in the
Lazarite houses, and the donation of all their property to the Order – the latter
7
suggestion was violently resisted by the sufferers’ families. The Order’s lazaretto was expanded to meet with the increase in inmates brought on by this
edict. 7 By the end of the fifteenth century, the regional miles Capuanus generalis magister hospitalis Sancti Lazari in regno Sicilie, 8 generally but not invariably a member of the de Azzia family, was overall responsible for the management of a number of institutions. These included the original institution at
Capua, hospitals in Teano and Barletta, and churches in San Lorenzo in Carminiano and in Foggia. On the island of Sicily, the property holdings of the
Order of Saint Lazarus included the church in S. Catherine, and the hospitals
of S. John of the Lepers in Palermo and of S. Agatha in Messina.
De Raimo Family Arms
De Azzia Family Arms
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Angelus de Raimo (?) (1228)
Alfonso de Azzia (1327)
Simon de Aqua Mundula (1329)
Santiago de Azzia (1347)
Guillermo (1366)
Santiago de Benuto (1426-1440)
Giacomo del Balzo (1460)
Santiago de Azzia (1468-1498)
Santiago Antonio de Azzia (14981522)
 Alfonso de Azzia (1522-1548)
 Muzzio d’Azzia (1548-1564)
 Giannotto Castiglione (1565-1571)
Castiglione Family Arms 9
7
Bullae Papae Clement IV: Venerabilibus Fratribus nostris.... dated 5th August
1265. In: Laerzio Cherubini, Angelo Maria Cherubino. Magnum bullarium
romanum, a B. Leone Magno vsque ad S.D.N. Innocentium X. P. Borde, L. Arnaud
& C.I. Rigaud, Lyon, 1655, vol.1, p. 165
8
Frédéric I Dei gratia res Sicilie, Hierusalem et certera. Ilustrissimo et carissimo
filio primogenitor Ferdinando de Aragona, duci Calabries. …. dated 1501. Transcribed in: R. Hyacinthe. L'Ordre de Saint-Lazare de Jérusalem au Moyen Age.
Études & Communication Édition, Bez-et-Esparon, 2003, Doc. xv, p.218-219
9
Coat-of-arms as depicted in: http://www.houseofnames.com/ Internet webpage
accessed 26th June 2006
8
The administrative turmoil engendered by the 1489 Bull Cum solerti promulgated by Innocent VII, whereby all the holdings of the Order of Saint Lazarus were
transferred to the Order of Saint John 10, was reversed by the 1517 Bull promulgated by Leo X which re-established the Domus sancti Lazari Capuam eiusdem Ordinic
Santi Augustini ut Panormitanum and granting the Master General responsibility for
the Hospital of St John of Leprosy in Palermo and the Hospital of St Agatha in Messina.11 The administrative structure of the Southern Italian - Sicilian Lazarite holdings apparently remained under the overall umbrella of the French mother house.
The primacy of the French house in managing the Order of Saint Lazarus was
acknowledged by the papal appointment in 1519 of Claude de Mareuil as magistro
generali militia Sancti Lazari Jerosolmitani, and the 1547 decision of the legal case
instituted against the Order of Saint John in France’s highest court—the Parliament
of Paris. These quarantine regulations persisted well until 1525 when an edict
promulgated by Charles V ensured that any confiscated goods belonging to lepers
were to be passed on to the State. Andrea Carafa Count of S. Severina, Viceroy of
the Charles V directed "che detti officiali avea da andare a ricuperare molte robe
per lo Regno di persone infette di lebra, ed ancora di averne per lor morte, in vigor
dei suoi privilegi et bolle de Summi Pontifici".12 The Order definitely managed vineyards in the Apulia region in Southern Italy. In 1554, the Master General at Boigni
Jean le Conte is recorded as leasing out to a Calabrian knight all the land, vineyards,
fields and other property belonging to the Order in the territory of Suessano in the
Puglia region. The Apulia region is particularly renowned for its viticulture and
boasts a number of regional grapes including the red grape varieties Negroamaro,
Primitivo, Nero di Troia, Aglianico, Montepulciano and Malvasia Nero. 13
10
Bullae Papae Innocent VIII. Bull Cum solerti meditatione pensamus dated 5th
April 1489. Transcribed in R. Hyacinthe, 2003, op. cit, Doc. xiv, p.215-218
11
“dictumque Hospitale capuanum adversus suppressiones et extinctiones per
Innocentium VIII etiam praedecessorem nostrum factas reposuerat et reintegraverat, ac Magistero generali eiusdem Hospitalis, seu Domus sancti Lazari Capuam
eiusdem Ordinis Santi Augustini ut Panormitanum". Museo Campano di Capua.
Santuario di San Lazzaro in Capua http://www.verginedegliultimitempi.com/
lazzaro.raimo.htm (accessed 3rd June 2005)
12
Museo Campano di Capua. Santuario di San Lazzaro in Capua http://
www.verginedegliultimitempi.com/lazzaro.raimo.htm (accessed 3rd June 2005)
13
P.E.G. de Sibert (1772). Histoire des Ordres Royaux, Hospitaliers-Militaires de
Notre-Dame du Mont-Carmel, et de Saint-Lazare de Jerusalem. Paris: Royal Press.
9
However with the Ottoman forces poised to launch an invasion in southern Italy
and the Order of Saint John besieged in Malta, Pius IV opted with the Bull Inter assiduas of 15th June 1565 to strengthen the Priory of Capua by appointing its prior
Giannotto Castiglione as the Master-General of the Hospital and Militia of Saint
Lazarus giving him the authority to defend the territories against incursions by Piratarum et infedelium Christianae Religionis. This gave primacy to the Priory of Capua, but allowed for the eventual election of the grand master and to “transfer the
principal seat of this military to whatever place, even maritime, seems best to this
same master and assembly, and as often as it should please them”. Numerous new
privileges were granted along with revised Statutes and reforms made of the habit
and the cross.14 This Bull attempted to restore the properties situated in England,
Spain and Flanders to the Order, a move contested by King Philip II of Spain.
The new Master-General, Giannotto Castiglione (Jeannot de Castillon), took
such little interest in his new responsibility that he attempted to sell the Order,
along with the two hundred knights and its possessions, to the Knights Hospitaller,
but they refused as his price was too high, whereupon he entered into negotiations
with the Duke of Savoy. Before any action could be taken the Pope died and was
succeeded by (St) Pius V who, in Sicuti bonus Agricola of the 7th February 1567,
revoked the passages of the Bull concerning the properties in England, Castella, the
realms of Legio and Valencia, and in the principate of Catalonia and the county of
Flanders to which the Spanish King had previously objected and many of the other
privileges granted by his predecessor. Nonetheless he did confirm much of the Order's history and the titles of Master-General of the Prior at Capua. He did not submit to the Spanish King's demands to suppress the Order of St Lazarus altogether.
The financial situation of the Order had deteriorated to the extent that the lepers were reduced to begging the streets to procure a living. This provoked a petition from the city officials directed to the Master-General of the Order.
"Illustrissimo e Reverendissimo Signore, Li poveri leprosi di questo ospedale nostro
di S. Labaro, per uno memoriale presentatone si lamentano di esserne maltratti
d'ogni cosa pertinente al vivere, e governo loro, si perché l'è proibita la cerca per il
contorno, come ancora per non assistere qui la persona di V.S. Reverendissima
come è stato sempre solito de' suoi predecessori, li quali ogni volta, che han visto li
14
Bullae Papae Pius IV: Interassidua Dominici.... dated 4th May 1565, In: Laerzio
Cherubini, Angelo Maria Cherubino. Magnum bullarium romanum, a Pio Quarto
10
poveri di detto ospedale in necessità, non solo l'han sovvenuti con l'entrate della
Mensa Magistrale, ma ancora con le proprie facoltà loro, dal che avendo avuto a
noi ricorso n'ha parso ragionevole tenere avvisata V.S. Reverendissima, e dirle, supplicandola, che voglia avere qualche riguardo a tanta necessità di costoro, ed ordinar, che dell'entrate di questo pio loco se ne dia qualche particella a detti poveri,
poiché ne soggiungono che ogni dì ricorrono dagli altri luoghi altri ammalati leprosi
per essere stato ed essere detto ospedale Metropoli di tutta la Religione. Dall'altro
canto conviene anche a noi esortarla e pregarla, come facemo con la presente, che
voglia restar contenta seguir li vestigi de' suoi predecessori Gran Maestri, che così
come quelli hanno fatto qui sempre personal residenza, la Reverendissima faccia
altresì poiché questo ospitale fu sempre ed è a capo della sua Religione, da poiché
per disgrazia della Cristiana Religione la sede principale quale era in Hierusalem
pervenne in mano dell'Infedeli. E quando per alcun suo giusto impedimento non
potesse con la persona sua venire per assistere qui, com' è il dovere, potrà commettere l'autoritè sua a qualche persona di qualità, a chi meglio potrà considerare,
si perché si mantenghi perpetuamente la dignità d'una tanta Religione in questo
Regno in servizio della Maestà Cattolica del Re Nostro Signore, come ancora per
aver cura de' tanti ospedali, che sono in esso Regno, e non solo per questo, ma eziandio per ministrar giustizia a dei sudditi suoi ed ad altri che haranno contro di
quelli causa di declamazione, perché da questa assentia e lontananza sua si causa il
mal governo degli ospetali e delli poveri che vi sono, la prontezza, la contagione
nelle città e luoghi dove conversano leprosi la negligenza ed il delinquire ed il mancamento del servitio del culto divino delle chiese e la rovina delle esse chiese e loro
ospetali, non senz'offesa della coscienza sua massime che li leprosi secondo intendemo ogni dì crescono al contorno e van dispersi per esserne discacciati dalli luoghi
abitati e non trovano luoco dove ricettarli. V.S. Reverendissima dunque la facci da
generoso cavaliere come gli è conforme alla bona relazione, che ne habbiamo, che
oltre che deve farlo di ragione e pertante giuste ragioni già dette, lo deve fare parimenti per favorir noi e questa città, dove per fama universalmente e particolarmente è amata e riverita, e baciandole la mano; preghiamo Nostro Signore Iddio che la
sua illustrissima persona facci felice come desidera. Di Capua 18 agosto 1567".
The Master-General Giannetto Castiglione stationed in Rome responded: "Molto
illustri signori, alla carta delle S.V. si risponde certificandole che infinitamente da noi
è stato desiderato quello che da voi ne viene scritto, Fandoli sicuri che a tutte provisioni necessarie tanto di cavalieri come di ospetali si faranno le debite provisioni e
sobvenzioni, al che molto tempo fa noi provisto saria se non ci avesse ostato la so11
spensione con i tempi proibiti; non di meno alla prima rinfrescata si provvederà al
tutto con inviarnose persone a ciò deputate. Ne lascerò di ringraziare la S.V. della
loro bona mente ed amorevolezza assicurandoli che me harranno all'incontro
amorevolissimo e corrispondente ad ogni servizio di tutte le S.V. illustri per le quali
sarà pregato Iddio Nostro Signore a prestarli per sempre felice esaltazione con stato
di quiete. Da Roma 28 agosto 1567". 15
After the Battle of Lepanto, on the 13th November
1572, the new Pope Gregory XIII’s Bull Pro Commissa
Nobis envisaged the union of the Order of St Lazarus
with the recently founded Savoyan Order of St Maurice.16 Emmanuelle Filiberto Duke of Savoy, in a Chapter General held in Nice in 1573, assumed the hereditary title of Grandmaster of the Order of Sts Maurice
and Lazarus (Totius Religionis et Militiae Sanctorum
Mauritii et Lazari, Bethleem, Nazareth, Hierosolymitani, Ordini Sancto Augustini, Conventium;
Hospitalium; domorum, praeceptorium atque priorum
locorum omnium citra et ultra mare, cis et trans Alpes,
per universum Orbem, Humilis et Generalis Magnus
Magister); and was given authority over all the vacant
commanderies of the Order of St Lazarus. 17 In response to the awarding of the vacant commanderies in the Spanish dominion to the Order, King Philip II of Spain
forbade the wearing of the Order's habit within his territories. This prohibition was
reinforced by Philip V in 1707.
15
Museo Campano di Capua. Santuario di San Lazzaro in Capua http://
www.verginedegliultimitempi.com/lazzaro.raimo.htm (accessed 3rd June 2005)
16
The original Order of St Maurice was founded in 1434 by Amadeus VIII, Duke of
Savoy. This was however not a military Order and practically ceased to exist when
Amadeus became Pope Felix V in 1439. The Savoyard Order of St Maurice was
established in 1572 for protection against the Calvinists of Geneva. Bulla Gregorii
Papae XIII: Institutionis Militae, ac Religionis Sancti Mauritii in Emanuelem Philibertum Ducem Sabaudiae, successoresques suos, facta collatio
17
Bulla Gregorii Papae XIII: Qua Militia Hospitalis Sancti Lazari Hierosolymitani
Religioni Sancti Mauritii unitur, ac annectitur. These excluded those commanderies in the states of the King of Spain, which included the greater part of Italy. The
commanderies in England had been lost in 1544 after the Order was suppressed
there by King Henry VIII. The commanderies in Germany had been transferred to
the Order of St John after the publication of the papal bull Cum solerti of 1489.
12
The badge of the combined Order included the white cross of St
Maurice resting on the green cross of St Lazarus suspended from a
dark green ribbon. 18
Pope Gregory XIII’s Bull was confirmed by another Bull Decet
Romanum Pontificem of Pope Clement VIII of 9th September 1603.
These latter Bulls were strongly contested by the French knights
who maintained their own management structure with Royal approval and support in conformity with the 1516 Concordat of Bologna destined
originally to regulate the relations between the French King and the Holy See. The
French insistence was poorly received by the papacy. Clement VIII in 1603 published a Bull confirming Pope Gregory XIII’s 1572 Bull. The impasse was eventually
solved by the creation with papal approval in 1608 of a new French Order – Order
of Our Lady of Mount Carmel – and the amalgamation of this to the Order of Saint
Lazarus in France under pontifical jurisdiction and royal protection.
The original property of the Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem in Southern Italy
and Sicily was however retained by the Savoyan Order of Sts. Maurice and Lazarus
under the Grand Mastership of the Duke of Savoy. These holdings were augmented
by benefices donated through a 1604 Papal Bull which conceded twenty-four benefices, to be called Commanderies, to the Order. Further benefices were obtained
during the 18th century. In return for these Papal privileges, the Grandmaster was
required to maintain two trireme galleys to defend the Church and, in 1573, he duly
endowed the Order with 15,000 scudi raised on several of his personal estates and
properties. The Grandmaster of the new Order was given the right to invest those
knights of St Lazarus who were prepared to submit to his obedience with the habit
and cross of the new Order, thereby furnishing the Order with two hundred potential candidates for admission. By letters patent of the 13th and 25th October 1575,
the Duke of Savoy declared the patrimony of the Order separate from the Duchy
estates, a separation which was maintained until 1946. The Order’s holdings were
augmented by benefices donated through the Papal Bull Superna dispositione of
the 15th June 1604 when twenty-four benefices, to be called Commanderies, were
conceded to the Order. The Order in 1750 acquired the Abbey of Staffarda with one
thousand three hundred and eighty-six hectares; in 1752 the benefices attached to
the Prebendary of San Michele and San Bernardino of Aosta; in 1758 the peninsula
of S. Antioco in the south-west of the island of Sardinia granted by Charles Emmanuel III; in 1776 the benefices of the defunct Order of St Anthony of Vienne situated
18
J.L. Gottfried: Archontologia cosmica, sive imperiorum, regnorum, principatuum,
rerumque publicarum omnium per totum terrarum orbem commentarii luculentissimi. Francofurti ad Moenum, Jennisius, 1628, Book III, p.2.
13
in Savoy; besides other properties across Northern Italy. 19 The Dukes of Savoy who
served as Grandmasters of the Order of Sts Maurice and Lazarus included:-
Family arms of
the Duke of
Savoy
 Emanuele Filiberto (1573-1580)
 Carlo Emanuele I (1580-1630)
 Vittorio Amedeo I (1630-1637) – Titular King of Cyprus &
Jerusalem
 Francesco Giacinto (1637-1638)
 Carlo Emanuele II (1638-1675)
 Vittorio Amedeo II (1675 – 1730) - King of Sardinia 17201730
 Carlo Emanuele III - King of Sardinia (1730-1773)
 Vittorio Amedeo III - King of Sardinia (1773-1796)
 Carlo Emanuele IV - King of Sardinia (1796-1802)
 Vittorio Emanuele I - King of Sardinia (1802-1821)
 Carlo Felice - King of Sardinia (1821-1831)
 Carlo Alberto - King of Piedmonte-Sardinia (1831-1849)
 Vittorio Emanuele II - King of Sardinia (1849-61) of Italy
(1861-78)
 Umberto I - King of Italy (1878-1900)
 Vittorio Emanuele III - King of Italy (1900-1946)
 Umberto II (1946-1983) – King of Italy (May – June 1946)
 Vittorio Emanuele IV - Duke of Savoy (1983 et sec).
The united Order had for its objectives the care of lepers and the sick, maintaining hospitals in Turin (founded in 1573), Aosta (founded 1773), Valenza (founded
1776), Lanzo (founded 1769) and Lucerne. It also contributed in the warfare against
the infidels, its galleys taking part in several expeditions against the Turks and Barbary Corsairs. The ships of the Order of Sts Maurice and Lazarus flew its own flag
and the flag of Savoy. The flag of the combined Order was composed of the white
cross botony of St Maurice superimposed on the green double-pointed cross of St
Lazarus, displayed in saltire, on a red background. Initially the green cross of St Lazarus was the larger one, but this was subsequently reversed. By the 18th century,
both crosses were the same size. Until 1861, the flag continued to be flown on the
foremast of ships of the Kingdom of Sardinia.20
19
G. Stair Sainty: The Order of Saint Maurice and Saint Lazarus. Internet page:
http://www.chivalricorders.org/orders/italian/maurice.htm (accessed 30th May
2005)
20
A. Ziggioto: Flags of Italy Part III: From the County of Savoy to the Kingdom of
Italy (1217-1861). FB Vol. VII No. 3 Summer 1968
14
By the end of the 18th century, the Order had lost its military character. The Napoleonic administration, by a law of the Piedmontese Council of 21st August 1800,
confiscated the mainland benefices of the Order (excluding those in Sardinia, which
remained under the rule of the Duke of Savoy as King). To avoid alienating the nobility, the Commanderies giuspatronato were returned to the families who had
endowed them. On 9th February 1801 the newly appointed Republican Commission
suppressed the Hospital in Turin, leaving the Order in mainland Italy without properties or purpose. Following the fall of the Bonapartist regime, King Victor Emmanuel I concentrated first on recovering all the Order's benefices and Commanderies.
Then, by Royal Magistral letters patent of 27th December 1816, he proposed a new,
revised body of Statutes for the Order, slightly modifying the requirements for entry into the two classes but confirming the requirement for marital chastity on the
part of the professed knights, humble and faithful obedience to the Grandmaster,
and the practice of charitable and hospitaller works, particularly for the relief of
leprosy. The statutes were modified again by Carlo Alberto I, in Magistral letters
patent of 9th December 1831, laicizing the Order and abolishing the internal legal
jurisdiction that had been established by the first Grandmaster. A further reform of
19th July 1839 introduced the Maurizian Medal for military service - however recipients did not become members of the Order. It continued to be conferred by the
King of Italy for distinguished services, especially those of a charitable nature, while
the income of the Order was devoted entirely to charity. After the fall of monarchy,
the Italian Government in 1952 retained the Order as an "Ente Morale" under the
High Patronage of the President of the Republic. 21
The original Papal brief for the Order of our Lady of Mount Carmel, which was
the junior order to the order of Saint Lazarus, limited the admission to the Order to
“chosen noblemen and freeborn men of the Gallic nation”. 22 This edict prohibited
the admission of foreign-born non-French individuals who could be considered
meritous for admission. In 1620, the Cardinal of Ursins supported the candidature
21
E.J. King: The Knights Hospitallers in the Holy Land. Methuen, London, 1931,
p.304-305; D. Marcombe: Leper Knights. The Order of St Lazarus of Jerusalem in
England, 1150-1544. Boydell Press, Woodbridge (UK), 2003, p.15-17; An English
Translation of the Fundamental Consitution of the Order, as promulgated by the
44th Grandmaster, the Duke of Seville, in 1948. MHOSLJ, Malta, 1972, p.11; G. Stair
Sainty [Internet page]: op. cit. (accessed 30th May 2005)
22
Paul V (1608). Romanus Pontifex cuius Principatum …… dated 16th/26 th February 1608. In: L. Cherubini & A.M. Cherubino (1655). Magnum bullarium romanum,
a Clemente VII vsque ad Gregorium XV (vol.3, p.228-230). Lyon: P. Borde, L. Arnaud
& C.I. Rigaud.
15
for admission of the Roman gentleman Ottavio Archilei. In 1624, Pope Urban VII
further sent a warrant to the Grand Master requesting the admission of two Italian
gentlemen from Spoleto [Barthelemy Balagny Montluc ad.1624; N. Gorlanzoni
ad.1624]. 23 This admission initiated the process whereby foreign individuals could
also be admitted to the Order. These included further gentlemen from Italy
[Dominique-Françoise Philippe de Seroni Lord of Saint-Andre ad.1676; Paul Comte
de Sergio ad.1696; Jean-Baptiste de Roncony ad.1697; Gaspard Chiappini ad.1702;
Joseph Comte d’Avernois ad.1710; Andre-Philippe-Jacques Azurini-Conti ad.1711;
François de Pitera Comte de Marinis ad.1721; Aurelio de Pitera ad.1721; JeanAntoine Coltrolini ad.1723], and Genoa [Claude-Dominique de Bocardo ad.1697;
Nicolas-Marie de Marazzy ad.1704; Jean-Baptiste Germain ad.1707; Jean-Antione
Germain ad.1707; Jérome Germain ad.1708]. 24
After the drive to expand and internationalize initiated in the early decades of
the 20th century, the French Order is also known to have admitted members during
the early 20th century including Chevalier Angelo Amoroso vice-Consul of the Republic of Columbia at Bari, H.E. Count Tranquillo Bianchi Castellazi Italian Consul at
Malaga [ad. 1938], and Chev. Césario d’Erme di Sciorno secretary general of the
Italian Consulate at Malaga [ad. 1938].25 However attempts to establish a national
jurisdiction on the Italian peninsula were only undertaken in 1965 with the establishment of a Perpetual Commandery of the Order sited at the Abbey General of
the Catholic Armenian Meckhitarist Monks sited on the island of Saint Lazarus in
Venice with the Ecclesiastical Commander being H.E. Rev. Mons. Sarapion Oulouhagian, Archibishop of Cherson and Abbot General of the Monks of the Order of
Meckhitar. 26
A formal national jurisdiction was organized in the 1970s by the two obediences
of the Order. The Paris Obedience in 1972 authorized Mons. Klaus Evologios Orthodox Bishop of Lombardia to form the Confraternita di San Lazzaro. On the 20 th September 1981, the circa 20 members of this confraternity joined the Paris Obedi23
de Langle H.M. & de Tréourret de Kerstrat J.L. (1992). Les Ordres de Saint Lazare
de Jerusalem & De Notre Dame du Mont Carmel aux XVIIe et XVIIIe siecles. Paris :
Publications LMTK., p.102-103; De Sibert (1772), op. cit., p. p.395-396.
24
De Langle & Treourret de Krestrat (1992), ibid.
25
La Vie Chevalersque, January-April 1937, 15/16:p.129; December 1938,
21/22:p.81
26
Commanderie Perpetuelle de l’Ile Saint Lazare de Venise. The Green Cross, 1
(3/4):p.23-24
27
The Priory of Italy. Report on the Grand Magistral Council held in Edinburgh,
Scotland, 23rd-24th June 1980. MHOSLJ, Malta, 1981, p.31
16
ence of the Order. The head of the Grand Priory of Italy of the Paris Obedience appointed on the 25th June 1982 was Duca Carlo Domenico Noia di Monte Arará with
Barone Romano Fanigliulo acting as Prior of the Grand Priory [Paris].
In 1975, the Grand Master of the Malta Obedience S.A.R. Don Francesco Enrique
de Borbon y de Borbon commissioned Duke Luigi Carminati di Brembilla to set up
and organize a national jurisdiction in Italy. This was set up in February 1979 as the
Commandery of Northern Italy under headship of Chev. M. Grego who had been
admitted a knight of the Order in February 1978. In February 1980, the status of the
jurisdiction was elevated to that of Priory of Italy. The new Priory numbered about
ten knights. Within that year, the jurisdiction’s membership was augmented to fifty
members, including the Bishop of Como. 28 By 1982, the jurisdiction had been elevated to a Grand Priory under the direction of Marchese Don. L. Carminati di Brembilla. 29 The membership of the Grand Priory [Malta] slowly increased reaching
about 100 in 1988 and increasing to 250 in the subsequent two years.
Because of a management disagreement, the Paris Obedience Grand Prior Noia
was removed from his post on the 2nd January 1991 and replaced on the 26th July
1991 by Conte Aldo Giodano di San Martino. The new Grand Prior [Paris] approached the leadership of the Grand Priory of Italy [Malta] with a proposal for
unification under the overall management of the Paris Obedience. The serving
Grand Prior [Malta] Luigi Carminati without authorization in early September 1991
signed a Memorandum of Understanding to this effect. This was unacceptable to
the Grand Magistral Council of the Malta Obedience leading to the expulsion of
Carminati from the order on the 21st September 1991. The previous expelled Grand
Prior [Paris] Duca Carlo Noia di Monte Arará was approached with the proposal of
reorganizing the jurisdiction for the Malta Obedience.
The Grand Priory [Malta] was officially reconstituted on the 2nd January 1993
with Duca Noia as Grand Prior, Barone Romano Fanigliulo di Palazzo as Prior and
Duca Vittorio Galoppini di Carpenedolo as Chancellor [admitted 28/01/1984]. Within a year, the Grand Priory [Malta] increased its influence, while members of the
Grand Priory [Paris] transferred their allegiance. The jurisdiction was organized in
subjurisdictions: Commandery of Venice with the Commander being Chev. Prof.
28
The Priory of Italy. Report on the Grand Magistral Council held in Edinburgh,
Scotland, 23rd -24th June 1980. MHOSLJ, Malta, 1981, p.31
29
Report of the Magistral Council held in Helsinki, Finland 7th-8th September 1982.
MHOSLJ, Finland, 1983, p.6
32
Luigi Avonto. I Templari a Vercelli. MHOSLJ, Malta, 1977, p.28-31
17
Giuseppe Spampinato and the Commandery of Romagna with Commander being
Chev. Eugenio de Marco GCLJ [died Nov 2001]. 33 On the 20th August 1996, H.E. Cardinal Vincenzo Fagiolo GCLJ was nominated Spiritual Grand Prior for the jurisdiction
[died 22/09/2000]. 34 The Grand Priory further set out to conform with the National
fiscal legislation and established itself as a legally-constituted charitable institution
on the 27th September 1996 as the Associazione Italiana dei Cavalieri dell’Ordine di
San Lazzaro di Gerusaleme. 35
Following the death of Chev Noia ion the 29th May 1999, the previous Prior Romano Fanigliulo di Palazzo was appointed Grand Prior of Italy on the 6 th October
1999 during the Grand Magistral Meeting held in St. Pollten (Austria) [GM decree
16/1999]. 36 Under this new direction, the jurisdiction increased its membership to
about 600 members divided among a number of regional commanderies or delegations. After the death of H.E. Cardinal Fagiolo in September 2000, H.E. Archbishop
Mons. Antonio Magnoni was appointed in his stead. 37
During 1999, the Grand Priory of Italy as its main hospitaller mission undertook
to support the wounded of the Congo-Brazzaville conflict by helping the setting up
of a medical school in the region. During an armistice, a member of the jurisdiction
Fr. Fedele Bisceglia ChLJ succeeded in negotiating with the representatives of the
opposing fractions a promise of security for the construction work to proceed;
while the future school was recognized as a neutral area with the possibility to assist the wounded from both sides without fear of reprisals. In addition, the Grand
Priory had also supported the management of the Hospital of Saint Lazarus in the
Central African Republic, which hospital had been completed in 1998. 38 The serving
Hospitaller in 2002 was Chev. Rag. Giovanni Ferrara KLJ. 39
The expansion of the influence of Grand Priory of Italy within the management
structure of the International Order resulted in the jurisdiction acting as the host
for the Grand Magistral Council Meeting incorporating a meeting of the Supreme
Council and Heads of Jurisdictions held on the 24th-27th May 2001 in Riccione when
33
Saint Lazarus Newsletter, September 1994, 3:p.13; January 1995, 4:p.13; May
2002, 20:p.15
34
Saint Lazarus Newsletter, May 2001, 18:p.14
35
Constituzione di Associazione Benefica – Ripublica Italiana. Repertorio N. 28770
Raccolta N. 1696, Notario Dr Monica Barsotti, 27th September 1996.
36
Saint Lazarus Newsletter, May 2000, 16:p.3
37
Saint Lazarus Newsletter, November 2001, 19:p.6
38
Saint Lazarus Newsletter, May 2000, 16:p.13-14
39
Saint Lazarus Newsletter, May 2002, 20:p.15
18
the jurisdiction presented it newly formed volunteer corps –Corpo Nazionale Volontari Soccorso e Protezione Civil OSLJ – National Voluntary Corps for Aid and Civil
Protection OSLJ. During that event, the Grand Prior H.E. Chev Fanigliulo was awarded the 20-Years Meritous Service Decoration of the Order. A Video report named “I
Cavalieri di San Lazzaro” was transmitted by the private TV station SUPER 9. A
commemorative medal was issued for the occasion: Diameter: 33 mm circular; metal: bronze – large medal and miniature versions. Obverse: Centre shows the Arms
of Grand Priory of Italy circled by inscription reading ‘GRAND PRIORY OF ITALY *
OSLJ’; Reverse: Centre shows the eight-pointed cross with the words ‘GRAND MAGISTERIAL COUNCIL * 2001’; Ribbon: Striped (centrally out) – white – red –white –
green – white. 40
Riccone Commemorative Medal, 2001
Because of health reasons, the management of the Grand Priory was assumed
by the Grand Chancellor of the Order Chev. Reginald Attard helped by the Chancellor of the Grand Priory Chev Gallopini. The schisms which arose within the ranks of
both the Malta Obedience of the Order had severe consequences on the Grand
Priory of Italy. A proportion of the serving leadership of the jurisdiction, led by
Chev. Gallopioni, opted to join forces with the schismatic group led by Chev. Attard
with Chev. Gallopini assuming the leadership and being appointed in 2004 as Grand
Prior. The remaining loyal members were re-organized under the leadership of
40
C. Savona-Ventura. The Sigillography and Commemorative artifacts [medallions,
medals, stamps, plates] of the Order of Saint Lazarus. Office of the Grand Archivist
& Historian, MHOSLJ, Malta, 2014
19
Grand Prior Col. Dr. Basilio Viola with with Vatican Apostolic Nunzio Mons Antonio
Magnoni serving as Spiritual Grand Prior. 41 After the 2008 reunification of the Malta – Paris Obediences, the Italian members of both groups were brought under one
management.
Grand Prior Chev Col. Dr. Basilio Viola
2003 et sec
41
Il Bollettino dell’ Ordine di San Lazzaro di Gerusalemme. December 2004, p.15;
Curriculum Vitae Chev Basilio Viola: http://www.uniipus.ch/wp-content/
uploads/2013/05/basilio-viola-cv-ita1.pdf
20
FURTHER NOTES:
1. Northern Italy during the Medieval Period—In Vercelli in the Piedmonte region a domus infirmorum S. Lazari was established during the Middle Ages . Paragraph 356 of the Statuti Antichi di Vercelli dated 1241 establishes the time when the
lepers could come out. The 1341 general statutes further make provisions guardianship of this hospice and for the restoration of its houses “in quibus possint congruenter habitare dicti infirmi separate ab aliis personis”. The domus is also mentioned in the some donations made by pious donors and in the will of Cardinal Guala Bicchieri who mentions the collegio leprosorum S. Lazari sol. V. 42
42
Luigi Avonto. I Templari a Vercelli. MHOSLJ, Malta, 1977, p.28-31
21
22
23
Published by the Office of the Grand Archivist & Historian,
Torri ta’Lanzun, Malta © 2015
24