Drawings and archive documents of Hierosolomytan Castles in Southern Italy

Abstract

Starting from outcomes of the project Programma ARCHIMED - “Mapping of historical migration and preservation of their traces within the Mediterranean area” (MiBAC- ES, 2001) for “Archimed Programme. Action 3.2 – Central and Eastern Mediterranean” - where is a catalogue of fortified sites with 26 castles or towers and residences – to propose in this abstract a new aspects of archival research. In the archive fund “Cassa di Ammortizzazione. Cabrei, Ordine di Malta” (in Archives State of Naples) there are many news and important updates emerged respect to project indicated above. From inventory results dependency property of the Knights naturally connected to most important architectures in the territory that formed defensive system in Italian Tyrrhenian. There is a testimony of the massive presence in Southern Italy of the Knights of Malta in the modern age too. And in this context it’s important to remember that the Italian castles offer an ample and varied range of buildings both as regards the epoch in which they were founded and their subsequent transformations from Aragonese era to the Spanish Viceroy. As well as the changes made in adapting the buildings to new uses in the nineteenth century and in more recent times.