Longobards, Spinola, Visconti. Thus, between the 8th century and the year 1000, figures, armor, armies, good intentions, faith, abjurations, conquests roam the Italian peninsula.
Palaces and castles are erected, distinguished by coats of arms, with illuminated codices, the first magical pollen of the Holy Grail is breathed; the pain of existence diminishes with private singers, the logical premise of courtly love and chivalric literature. The world is strengthened in a scenario of weak strength and certainties. The Holy Sepulcher makes its call. The Saracens are concerned about the Near East and the closed sea of the Mediterranean. Desiderius, the last king of the Lombards, is already safe in the warmth of written history thanks to the sensitivity of Paolo Diacono. Citizens who, with the seal of history, move from the German mark to the Duchy of Spoleto and to that of Benevento.
Italy is extremely Lombard, there is no shortage of allies and precisely the ties with the extreme branches of the Lombards are strengthened. Valor will be determined instantly, a well-made fortress, a courage displayed on the walls or on the open sea, and here is the combination of the last Lombard chromosomes. So, here, in the dim light of history, names emerge that are still tenuous, which are barely a whisper, precisely that of Spinola, that of Visconti, that of Malocello. And it will be these families that will decree policies and guidelines not only in the regions in which they will become lords. In truth, they will also influence matters "outside the walls", with the Papacy, for example, and with the emperor. We have mentioned the Lombards, but there is a greater distance and, at least, according to Massimiliano Deza, a great evaluator of the 17th century, he even proposes Charlemagne as a stem cell of what will be created and that has been overlooked.
The rigor of Giustiniani and Deza (between the two there is little more than a century) is often exciting, and the surrender is a fresco more true than the truth, it can even often be news taken from an oral summary, perhaps heard under a portico or in a loggia. Even when notarial reports sprout, it seems that everything that has been said so far can finally count on solid foundations. They are those actors who support the architecture: the hand of the notary, the presence of the contractors, the act.
Visconti, Spinola, Malocello. What is known about them? And since when has their name been reflected in history? Let's enter slowly as survivors of a battle around the year 1000, when the smoke vanishes and, between lamentations, grimaces, despair, blood and unlimited anguish, pieces of life remain.
The official document is the one referable to the year 952. We are talking about the time of Otto I, King of Germany and Emperor of the West, who became King of Italy in 952 and was crowned in Pavia after having expelled Berengar. Wanting to reward his bravest captains, he extolled Guido (Guidone) of the Lords of the March, also called "The Great", to the government of the city of Genoa. He was the son of Adolfo and Altena. Adolfo was the first Count of the March. The brave Guido was assigned some fiefdoms in Lombardy. It is not secondary the fact that, in the end, he was appointed Viscount of Liguria, a circumstance confirmed by an Instrument of Bishop Teodolfo, precisely in that magical year 952. In such an Instrument, Guido is mentioned by his own name, followed by the title of Viscount, a title comparable in the future to that of Viceroy. This title will be considered for life. This Instrument is clear, accessible and appreciable in its original form.
But in the fateful year 952 it also reappears, in a work by Giovanni Cybo Recco, a scholar who lived in the 16th century and, therefore, turns out to be a second find compared to the main source, owned by Bishop Teodolfo. The work of Cybo Recco has its correct location and, specifically, the Manuscript of the University of Genoa, p. 15, facc. II. Let's see the story reconstructed by Cybo-Recco:
«Haec est illa clarissima familia Spinola quae ortum habuisse dicitur a Guidone Vicecomite, ut ex eorum arboribus antiquissimis in pergamena scriptis vidi. Vidique etiam in quodam antiquissimo libro scripto manu Matthaei de Santo Laurentio Notarii, anno 1265, extracto a propriis originalibus instrumentorum, et sententiarum omnium annuorum censuum abbatiae S. Syri ad instantiam Domini Matthaei de Placentia abbatis, ut idem Matthaeus de S. Laurentio testificatus fuit, quod anno noningentesimo quinquagesimo secundo a nativitate Jesu Dei nostri, tempore Teodulphi episcopi genuensis, quo in tempore regnabat Ottonus Italiae Rex, et primo anno sui regni, Episcopus ipse restitui fecit a quodam presbytero Sylvestro quamdam terram vineatam sitam inter ecclesiam Sancti Syri, et castelletum, dicto Abati S. Syri, et in confinia dedit vineam Idonis de Vicecomite usque in castello, signatumque erat, et est dictum instrumentum, sive laudum signatum manu dicti Teodulphi episcopi, sicut Baldi Archipresbyteri, et Iohannis de Cardine diaconi. A quo Idone atque Guidone, Spinulae ipsi dicunt originem trahere, ut in praedictis arboribus scriptum vidi, et a senibus intellexi. Ipsi enim Spinulae ajunt solum super quo jam constructum fuerat castelleti castrum, jure dominii sibi ipsis pertinere, ut ex pubblisis scriptis apparere dicunt. Dicunt etiam ipsum Guidonem plures habuisse filios, et in procopera, quod plures agros possedisse, ex quibus filiis fuere de illis qui vocari se fecerunt de carmendino, quia in haereditatem habuere agrum illum sive burgum vocatum carmendinum; pars autem aliorum filiorum vocati fuerunt maliaucelli, qua de re ignoratur, sed putandum est ab aliquo agnomine capta, ut antiquis temporibus utebatur; pars autem cognomen proprium de vicecomite retinuerunt, inter quos Obertus major natu filius dicti Guidonis, et ut Augustinus Iustinianus in sua Chronica scripsit, quod Obertus ipse anno 997 una cum Indone de Carmandino aedificari fecerunt ecclesiam Sanctae Mariae de Vineis. Ex dicto Oberto, vel potius meo judicio ex filiis suis, successit Belus de Vicecomite, qui ut in praenarratis arboribus vidi, filios duos habuit Guidonem et Obertum primos Spinulos vocatos; et ut idem Augustinus refert, quod nomen Spinulorum successit, quia opulenti erant in valle illa porcifera, et quando amici ad eos et agros suos accedebant, ut semper accepi a patribus nostris, mos genuensibus fuisse, sicut nunc est, ut amici propinquique hinc inde ad alterius domos in perhumanis congressionibus, conviviisque amicabiliter accedebant, et accedunt, ibique blandiendo in conviviis dicebant deprome de hac vel altera segete vini, quod vulgari nostro idiomate dicebant Spinola quella botte ex hac enim consuetudine dicunt, et communis opinio apud omnes hucusque perseveravit familiam ipsam hortum habuisse».
(…) “pars autem aliorum filiorum vocati fuerunt maliaucelli”. This phrase, apparently light, is imposed in Cybo Recco's text because it is full of meanings for the study we wanted to undertake here.
Germanic and Italian scenario: Otto I and Berengar facing each other. Regarding Berengar, we listen to Deza:
“Among them was the fiercest and most powerful, the Marquis Berengar, who about the years of our redemption, 945, with abuses and massacres, became so formidable to the world that Ugone, king of Italy, deemed it necessary to confederate with the Saracens to protect his States from the violence of such an atrocious enemy. However, the unjust fate of Berengar prevailed over the union of those forces, who, madly proud, took the name of Augustus, and in a short time became the master of most of Italy, as he so unjustly conquered it, and so cruelly governed it. With a proud Empire, and with an insatiable thirst for gold and blood, abandoning houses and looting churches, even after victory followed War, naively cruel and implacable both with subjects and with enemies”.
In this reconstruction, Deza mainly uses information learned and preserved by the Jesuit father Gabriele de Aranda in his work on the life of Cardinal Agostino Spinola, namely, Immortal memory in the life, virtues and heroic deeds of the Most Eminent Lord Cardinal D. Agustin Spinola, who died Archbishop of Seville. On the other hand, Deza has no doubts about the consolidated belief that the aforementioned Guido Visconte is the progenitor of many and very important families of Genoa. To attest to this, Deza adheres to the uniformity of the convictions of historians who investigate Genoese affairs, all agreeing in believing that Guido is the progenitor of so many noble lineages. The basis of his progress is also the document of Bishop Theobald of 952, in which, as we have already seen, he is named with his own name accompanied by the title of Viscount. But there is more: his thesis is based on an already definitive and unquestionable trace of a magistrate towards the end of the 16th century:
“…Because in 1596, the controversy arising over some of Spinola's dispensations regarding the Casa and the Banco di San Giorgio, in rigorous Judgment was where the magistrate recognized the Family Tree of said Family, with the Origin of the same Guido Visconte, and after a long and diligent examination in all its approved parts. From all this it follows that for eight centuries this family enjoyed in their homeland, not only the character of nobility, but with enormous possessions the first and supreme Degrees of the Republic” (…)
The results of that bipartisan conflict are always provided to us by Deza: "Otto, having disposed of the affairs of Italy, changed the registers of government and, without considering the Genoese privileges, confirmed not long before by Berengar himself, who wished to reward his most worthy captains, elevated Guido, Lord of the March, a faithful companion and fervent promoter of that society, to the government of that city; and beyond the fiefdoms, which he assigned to him in Lombardy, declared Viscount of Liguria, a Dignity newly attributed to the Counts, already established by Charlemagne, and for the course of one hundred years continued under the same name."
The ancestor Guido emerges from the magma of history, although his actions can only be recorded as slight, perhaps not even in the shadows. If this is true, it is equally true that no one can now doubt that he is the progenitor of those who will become the most important and influential families of the Age, whose traces are still visible on the current scene. Therefore, they were the evidence of his investiture as patriarch/founder. The opinion of historians is unanimous in considering him so and, moreover, his name appears with the title of Viscount in the famous Instrument of Bishop Theobald of the year 952, a document already mentioned.
The Carmeno in Val Polcevera. Fief, safe place, "Good retreat" for the brothers Oberto and Guido, respectively, first and second sons of Ido (Guidone) already identified at that time, recognized as heads of Visconti. Different moment for the other five younger brothers who "leaving the place of Carmeno, with their families, moved to Genoa". According to the clear opinion of Deza, these five brothers gave much shine and splendor to the city of Genoa.
It is natural that so much waste (architectures, new ripples of marble, almost one step away from heaven, the last decisive moment for a new aspect of the city) was accompanied by the smile of wise and humble people, scholars and all kinds of people from all over the world, always agitated against someone and something. More generally, what emerged during the life of these characters in Genoa was the disposition of the soul towards others, a feeling that was answered by affection and a protective breath. In this sense, the multitudes felt the solemn weight of a destiny upon them. Evidently, between the new architectures, the changed face of palaces and alleys and the new government structure, life seemed to have a more human rhythm. Facing the sea: the infinite trajectories towards the unknown.
So far, Deza's support, not only historical but also moral. At this point, it is almost our obligation to have to remember that the places mentioned above are nothing more than the setting, the original and safe canvas, the tapestry always intact for inveterate scholars, faithful step throughout the centuries of the branch of the Malocello family.
The son of Guidone (the third of seven children) was Adolfo, with whom the Malocello lineage begins. What do we know about him? From the first residence on Italian soil (the Norman-style castle of the place of Carmeno, built by the progenitor; that is, his father Guidone), he moved at the same time to Genoa, where all noble idealism could be carried out, also linked to the public life of that city. Excluding the firstborn Oberto and, probably, also the second, Guido, his other four brothers, that is, Corrado (who took the surname Guisolfo), Odoardo and Everardo, who kept the name of Visconti and, finally, Guglielmo, founder of the famous Embriachi family, moved with Adolfo to Genoa. Always following the route of Deza, we learn that these five brothers, each founder of a family, brought great shine and splendor to the city of Genoa. We see them appear side by side (more than as brothers), between the walls, palaces and alleys of Genoa, as Consuls. And there is talk of three of the four consuls who appear in 1102 under three different surnames of Embriachi, Spinoli and Carmandini. Specifically, we are talking about Guglielmo Embriaco, Guido Spinola and Ido de Carmandino.
IDO VISCONTE (GUIDONE)
1) OBERTO VISCONTE (two sons, BELO and BENEONORATO. Two sons will be born from BELO, GUIDO and OBERTO SPINOLA)
2) GUIDO VISCONTE-CARMANDINO
3) ADOLFO MALOCELLO
4) CORRADO GUISOLFO (or GHISOLFO)
5) ODOARDO VISCONTE
6) EVERARDO VISCONTE
7) GUGLIELMO EMBRIACO
Now we mention those authors of the 17th and 18th centuries who have faced Time and History by collecting fragments, minutes, scarce news, and clinging to the oral tradition that never runs out. The premises on Malocello differ between the different authors. This is the case, for example, of Federico Federici, who in his work Scrutiny of the Ligurian Nobility of the year 1640, states: "Although there are opinions that the Malocelli descend from one of the sons of Belo Visconte in these consorts together with the Carmadini and the Spinoli, I, constant in your opinions, will leave the conjectures and I will rely on the undoubted and certain, and on the maxims that, from the beginning of the information, the Malocello have been enemies of the Spinoli and of the opposing factions as main among the Guelphs, which I believe is a lack of identity; all of which I refer to the truth"
For his part, Agostino Della Cella in his manuscript work entitled Families of Genoa ancient and modern, extinct and alive, noble and popular states that "Malocelli, or Marocelli, as they are commonly called, are noble and very ancient Genoese citizens of excellent nobility, having common unions with the noble family of the Spinola, as Recco points out, saying that, in the year 952 there was in Genoa a certain Fedone or Guidone Visconte who had many possessions in Polcevera and also many children to whom he distributed such possessions upon his death, from whom some of them took the name as we have commented; we are talking about Comandino. Others called themselves Malucelli, it is not known why, although there are opinions that it is what happened with some nickname that was already used in ancient times. Others considered the surname of Visconte and others assumed the surname Spinola from the father".
Finally, the friar Giacomo Giscardi in his manuscript work called Origin and splendor of the noble families of Genoa (1774) results in a clearer and more precise narration pointing to Malocello, or Malocelli, as "noble and ancient Genoese citizens descendants of Adolfo, third son of Guido Visconte, from whom the Spinola Family descended, since Adolfo wanted to be called Malocello to distinguish himself from his other brothers, from whom other different families descended, as read in the very places of this work".
The confirmation of the importance of the Malocello in history, already enshrined in the Genoese annals from the year one thousand and for at least the following three centuries, will in any case be given by Lanzarotto's open sea voyage in 1312, culminating in the rediscovery of the mythical "Fortunate Islands", which marked the beginning of the modern history of the Canary Archipelago and outlined the concept of the "New World".
*President of the International Committee for the Celebrations of the VII Centenary of the rediscovery of Lanzarote and the Canary Islands by the Italian navigator Lanzarotto Malocello.
* President of the Dante Alighieri Society-Canary Islands Committee
