Indice
Mario Bolognari
Editoriale
Saggi
1
Giuseppe Avena, Romana Gargano, Filippo Grasso
Tradizioni religiose mariane. L’offerta turistica per la valorizzazione del
patrimonio culturale dei luoghi
17
Corradina Polto
Rometta, tra processi storici e dinamiche territoriali
Work in progress
41
Giuseppe Campagna
The Sicilian Jews in the Maritime Trade in the Second Half of the 15th
Century
47
Elia Fiorenza, Nicola Giudice
San Giovanni Theristis. Una basilica bizantina in epoca normanna
81
Giulia Iapichino
Un’idea d’Europa: spunti e riflessioni sul contributo di Enrico Vinci
Immagini
I matrimoni a Novara di Sicilia (collezione Salvatore Bartolotta)
HUMANITIES - Anno VII, Numero 13, Giugno 2018
DOI: 10.6092/2240-7715/2018.1.41-46
Giuseppe Campagna
The Sicilian Jews in the Maritime Trade in the
Second Half of the 15th Century
Evidences of Jewish settlements in Sicily date back to the late antique period
and this varied and industrious minority has been present, without interruption,
until the last decade of the 15th century. The Sicilian Jews lived closely linked to the
majority around them, they settled in the three “valli” in which the island was
parcelled out and especially in the main coastal cities. Many communities, indeed,
grouped around big urban centres and only few of them were situated in suburban
areas, even if they were not completely isolated, and many inland communities
settled along the main communications lines. The Sicilian Jews devoted themselves
to diversified professions; they were physicians, silk weavers, blacksmiths, small
artisans, shopkeepers and merchants of several items: cloths, silk, spices, metals and
metallurgic products, sugar, slaves and so on1.
As specified, they never were «shipowners or navigators, but for some
exceptional cases»2 and they took part both in maritime international traffic and in
coasting trade, mainly as investors through commenda and partnership contracts.
The procedure of these traffics can be easily verified by analysing the notarial acts
of the most important Sicilian seaports, especially Messina, Trapani and Syracuse
and, to a lesser extent Palermo, and some centres with grain chargers, such as
Termini Imerese.
The Jews of Messina often established commercial companies, mostly with
Christian fellow-citizens, according to the traditional form of «accomandita ad
negociandum». It provided for the consignment of a capital in the form of money or
goods from a limited partner to an unlimited partner who should invest or trade it,
delivering on the way back the invested value and a part of its profit, according to
the contract terms. In the 15th century the merchants of Messina had a wide range
About the Sicilian Jews see Italia Judaica. Gli ebrei in Sicilia sino all’espulsione del 1492, “Atti del V
convegno internazionale”, (Palermo 15-19 giugno 1992), Roma 1995; N. BUCARIA, Sicilia Judaica,
Palermo 1997; ID. (ed.), Gli Ebrei in Sicilia dal Tardoantico al Medioevo. Studi in onore di Mons.
Benedetto Rocco, Palermo 1998; H. BRESC, Arabi per lingua Ebrei per religione. L’evoluzione
dell’ebraismo siciliano in ambiente latino dal XII al XV secolo, Messina 2001; N. BUCARIA, M. LUZZATI, A.
TARANTINO (ed), Ebrei e Sicilia, Palermo 2003; S. SIMONSOHN, Tra Scilla e Cariddi. Storia degli ebrei in
Sicilia, Roma 2011; H. BRESC, Le judaisme sicilien, caractères généraux et particularités, in M. PERANI
(ed.), Guglielmo Raimondo Moncada alias Flavio Mitridate. Un ebreo converso siciliano, Palermo 2007,
pp. 1-22.
2 S. SIMONSOHN, Tra Scilla e Cariddi, cit., p. 421
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HUMANITIES - Anno VII, Numero 13, Giugno 2018
of action. They travelled, continuously and quite intensely, to North Africa (mainly
Tunisia and Libya), the great Mediterranean islands, especially Chios,
Constantinople and the East in general; but also, to the Adriatic Sea, Venice above
all, and Catalonia and Flanders on the western side. At the same time, they were in
contact with all the Sicilian and Calabrian ports, until Ionian Apulia and Campania3.
In the second half of the century, the Jews loaded goods in their commercial
journeys to Flanders where the dealers of Messina set off on Venetian ships. As
stated, the journeys to those places on Venetian ships were the most frequented by
the merchants of Messina. In fact, several sectors of the society in Messina suffered
from a sort of “fever” when the vessels of Venetian traders moored to that port,
considering those adventures as an occasion of certain success and easy profits4.
Between 1470 and 1472, Farachio de Santo Marco, David Ximeon, Iacob Faccas and
Siminto Schanino joined as limited partners in the noble Iacopo de Alifia’s journeys,
loading spices of several types, calamus, silk, metals and precious stones too5.
The Jews of Syracuse, instead, were interested especially in North Africa and
Syria. The company established in 1486 by the brothers Chucua and Zaccaria Bracha
and Chuna de Catania aimed at trading in Barberìa and Malta. The Brachas left to
trade oil on Barbaresque coasts sailing on Venetian galleasses, whereas De Catania
invested in them twelve onze6.
In the same year, a trading company was established by the brothers Leon
and Gabriel de Messina and Jacob Nifusi who invested the huge amount of 130 onze,
nineteen tarì and fifteen grains in goods to be traded in North Africa. They were
fourteen bags of silk thread, five Moor slaves, ten rolls of verdigris, two canthari of
cheese, two and a half rolls of cucculli, two cases of paternostri, three boxes of
3 B. FIGLIUOLO, Lo spazio economico dei mercanti messinesi
nel XV secolo (1415-1474), in «Nuova Rivista
Storica», 3 (2013), p. 762.
4 Ivi, pp. 768-72.
5 ARCHIVIO DI STATO DI MESSINA (ASM), Not. Leonardo Camarda, vol. 8, f. 22r-v (13-9-1470): the noble
Iacobo de Alifia of Messina, received as commenda for his following journey to Flanders a specific
quantity of goods loaded on Venetian galleasses in the port of Messina from several unlimited
partners; from Farachio de Santo Marco one cantharus of pepper, one and a half cantharus of incense,
40 rolls of cloves, and a certain quantity of fine silk corresponding to 3 onze and 15 tarì. From David
Ximeon, a Jew of Messina, he received 13 rolls of azoro and 15 pounds of Eastern coloured silk, one
cantharus and 53 rolls of calamus, a bale of silk and a turkisca case; from Iacob Faccas 100 pipes of
silk thread in different colours and 25 rubies. Ivi, ff. 485r-487r (23-9-1473): De Alifia received as
commenda other goods in order to trade them during his journey to Flanders: from Iacob Faccas 90
pounds of coloured silk in different colours and coloured silk «de Franza», 10 pounds of coloured silk
«de cordelli suptilis», 30 pounds of fine twisted unprocessed silk, a small cantharus of incense
corresponding to the weight of one cantharus and 34 clear rolls, 15 pounds of saffron and 2 dozen of
silk bags and from Siminto Schanino he received 30 canthari of alum.
6 V. MULÈ, Judaica Civitatis Siracusarum: vita, economia e cultura ebraica nella Siracusa medievale,
Officina studi medievali, Palermo 2013, p. 79.
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HUMANITIES - Anno VII, Numero 13, Giugno 2018
pinchbecks, a bag of thick and fine unprocessed silk and five pounds
cannavaciorum7. In 1491, Gaudio de Catania loaded on Leonardo Burgugrimi’s ship
seventy-five rolls of coriander comfits, hazelnuts and almonds in order to resell
them in Barberìa8.
Some members of an important family in the town oligarchy, the Mermichi
or Mirmichi, were interested in the Middle East: in November 1491, Salomon and
Merdoc hired a boat from Antonio de Brancato for a trading voyage to Tripoli9; that
city was also the trading destination of the company established by Iacob Mermichi
and Iosep Maschazen in order to sell oil and salt10.
From Trapani, the most important port in Western Sicily, local Jews turned
their traffics both to Sardinia, the destination of Bracha de Salvato who, on
Francesco Serra’s ship, carried a cargo of tuna to be sold in the island11; and to some
centres in Italian peninsula. In fact, many Jews invested goods using commenda, for
example Sadone Sala was a very active merchant in that kind of trade, he entrusted
Matteo Lo Sardo with some shiny coral to be sold in Rome12, and he entrusted
Andrea Magliocco with four casks of oil and two hundred cowhides which he should
sell in Naples13. The city was a centre to sell goods also for Lia Rizo, he hired a
brigantine to send forty and a half canthari14, whereas Amirano Barbaroso, who
traded Saracen slaves in Tunis15, aimed at North Africa.
Iosep Bonet left from Palermo for his trading journeys to Flanders16 and the
city known as Conca d’oro was a mercantile base for foreign Jews, such as Salamon
Iuda Beniosep and Isac Abraham from Avignon. They were involved in international
trade, as known from a contract of 1482 saying that Isac intended to sail on Venetian
ships to deal with France and other places17.
The Jews were very active in coasting trade, for example in the area of the
Straits of Messina where, in the 15th century, men and goods supplied constant
Ivi, p. 81.
Ivi, pp. 78-79.
9 E. ASHTOR, Jews in the Mediterranean Trade in the Fifteenth Century, in «Hebrew Union College
Annual», 55 (1984), pp. 159-178; V. MULÈ, La comunità ebraica di Siracusa nel ‘400: aspetti di vita
economica e sociale, in «La Rassegna mensile di Israele», 69 (2003), pp. 59-86.
10 ARCHIVIO DI STATO DI SIRACUSA (ASS), Not. Nicolò Vallone, vol. 10228, f. 12r-v (12-12-1491).
11 ARCHIVIO DI STATO DI TRAPANI (AST), Not. Francesco Formica, vol. 8703, f. 341r-v (12-11-1458): Tuna
was consigned as commenda from the father, Merdocho, to Artale Toscano.
12 AST, Not. Giovanni Castiglione, vol. 14, f. 170r (2-4-1467).
13 AST, Not. Nicolò Cirami, vol. 8766, f. 124r (24-4-1469): on board the ship of Nicolò de Pavia.
14 AST, Not. Giovanni Castiglione, vol. 116, f. 30r (11-10-1475).
15 AST, Not. Giovanni Castiglione, vol. 4, f. 270r-v (2-7-1456).
16 ARCHIVIO DI STATO DI PALERMO (ASP), Not. Giacomo Randisi, vol. 1156, f. 105v-106r (3-1-1476).
17 ASP, Not. Giovan Pietro Grasso, vol. 1079, s. n. (15-3-1482).
7
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HUMANITIES - Anno VII, Numero 13, Giugno 2018
commerce and that city represented the Southern port of Calabria18. The Jews of
Messina punctually traded with Reggio Calabria and Catona, as known from a list of
imports and exports in the period 1476-148119 that is still an interesting evidence
of traded goods typology. Exports, which were more than imports, reported as main
items cotton20, linen and seeds, linusa21, hides of piluse sheep22, cloths23 and silk24
and to a lesser extent food items as chestnuts25, almonds26, pepper27, cheese28,
eggs29, honey30, small onions31, saffron32, capers33. The Jews imported sticks for silk
production34, barrels35, paper36, but also donkeys37 and other goods38. Among
imports there was cotton39, cloths40, shoes41, cooked grape sugar42, caciocavallo
cheese43, pepper44, vitriol45 and other goods46.
C. TRASSELLI, Da Ferdinando il Cattolico a Carlo V. L'esperienza siciliana (1475-1525), Soveria
Mannelli 1982, pp. 324-25.
19 C. COLAFEMMINA, The Jews in Calabria, Brill, Leiden-Boston 2012, doc. 191.
20 Ibidem: cotton was exported by: Isac Sacerdoto (6-5-1478); Iosef Sacerdoto (17-7-1478); Arbano,
Abramo and Selomo Moscato (...-1478); Sabatino and Selomo Moscato (...-1480); Selomo (6-7-1480).
21 Ibidem: linen was exported by: Siminto (2-2-1478); Sabida (17-5-1478); Iaco Levi (9-12-1478).
linusa was exported by: Vipera (13-10-1479); Isac Catalano (21-2-1480).
22 Ibidem: exported by: Daniel Romano (15 and 31-10-1477) and (15-12-1477); Vita Sacerdoto (211-1478); maestro Salo (10-7-1480)
23 Ibidem: exported by: Aron Sacerdoto (2-6-1477); Abram Sichar (18-6-1477); Vita Sacerdoto (154-1478).
24 Ibidem: exported by Abram Levi (25-5-1480).
25 Ibidem: exported by: David Rigitano (15-10-1477); Rubino (4-11-1478).
26 Ibidem: exported by Lo Russo (26-7-1479).
27 Ibidem: exported by Mosè Levi (1477).
28 Ibidem: exported by Abram Sichar (18-7-1477).
29 Ibidem: exported by: Mosè Levi (17-4-1477), Iuse Farachi (2-9-1477) Abram Romano (12-9-1477).
30 Ibidem: exported by Lo Russo (14-3-1479).
31 Ibidem: exported by Nisi Russo (22-2-1480).
32 Ibidem: exported by Iusef (27-11-1478).
33 Ibidem: exported by Sarafino (15-3-1478).
34 Ibidem: exported by: Mosè (17-5-1478); Iosef Sacerdoto (23-5-1480).
35 Ibidem: exported by Gentile Musico (13-8-1478).
36 Ibidem: exported by Isac Sacerdoto (6-5-1478).
37 Ibidem: exported by Iosef Sacerdoto (3-8-1478); Siminto (12-7-1481).
38 Ibidem: exported goods of no specified quality: Murdoc (2-3-1479).
39 Ibidem: imported by Abram Sichar (21-7-1477); Vita Sacerdoto (17-7-1478).
40 Ibidem: imported by Isac Sacerdoto (31-3-1478).
41 Ibidem: imported by Cuchuni (28-7-1479).
42 Ibidem: imported by Abram Sichar (21-7-1477).
43 Ibidem: imported by David Rigitano (17-4-1479).
44 Ibidem: imported by Selomo Moscato (28-10-1479).
45 Ibidem: imported by Sansono Spagnolo (7-8-1477).
46 Ibidem: imported by: Nissim (2-3-1478); Abram Dari (29-7-1479).
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Trapani was also a starting point for Jewish coastal trade: Daniel de Actono
carried on the ship of Bartolomeo Ledo, one of his two partners, some cheese to be
sold in the whole island47. Emanuele, another member of de Actono family, entered
into business relations with a man of his same religion from Pantelleria, Xucha
Melmeth, and gave him as commenda two cafisi and a half of oil, and four dozen of
caps48. Trading relations with Messina were good too; in fact, Sadone Sala and Rafael
de Vita from Trapani established a company with Domenico Mollica from Messina
to sell tuna and cheese and, consequently, they chartered a ship in order to carry
goods to the town49. Sala, together with Mordachay Cuinu, entered into business
relations with another man from Messina, Andrea Lazaro, in order to deal in textiles
in Messina and in the rest of the island shipping them on his brigantine 50. Mazara
was the starting point for inland trade too; in fact, Xibiten Midini, a Jew from
Pantelleria, loaded forty-four salme of grain and four tumuli of beans and the same
quantity of chickpeas on Baldassarre de Morsello’s ship in order to sell them in the
domicile island51.
As said before, it was unusual to find Jewish shipowners, for example Busacca
de Tripoli and Nissim Sapio, two Jews of Palermo engaged in tuna production in
Termini Imerese, shared the possession of a ship anchored in the port of Palermo52;
whereas a Jew of Termini, called Xibite Spagnolo, owned a boat going backward and
forward from Termini Imerese to the port of Palermo53. The number of Jews from
Trapani owning ships was greater: Lucio Sammi bought a quarter pro indiviso of a
boat from Pietro Combara54; Daniel de Actono and Giovanni Comes shared the cost
of the third part of the boat called San Michele55; Manuel de Actono owned the third
part of a sagictia56 and Xalomo de Tripoli owned a boat sold in February 1492 to
Michele de Auchello57. It is worth mentioning, even if it is not closely connected with
maritime trade, the involvement of the Jews from Marsala and Trapani in activities
making a profit from piracy, such as the case of Sala Gazzella of Marsala who,
together with six Christian partners, embarked on Nicolò de Aiuto’s ship, ready to
AST, Not. Benedetto Trussello, vol. 8688, ff. 49v-50r (28-5-1465).
AST, Not. Nicolò Cirami, vol. 8768, f. 95v (24-2-1470).
49 AST, Not. Giovanni Castiglione, vol. 12, ff. 222v-223v (19-8-1465).
50 AST, Not. Giovanni Castiglione, vol. 13, f. 55r (24-3-1466).
51 AST, Not. Andrea Polito, vol. 2816, ff. 339v-340r (2-4-1492).
52 ASP, Not. Giacomo Randisi, vol. 1150, f. 63r-v (11-4-1453).
53 ARCHIVIO DI STATO DI PALERMO – SEZ. TERMINI IMERESE (henceforth ASP.Tr), Not. Antonio Bonafede, vol.
12838, s.n. (17-8-1472): undertook to carry goods for Andrea de Novo, Virardo Giuffrè and Antonio
de Laudato.
54 AST, Not. Giovanni Castiglione, vol. 10, f. 28v (27-9-1462).
55 AST, Not. Nicolò Cirami, vol. 8767, f. 4r (11-9-1467).
56 AST, Not. Giovanni Castiglione, vol. 116, f. 82r (9-1-1475).
57 AST, Not. Nicolò Tobia, vol. 8867, f. 278v (21-2-1492).
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sail from the port of Trapani, in order to commit robberies58. Some Jews of Trapani
such as Manuele de Actono59, Nissim de Nissim60 and David from Messina61 invested
money and goods «ad piraticam exercendum in partibus barbaricis».
To conclude, the Sicilian Jews were active in the second half of the 15th
century maritime traffic following the same procedures of their Christian fellowcountry men, and they often set up partnership with them. The members of aljame
in seaports mainly exploited ships in transit, especially Venetian ones, to send
diversified commercial products both to Flanders, the destination of the traffic from
Messina and Palermo, and to peninsular ports of the Neapolitan Regnum and Papal
States and to North Africa coasts, such as the case of the Jews from Trapani making
a profit from piracy too.
The Jews from Syracuse also pushed on as far as Barberìa and traded with
Syria. Exports concerned both products available in Sicily, such as oil, cheese, silk
and cloths, and goods coming from the East to be sorted out on the island and
consigned to Italy and Flanders, such as spices, calamus and so on.
Maritime traffics related to coasting trade routes leaving from Trapani to
Pantelleria, Palermo and Messina were very important too. Messina, thanks to its
strategic position to control the Straits dividing Sicily and Calabria, was the main
linking point of the trade between the island and the mainland.
AST, Not. Benedetto Trussello, vol. 8682, f. 147r-v (21-1-1451).
AST, Not. Giovanni Castiglione, vol. 11, f. 28r (3-10-1463): invested in Enrico Li Barbari’s journey.
60 AST, Not. Nicolò Cirami, vol. 8768, f. 62r (5-1-1470): invested in Gabriele de Anselmo’s journey.
61 AST, Not. Nicolò Tobia, vol. 8866, f. 386r (28-6-1491): invested in Giovanni Bisbirilli’s journey.
58
59
© 2018 dall’Autore/i; licenziatario Humanities, Messina, Italia.
Questo è un articolo ad accesso aperto, distribuito con licenza Creative Commons
Attribuzione - Non commerciale - Non opere derivate 3.0
Humanities, Anno VII(2018), numero 1
DOI: 10.6092/2240-7715/2018.1.41-46
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