Paternas literas confirmamus. Il libro dei privilegi e delle facoltà del mastro portolano di Terra di Lavoro (secc. XV-XVII)

Within the complicated bureaucratic and fiscal system of the Reign of Naples after the reorganization of the Aragonese state, a strategic role was played by the provincial office of the “mastro portolano” who was established in each of the twelve provinces of the Reign and conferred with royal privilege in order to preserve the public land. In particular, referring to Naples and its province of Terra di Lavoro (Land of Work) some exponents of the noble Moccia family from the Neapolitan “Sedile di Portanova” found their name tied to the Office of Portolania for two hundred years. Concerning this family, we have examined a little membrane code that at the moment is kept at the Archive of the Franciscan Convent of Baronissi. Some copies of royal and administrative documents, dating back to the Aragonese and to the Spanish Viceroy periods, are gathered in this book. They were registered at the Royal Chamber of the Sommaria or issued directly by the curia of the maestro portolano and in particular they certify some privileges and prerogatives that were granted to the Moccias as royal officers. As we find these transcriptions over the centuries, it becomes an interesting cue to examine this code as a “document in the form of a book” or as a “book-document” that represented not only the munimen in defense of acquired rights and privileges, but also carried out the task of “archive” and “storage”