Pistarino, Geo - The Genoese in Pera

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The Genoese in Pera ‐ Turkish

Galata
a b
Geo Pistarino
a
Professor of medieval history , University of Genoa
b
Facolta di Lettere , Founder and director of the Istituto di
Medievistica
Published online: 02 Jun 2008.
To cite this article: Geo Pistarino (1986) The Genoese in Pera ‐ Turkish Galata, Mediterranean
Historical Review, 1:1, 63-85, DOI: 10.1080/09518968608569502
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09518968608569502
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The Genoese in Pera - Turkish Galata
GEO PISTARINO
In the early fifteenth century, Byzantine Constantinople had not yet

recovered from the destruction inflicted, two centuries earlier, by the
Fourth Crusade. In 1403 the Castilian ambassador, Don Ruy Gonzales de
Clavijo, observed that many houses, churches and monasteries had fallen
into rack and ruin. Likewise, in 1427 Pero Tafur described Constanti-
nople as a poor, badly kept, decadent city, where grass grew in the
streets, the inhabitants were miserable and badly dressed and commerce
was in the hands of foreigners. In comparison he pointed to the wealth of
Pera, the Genoese colony beyond the Golden Horn.1
The dramatic events of 29 May 1453 heightened the contrast. The
Greek capital was again devastated, this time by the Turkish army, while
the Genoese colony of Pera (or Galata, as it was called by the Byzantines
and then by the Turks)2 did not suffer serious damage; it was spared by
Mehmet II, who considered it as Genoese territory, immediately pre-
pared to surrender without resistance.3
The Sultan invested considerable effort in an attempt to repopulate
Istanbul, after the flight, killing and taking of slaves which had decimated
the population during the conquest. He resettled Greeks deported,
for instance, from Focea, Mytilene and Trebizond; Latins from Caffa;
Slavs, including Bosnians, from Bobovac; Turkish families from Anatolia
and fugitive or immigrant Jews from Christian countries, such as those
expelled in 1470 by Ludwig von Landshut, Duke of Bavaria, and exiles
from Spain. These were joined by oriental heretics, for example the
Bogomils from Bosnia. In this way the city reached, and apparently even
exceeded, its population during the Byzantine period.4
Pera did not require similar measures (which would have been contrary
to its previous juridicial status), even though demographic changes soon
led to a predominance of the Greek and Turkish elements over the Latin
and the western population. The widespread flight from Pera after the
Ottoman victory was followed by new immigration and re-immigration,
and it continued to function as an active and vital centre. Even during the
fall of Constantinople Pera remained a free area, offering hospitality to
fugitives and prisoners-of-war released after due payment of a ransom. It
was in fact the immediate proximity to the Sultan's capital which gave
Pera a new multiple role, almost as an intermediary, either manifest or
64 MEDITERRANEAN HISTORICAL REVIEW
concealed, between western Christianity and the Ottoman court; this role
was to last until the demographic, urban and institutional developments
led to the incorporation of Pera into the city of Istanbul.
Pera was an important information and espionage centre for indirect
contact with the neighbouring Sultan's court on the one hand, and with
Chios, held by the Genoese Maona on the other. In 1463 the Florentine
Benedetto Dei, although strongly opposed to Venice, was employed
(probably assigned by the Florentine government) as treasurer by the

rich Venetian contractor, Girolamo Michiel, for purposes of economic
and political espionage. In 1466 some Florentine merchants in Chios
sent Dei, who was in Pera, a number of letters written by Venetians,
which had been intercepted on the island and which Dei subsequently
forwarded to the Sultan, creating a serious crisis in the relations between
the Sublime Porte and the Republic of San Marco.5 In 1469 Mehmet
employed Gallimaco Romano, a resident of Pera, who colluded with a
certain Marcantonio Perusin di Chios in a futile conspiracy to seize
Chios.6
On 27 October 1472 the well-known letter was sent from Pera, with
information of rumours about the military activity of Uzun Hassan, Lord
of the 'White Sheep', and the Ottoman preparations.7 Likewise, the
merchant Andrea Milas, son of a Genoese father and a mother from
Trebizond, 'lived in Pera, dressed in the Italian style and was a good
Christian'. This was a brother of Iskender Bey, secretary and confidant of
Bayezit II; later, in 1487, he served as informer to Mehmet's successor.8
Mehmet's Council of State included a few Italians, among them
Florentines, Genoese and Ragusans, and he did not neglect visiting Pera
in person. Once he even visited the Franciscan convent, where - accord-
ing to Giorgio Mühlenbach - he sat with the choir and attended Mass.'
From Pera the famous humanist, George of Trebizond (1395-1494), sang
Mehmet's praise in the first of his two Orationes, dated to 22 February
1466.10 The famous portrait of Mehmet II by Gentile Bellini, dated 25
November 1480, was bought by a Venetian merchant in Pera; today it
hangs in the National Gallery in London."
Mehmet was in no doubt as to the importance of Pera as a commercial
centre and a base for western businessmen, who resided there alongside
the Greeks, Armenians and Turks. The former Genoese colony, now
under Ottoman administration, was therefore a centre for Italian activity;
the Sultan favoured the Italians (and also the Jews), preferring them to
other westerners. Nevertheless, according to Jacques Heers, writing
about the situation of the Genoese colonies in the Black Sea after 1453,
'la perte de Péra et des étroits accentue la séparation entre ce monde
colonial génois, tellement en marge déjà de l'univers marchand des
Italiens, et celui des îles de la Mer Egée.'12
THE GENOESE IN PERA - TURKISH GALATA 65
Florentine, Venetian and Genoese commercial firms continued to be
based in Pera for at least the rest of the quattrocento. The Florentines had
their own consul in Pera; they were favoured by the Sultan due to
Florence's deference and 'unquenchable gratitude' to whom it regarded
as its 'benefactor'. Florentines were always present in the Turkish mili-
tary camps, and Mehmet relied on the advice of Florentine residents in
Pera, as in the above-mentioned incident in 1466, when they translated
the letters from the Venetians which Florentine merchants had inter-
cepted in Chios. At that occasion he discussed the matter with the
Florentines Mainardo Ubaldini, Iacopo Tedaldi, Niccolo Ardinghelli and
Carlo Martelli, who were specially summoned from Pera to Istanbul for
the purpose.
In 1462, following the Turkish conquest of Lesbos, the Florentines
in Pera were invited by the Sultan to participate in the celebrations
organized for the occasion. Furthermore, in 1463, after the conquest of
Bosnia, the Florentine population of Pera organized great celebrations at
the Sultan's orders, and Mehmet himself took part in the festivities at the
houses of the wealthiest families - Capello, Capponi and others."
The Venetians were also in a strong position, at least until 1466. The
Sultan granted them a concession to the alum mines at Focea, and
entrusted them with the exploitation of the copper mines, soap pro-
duction, tax collection and the Imperial mints. Most distinguished were
the Zorzi and the Michiel families: of the former an unknown con-
temporary poet wrote that 'in order to have the honour of being received
by the Sultan, you had to behave like a Zorzi: any other contrivance
would be of no consequence'. The more notorious members of the latter
family were Antonio, the big alum merchant in Pera, and Girolamo,
mentioned above, the alum contractor who was very influential at the
Sultan's court until he was arrested in 1465 for tax arrears.
The situation of the Venetians throughout the empire began to
deteriorate after the unfortunate Albanian campaign of 1466, when
Mehmet was informed of their intentions against the infidels. The Floren-
tines and Genoese in Pera stirred up trouble in order to take advantage of
the situation. Apart from Mehmet's persecution of certain individuals,
numerous Venetian firms in Istanbul, Adrianople, Gallinoli, Focea
and Brusa were declared bankrupt. Venetian commerce in the Turkish
Levant diminished rapidly as a result of the crisis, and only began to
recover after 1479, following the peace treaty which was finally signed
between the Serenissima and the Sublime Porte at the beginning of that
year."
Meanwhile relations between the Sultan and Florence flourished to
such a degree that by 1469 there were at least 50 Florentine commercial
firms in the Ottoman empire, and the prospect of large profits continued
to attract businessmen from Florence. The reaction of the other Italian

powers was so strong, however, that the Florentine government was
forced to impose drastic limitations on commercial relations with Istanbul,
and this initiated a period of decline which was to last until 1472. The
Florentine colony in Pera decreased in number and many left, abandon-
ing their property, a movement which grew as a result of the plague
of 1469 which devastated large areas of south-eastern Europe. How-
ever, their fondaci did not close altogether, and the consuls Mainardo
Ubaldini, Carlo Baroncelli and Lorenzo Carducci, took great pains to
overcome the difficult economic situation throughout the 1470s.15
As far as the Genoese are concerned Francesco Draperio, who owned
the alum mines, provides an outstanding example. He was such an
influential figure at the courts of Murat II and later of Mehmet'II, that in
1455 the latter ordered his fleet to intervene in Chios, in order to force the
Maonese to pay their debts to Draperio, for which the Sultan had made
himself responsible.16
Domenico Malipiero, military leader and historian, has left us evidence
of the role of Venice in developments in the contemporary Ottoman
world. Benedetto Dei, merchant, adventurer and Florentine chronicler,
who was in direct contact with Mehmet and his Grand Vizier, recorded
interesting observations about the Florentines in Pera." For Genoa our
main sources are the reports of the notaries, who continued to draw up
documents in Pera after it had come under Ottoman administration.
Their reports have mostly survived, with some gaps, and they represent a
valuable and often detailed source of information on Genoese life in Pera
up to 1490. Their recent publication has made an attempt at analysis and
18
reconstruction possible.
A close look at the events reveals that on the morning of 29 May 1453, the
Genoese delegates from Pera offered Mehmet the submission of their
city. On 1 June the Sultan promulgated a charter, signed by Zaganos
Pa§a, guaranteeing the people of Pera their personal freedom, the
possession of their goods and properties, free trade rights in the empire,
and religious freedom for the Catholic Church. He also guaranteed local
self-government, and the right of the Latins of Pera to elect aprotogerus.
Their children would not be conscripted to the Janissaries, and Turkish
citizens and soldiers would not be allowed to set foot in Pera, whose
citizens were, nevertheless, subject to the kharāj, the tax paid by non-
Muslim subjects of the Porte.
In June 1453 Mehmet decreed the confiscation of possessions belong-
ing to residents of Pera who had fled, unless they returned within three
months. Among those who had left before, during or after the fall of
Constantinople, some never went back, seeking refuge in the Genoese

colony of Chios or elsewhere, some returned to Pera only temporarily, to
salvage their property, others to settle permanently and continue with
their previous activities."
A document dated 17 April 1453 is the last (of the notarial material in
our possession) to have been drawn up while Constantinople was under
bombardment, prior to its surrender to the Sultan. It contains the will of
Lorenzo Gattilusio, olim de Porta, who explicitly declares that he is

healthy in mind and body, but is drawing up his will 'videns et intelligens,
propter bellum Teucorum, quod cum Grecis est, nonnullum periculum
sibi impendere'.20 The first known document drawn up by a Genoese
notary after the city came under Ottoman rule is dated 12 July 1453.
It concerns a problem which resulted from the establishment of the
Porte's sovereignty, namely the rebellion of slaves against their Genoese
masters, who tried to sell them or were obliged to grant manumission.
On 12 July Lodisio Giusiniani de Campis had to promise his slave,
Gingibei, who had escaped from his house, that if she returned she would
not be sold; and she, evidently fond of her master, promised that she
would serve him 'bene et fideliter in vita dicti Lodisii', gaining her
freedom, ipso facto, after his death.21 On 13 July Ansaldo Usodimare
freed the Circassian slave, Giacomino, on condition that the latter would
serve him for a further three years.22 On 20 July, Caracosa, daughter of
the late Italiano Cattaneo and widow of Nicola de Carmadino, reached a
similar agreement with the Russian slave, Margherita.23 Likewise, on 8
August Domenico Salvago, who kept house for Benedetto Salvago, at
the time absent from Pera, manumitted Ana, his Circassian slave: the
latter, at her own request and that of the Circassian Acmet, converted to
24
Islam. On 9 August Nicola Testa freed the Russian slave, Ivan, at his
request, 'intelligens ipse Nicolaus necesse esse hoc tempore compiacere
potius voluntāri dicti Ivani quam sue': the slave would serve him for a
25
further two years. For similar reasons on 10 August Lorenzo Gattilusio,
olim de Porta (see above), manumitted the Walachian slave, Sofia, on the
condition that she would serve him for another three years.26
Life began to return to normal despite the various problems which
arose as a result of the new situation. On 18 July, Cristoforo Pallavicino
served as witness to agreements reached at the home of Antonio di
Castiglione in Pera in May 1452, concerning the marriage of Giovanni di
Crema to Antonia, daughter of the late Battista di Bargagli; the latter's
dowry of 500 perpers had been promised by Bono de Costa on behalf
of Giovanni della PolcCvera.27 On 21 July Carlo Confortino admitted,
before a notary and two witnesses, that Benedetto Salvago had given
him a loan amounting to 1,000 perpers, to be invested together with a
further 200 perpers in Confortino's shop; the profits were to be shared
between the two sides, and the debt was to be repaid by Confortino, who
expressed his willingness to return the money at any time.28
The profusion of legal matters within a short span of time is an indi-
cation of the attempt to reorganize the economy. On 3 August Imperiale
Grimaldi appointed Paolo Grimaldi to take care of his business, collect
debts and deal with court cases;" on 17 August Gregorio Russo issued
a power of attorney to Nicola Paterio, son of the late Lanfranco, for
the same purpose;30 on 20 August Lorenzo Gattilusio, appointed as

accredited representative by Raffaele Vigerio on 12 September 1452,
transferred the mandate to Antonio de Carmadino and Angelo di
Langasco.31
In addition to the business relations between Genoese and Turks, dealt
with elsewhere,32 similar contacts also developed between Greeks and
Turks. While the Genoese' eastern slaves - Russians, Circassians and
Walachians - argued and agitated, the Turks sold Greek prisoners-of-war
as slaves in Pera, even to Greek buyers. We have an example in the
case of the butcher, Andrea Greco, the Armenian, Ovanese Vilara,
and the Greek, Dimitri Granea, who jointly purchased the captivus,
Teodoro Greco; two persons from Samastri and the censarius, Duca
Greco, acted as witnesses, while the Genoese, Francesco Lomellini,
served as interpreter.33
The resumption of business is illustrated by a contract, drawn up on 25
August, between Domenico di Bergamo, son of the late Tommaso,
burgensis of Pera, and Giovanni di Semino di Matteo, Genoese civis, for
the purchase of three kegs of caviar for 2,578 Ottoman aspers. Francesco
Lanciavecchia and Carlo de Durante* stood surety for them. The per-
sistence of the old title of burgensis of Pera on the one hand, and the
use of Turkish currency, which was beginning to replace the Byzantine
denomination, on the other are significant.
In 1454 the number of instances involving powers of attorney rose
steeply, and this indicates the normalization of business relations between
the Genoese of Pera, under Turkish rule, and the Genoese colonies
of Caffa in the Crimea and Chios in the Aegean Sea, still under the
jurisdiction of the Republic of Genoa. On 2 April Leonardo Belogio,
civis Ianue, appointed Giacomo di Casanova and Cristoforo Belogio,
Genoese citizens resident in Caffa, as his representatives; they were to
recover property in Caffa and the surrounding area, left to him and his
brother Gerónimo by their late brother Giovanni.35 On 11 May Luca
Cattaneo, a noble Genoese citizen, issued a power of attorney to his
brother, Silvestro, for the purpose of retrieving debts and for legal pro-
ceedings against Paolo Battista Lercari, a nobleman, in Chios and else-
where.1* On 3 June Barnaba Centurione, a noble Genoese citizen,
appointed Melchiorre and Lanzarotto, also Genoese nobles, to act as his
legal representatives for the recovery of property in Caffa and for other
lawsuits.37 Likewise, on 23 June the nobleman Luca Cattaneo conferred
the power of attorney on the noble burgher of Caffa, Cristiano Cattaneo,
in order to claim debts owed by Lodisio Doria, son of the late Melchiorre,
burgher of Caffa, and by Giovanni Spinola di Luccoli.38
Thus, the names of important Genoese families and noblemen were
prominent in Turkish Pera; they engaged in economic relations which
shed light on Genoa's concern for Caffa's fate on the one hand, and
pointed to the resumption of normal relations between Caffa and Pera on
the other. Furthermore, on 6 June Antonio Gonela, burgensis of Pera,
appointed Giovanni Gonela and the nobleman Giacomo Grimaldi,
Genoese civis, in order to present the Council of Caffa with a letter from
the protogerus and from the Council of Pera, aimed at collecting 230
perpers, the proceeds for two shares (luoghi) registered in Caffa under
the name of the late Orietta di Santa Croce." Evidently normal financial
relations had also been restored between the Genoese in Turkish Pera
and the administration in Caffa.
On the other hand, an examination of the institutions in Pera itself,
during the early years of Ottoman rule, reveals clear indications of a
return to normality. Not only are the above mentioned Genoese cives
and the burgenses Pere present, but also additional names of Genoese,
Ligurians or others of western origin and higher or lower rank, who
occasionally served as witnesses to notarial documents. These are an
indication of the continuity of the Pera-Genoa relationship. Several are
from one or the other side of the Ligurian Riviera, while others hail from
Pontremoli, Capriata in Monferrato, Florence and Ancona, to mention
only a few.40
Houses and shops owned by Genoese and Latins continued to play
a part in the life of Turkish Pera. Among these were the shops belong-
ing to the late Pietro di Lavagna and Antonio Griffo, both spice mer-
chants; Antonio de Lastrego, a blacksmith; Antonio, the butcher in
the bazaar; Guidoto di Brabante, the tailor. The houses were owned
by Nicola Panicia; Caracosa (in the San Domenico neighbourhood);
Carlo Confortino; Giuliano Spinola (in the alley behind the Church of
San Michele); Francesco de Draperiis - the well-known intimate friend
of Mehmet II - and his son-in-law, Tommaso Spinola, and Antonio
Gombeta, whose house was inhabited by the nobleman Luca Cattaneo.
References to official buildings and landmarks are not lacking either: the
loggia and the column where administrative orders and announcements
were posted up, the seat of the curia, the public road along the loggia of
the curia, and the churches of San Francesco and San Michele"
A power of attorney dated 2 September 1458 and granted by Isabetta,

daughter of the late Antonio Ponsono (and widow of Guglielmo de
Lucho, a former burgher of Pera), to Battista di Sagliano, burgher of
Caffa, for recovery of her share in her paternal inheritance/2 is followed
by a gap in our documentation, which brings us to the period from
November 1466 to December 1469.
During these years the Genoese and other Latins of Turkish Pera
apparently continued to be actively involved in the local economic

developments, long-distance trade, administration and local events.
Weddings were celebrated according to western customs: on 16November
1466 Meliaduce Spinola, son of the late Giacomo, received a dowry for
his wife Giorgeta (of the Grimaldi family), the sum of 2,500 ducats of
Chios, which was equal to 2,000 Venetian ducats or 1,000 Genoese liras."
Questions of inheritance involving direct relations with Genoa were also
settled: on 12 September 1468, Francesco Giustiniani di Castello, son of
the late Bartolomeo, appointed his brother Galeazzo as his representa-
tive, with the aim of collecting a third of the estate left by his late parents,
Bartolomeo and Mariola, as well as to take care of his legal affairs in
general.44
Business was very varied: in September 1468, Gaspare de Ottovegio
took a loan of 1,000 Ottoman aspers from Pelegro de Ottovegio;" in
December 1469 the freed'man, Asperto Grimaldi, burgher of Pera,
issued a power of attorney to Battista Gagerio, burgher of Caffa,
enabling him to represent Grimaldi in the territories under Caffa's juris-
diction and the whole of the empire of Gazaria, primarily in order to
collect the debts owed to him by Andrea di Vallesturla.46 Apparently
nothing disturbed the peaceful relationship between Pera under Turkish
rule and the Genoese area on the Black Sea.
The port of Pera welcomed western ships, seamen and merchants,
both Genoese and others. In November the navis of Antonio di
Valditaro47 was anchored there ad passionatami in December 1469
the vessel (navilium) of Giovanni de Cavo, carrying a shipment of
caviar from La Copa, arrived there.49 In November of the same year,
Francesco de Cavalorto, a Genoese citizen, waited to sail 'primo bono
tempore pro Chio aut alio loco sibi commodo',5" while Francesco di
Montaldo waited for the 'primo passagio pro insulla Candie'.31 In
December Quirico di Rapallo planned to sail 'cum primo bono tempore,
pro partibus Caffè';'2 Perino de Vicho, 'pro partibus inferioribus, cum
primo bono tempore';5' Giuliano Burleto di Chiavari, 'pro Chio cum
primo passagio';54 Tommasino di Ronco, 'pro Chio';55 Andrea Schiaffino
di Camogli, 'pro partibus Smirarum';5" Simone de Larcho, 'cum primo
bono tempore, pro partibus inferioribus';57 Baldassare di Savignone,
'cum primo bono tempore pro loco Chii';5s Tommasino di Ronco,
'cum primo bono tempore, pro Chio';5' Lodosio Frigono, 'pro partibus
inferioribus, cum primo tempore'.60 These were all men in the prime of
life, their ages ranging between 24 and 33, and they were prepared for
hardship and unforeseen experiences.
The great variety of merchandise was negotiated for and sold at a good
profit, though imbroglios did occur. The notary, Manuele Granello, and
Abramo di Torriglia, both Genoese cives, imported seven skeins of fine,
black carded wool from Milan, which arrived on a ship belonging to
Antonio di Valditaro, and sold them to Cristoforo de Oderico di Taddeo

for 269 ducats of Chios; in November 1466 the buyers promised to pay in
Chios by 1 May 1467. Should they not have kept to the agreed date, and
should the ship meanwhile have sailed for Caffa, the sum requested
would have been transferred to Caffa, at the regular exchange rate and
with the interest due.61 There were, therefore, evidently no problems
involved in the transfer of currency from Pera to Chios or to Caffa.
In September 1468 Raffaele Machiavello, a Genoese civis, appointed
Gregorio di Pino to represent him, in order to recover the sum of 170
Venetian ducats, paid to Babilano Adorno, civis of Caffa, for ten barrels
of pickled sturgeon (morene) at the price of 17 liras a barrel; these
were to have been delivered in Pera following a decision of the Ufficio di
Mercanzia, but had never been sent." In November-December of the
following year, two arbitrators were appointed in order to settle a claim
arising out of an act of piracy by Cristoforo de Franchis, Saco and
Giacomo di Valditaro 'cum eorum navibus et turmis earum': they had
stopped the ship belonging to Andrea Emplat de Salaguxia, and had
stolen articles of clothing and merchandise belonging to Baldassare di
Savignone.*3 The arbitrators passed judgement: 'Christi eiusque gloriose
Marie, matris eius, nominibus invocatis', and the notary read and pub-
lished the sentence in an equally solemn fashion, referring extensively to
the procedures of the podestà and the curia in Chios.64
From this evidence it is clear that the Genoese procedures - such as the
rulings of the Ufficio di Mercanzia or the system of arbitration - were still
effective in Pera in the 1460s. This is also true of evidence on oath before a
notary and a witness, as in the case of Antonio Albino, who in November
1469 wanted to prove and record an episode that had occurred 22 months
earlier, concerning the non-delivery in Chios of two barrels of palamite
and a keg of caviar."
The Genoese notary and the witnesses - usually also Genoese - filled
the role of an official magistracy for the Genoese living in Pera, and were
always able to refer to decisions by the podestà and the curia of Chios.
The Turkish government did not interfere in any way with the Genoese
institutions in Pera, or with their relations with Genoa and its colonies in
the Levant. It is significant that, despite the gradual decrease in the
numbers of those who defined themselves as burgenses Pere, a legal

definition no longer applicable after the inclusion of Pera in the Ottoman
empire (which, as said above, preferred the use of the term Galata,
typical of the Byzantine period), the frequent presence of the cives Ianue,
either resident or in transit, continued. In other words, the collective
identity, with its basically juridicial character stemming from the Genoese
institutions in Pera, gradually disappeared and became extinct, while the
presence of Genoese cives continued and was possibly strengthened, in
the form of a group of foreign guests with limited privileges residing in a

centre which, by now, was Turkish. Recourse to distant Genoa in the
event of legal or administrative problems would have been too compli-
cated, and the matters were referred to the magistracies of Genoese
Chios.
A relevant example here is the case of Silvestro de Marinis, a Genoese
citizen who, on 5 December, at his own initiative, declared as false and
void an apoxidia he himself had written, according to which Benedetto
Catrinelo was to sell him 42 kegs of caviar from La Copa. These had been
transported in Giovanni de Cavo's ship, anchored in Pera, and at the
price of 115 Ottoman aspers per kantar the total amounted to 4,830
aspers. This left Benedetto free to sell the merchandise to whomever he
chose.66 Even more significant is the example of Vicenzo delle Vigne, no
doubt Genoese, who, via a notary, on 5 December requested a loan of
120 Venetian ducats from Giacomo Antonio di Lerici, according to a
previous agreement mediated by Francesco Giustiniani and Antonio
Masurro. He declared that he was ready to offer suitable security, and to
repay the sum in Pera, provided that Giacomo Lercari and Giacomo de
Campis, arbitrators elected in Pera, would make a declaration in Chios
that the payment was due. Giacomo Antonio agreed on the condition
that Vicenzo would also produce the security in Chios.67
Three further cases would appear to be relevant, either at the legal or
the economic level. One of these was in connection with a shipment of
fruit - figs, raisins and carobs - loaded in October 1469 at Smyrna
and Chios on the griparea captained by Lorenzo de Argirofo, to the
value of 1,000 Ottoman aspers, and on the griparea captained by Andrea
Schiaffino di Camogli to the value of 500 Ottoman aspers. The cargo
was sold in Pera. It transpires from a document, written by the very
same Lorenzo at Smyrna on 12 October, that he himself owed 1,500
Ottoman aspers, plus the cost of loading, to Tommaso di Rezoagli.
The merchants' profit on those goods was calculated on the basis of 41
aspers per centenarium for the cargo of Andrea's ship, and 21 aspers per
centenarium for that of Lorenzo. In the ensuing controversy between
Tommaso and Lorenzo over the final settlement, the former produced
nine sworn statements on specific titles, 'ad eternam rei memoriam, ne
fides veri pereat', according to the judicial procedure typical in Genoa
and the western world.68 The proceedings took place at Vespers, or later
at the home of Tommaso di Ronco (who also served as witness), and
partly at 9 p.m. in the church of San Francesco, the witnesses being either
Andrea Schiaffino di Camogli and Bartolomeo de Bernardo di Santa
Margherita, or occasionally Giuliano Burleto di Chiavari and Giovanni
de Ben (de Bernardo?) di Santa Margherita. In neither case was the
official office of the curia used.

The second case also involved depositions before a notary and wit-
nesses 'ad eternam rei memoriam, ne fides veri pereat', for a controversy
which was commercial in nature.69 It concerned the fig trade in Salonika,
which was in the hands of Antonio di Valditaro and his brothers Giacomo,
Francesco and Lorenzo, Ambrogio de Nigro, burgensis of Pera, Quirico
Giustiniani, Lodisio Frigone, and other merchants whose names are not
known to us. In March/April 1467,10,087 'strings' of figs, belonging to
the late Giacomo di Valditaro, were delivered to Quirico Giustiniani,
who lived in Salonika. On 12 December 1469 Quirico declared under
oath that he had received roughly 10,000 'strings', not recalling the exact
amount, and had sold part for two Ottoman aspers per 'string', part for
200 Ottoman aspers per 100 'strings', and a third part at the price of 200
Ottoman aspers per 204 'strings'. According to the sworn statement by
Lodisio Frigono on 18 December, he had seen Antonio delivering 4,000
'strings' of figs to Quirico Giustiniani, while in Salonika figs were being
sold at the time for two and one-half Ottoman aspers per 'string', or
sometimes for two and two-thirds, two and one-quarter or even two
aspers. It therefore appears that Giustiniani had sold the goods at less
than the minimum market price. The sworn depositions were given at this
occasion in the loggia of Pera - at lunchtime, when the witnesses were
Nicola Gandolfo di Oneglia and Giacomo di Spignano, burgher of Pera,
and then again at 3.00 p.m., the witnesses being Pietro Battista Sqarcia-
fico and Baldassare di Savignone.
The third episode is simpler than the previous ones as far as procedure
is concerned, but is particularly interesting because it deals with the
Genoese adminstration in Caffa. At the request of the notary Antonio di
Torriglia, the notary Domenico de Alsario declared, in a document
drawn up in Pera on 16 November 1469, that Bernardo di Torriglia, son of
the above-mentioned Antonio, was employed as assistant scribe at the
curia of Caffa from 8 December 1466 to 21 February 1469, and received
the regular renumeration. He, Domenico, was aware of all this because
he was also employed during that period as scribe in the same curia.™
Antonio di Torriglia, who was trying to help his son, had arrived in
Pera a short time beforehand. He was there on 20 November, having left
Caffa on 18 October. A letter he sent from Pera to Constantino Lomellini
in Caffa on 27 November paints a vivid picture of Genoese trade and

navigation between the Black Sea and the Aegean Sea during that period,
of the life in Pera - a perfect observation-post from which to study the
Turkish world - and of the political situation and relations between
Genoa and the Ottoman empire." Torriglia describes his stormy route
from Caffa to Pera, the inclement weather and the seaman's lack of skill.
He also depicts the route via Penderachia (Eregli) and Porto Armeno
near Sinope; the encounter with three armed light galleys (fuste) belong-
ing to Armenicha Musa, who declared that he intended to reach Sevasto-

pol and Gotia;72 the crossing adportum Castellarmi (east of Amasra),73
and from there to Pera.
Furthermore, he describes the arrival of Maurizio's naviliwn at Pera,
bringing good news about two ships that had departed from Caffa together
with Torriglia's vessel, and had fallen behind during the trip; the plague
that raged in Pera and Constantinople; the commissions with which he
was entrusted on departure by Niccolo di Torriglia, his kin, and also
by Gherardo Vivaldi, Cipriano Vivaldi, Giovanni de Mari, Giacomo
Spinola and Tommaso Navono; the lack of ships in Pera which would be
heading for Genoa, all having left beforehand; the need to sell the
sturgeon products (schienali e morone) in Chios if neither a navis nor a
galeazza was available for the trip to Genoa; the sale of clothes belonging
to Manuele Granello, who had also left for Genoa (the profits would be
used by the writer to purchase caviar). Finally, the letter mentions the
fruitless visit of a Genoese delegation sent to the Turkish government.
In a postscript dated 18 December there is further news: the arrival of
Matteo de Nigro's ship ad portum Carpi (Kirpe)74 on 20 November,
captained by Filippo di Savignone (one of the two ships which had
left Caffa together with Torriglia's vessel); the departure of Giacomo
Grimaldi and his son from the same port, and of Matteo de Nigro, whose
destination was Bursia and Chios; the shipwreck in Kirpe of Matteo's
navis and of two ships, which resulted in the loss of all the merchandise,
though the men were saved and managed to reach Pera; the death of five
or six Turks and Greeks of the plague in Pera every day; the dismissal of
the captain of the light galleys by order of the Sultan, who arrived in
Constantinople on 29 November, and held a military review; the rumours
of the imminent organization of a large fleet.75
Personal events and commercial affairs vie with political and mili-
tary information; the Genoese government was well informed about the
situation in the Levant due to the letters of its citizens in Pera. These
continued to surface, sometimes as the witnesses of notarial deeds, and
were representatives of important families: Cabella, Campofregoso,
De Castello, De Franchi, De Marini, Di Negro, Fieschi, Giustiniani,
Maruffo, Montaldo, Negrone, Spinola, Squarciafico, and the Traversagni
di Savona.... Some of these were defined as burgensis Pere, most as civis

Ianue.
A number of less illustrious figures were also often designated as
cives Ianue, and sometimes as burgenses Pere: seamen, artisans, and
professionals such as the notaries Antonio di Torriglia, Domenico de
Alsario, and Manuele Granello, the navigators Antonio di Albino
and Francesco di Montaldo, the blacksmiths Andrea di Passano and
Giuliano de Marzocho, the acimator Antonio Vegino, the spice merchant

(speciarius) Francesco Griffo, and more. A burgensis Caffè, Benedetto
de Facio, also appears among the witnesses recorded; like the case of
Antonio di Torriglia, his presence indicates the mobility which existed
between Caffa and Pera.
The age of these 'lesser' characters is significant: Genoese or Latins,
resident in Pera, they ranged from 24 to 33 years of age, as mentioned
above. These men were born during the years 1436-45, and at the time of
the fall of Constantinople were between 8 and 17 years old; fifteen years
later, they represented a new generation.
The houses and shops of the Genoese and Latins appear again and
again in Turkish Pera: the house of Meliaduce Spinola in the district of
San Giorgio; the shop of the late Antonio Confortino, now belonging to
Antonio Vegino, acimator, at the loggia; the shop of Francesco Griffo,
spice merchant, in the district of the loggia, near the piazza; the counter
of David the Jew; the house of Antonio de Roncho and his associates, to
mention only a selection. The public places also reappear and among
them the loggia, the church of San Francesco, the bazaar near the church
of Santa Chiara, and the passonata in the port."
Another gap in our series of notarial documents brings us to a date some

time after 6 June 1475, which marked the conquest of Caffa by Ahmet
Pa§a. In October of that year Caffa was under Turkish rule, and Pera also
suffered, due to a decline in Genoese trade in the Black Sea, and as a
result of the wave of refugees and deportees who engulfed Pera, trans-
ferring their manifold activities which had originated in the lanuensis
civitas in extremo Europe. The end of Pera's role as a bridgehead between
Chios, capital of the Genoesain the Aegean Sea and Caffa, their capital
in the Black Sea, meant that the Genoese colony in Pera was destined to
inevitable regression, due to the dominance of the Turkish and Greek
population and the consolidation of Ottoman institutions.
The Sultan appointed" a protogerus populi Latini Caffè in the person of
Paris de Morde, forcing the populus Latini Caffè to transfer to Constanti-
nople, where they were assigned a specific area, the contrata Caffensium.
The deportees were obliged to build their houses there, and were only
allowed to leave their new area on payment of a tax." Among the

Genoese who had left Caffa before the Turkish conquest and those who
were deported to Constantinople, there were many who joined their
Latin compatriots in the former town of Pera, beyond the Golden Horn,
which by now had virtually merged with Constantinople.7" Pera offered
hospitality to a number of deportees who qualified as olim civis Caffè,
olim burgensis Caffè or simply olim Caffensis: Andrea Fatinanti; Antonio
Squarciafico di Giovanni; Bernardino de Nigro di Giovanni; Giuliano de

Gaspare; Lodisio de Petrarubea, notary; Lorenzo di Gibelletto; Luchino
Squarciafico; Manuele de Alegro; Nicolo de Mauro, Paolo de Restropis;
Palegro de Franchis.™
Consequently, Pera was now jointly inhabited by cives Ianue, olim
cives or burgenses Caffè, and some of the last burgenses Pere, together
with a few qualified as habitator Pere. Among the first category special
mention should be made of Inofio Pinelli, scion of a large Genoese family
whose members were dispersed during the quattrocento, settling in
Apulia, Pera, Chios, Spain and England.80 He himself already resided in
Pera in January 1453," and he was still there in 1476.82
In the field of business, the asper of Caffa is the coin most often
mentioned in Pera's notarial documents of 1475 and the following few
years, as a result of the mass of legal matters which originated in Caffa,
but also left their mark on Pera. As might be expected, the powers of
attorney granted were numerous. In one of these cases, undoubtedly
connected to events in Caffa, Pelegro de Franchis, mentioned above,
acted on behalf of his wife Argentina, being empowered to look after the
shops, collect debts and wage lawsuits for his wife's inheritance from her
mother, Caterineta. He transferred the mandate to his brothers Lodisio
and Pietro, both Genoese citizens."5 The other case, which probably does
not have anything to do with Caffa, is a mandate issued by the prior and
the monks of Santa Maria della Misericordia della Cisterna to the notary
Cristoforo de Canevale, for the care of their business interests in Pera and
Constantinople. This serves as a clear indication of the fusion of the two
cities in all aspects of daily life."
Three characters seem to be typical of this new phase in the history of
the Genoese in Pera-Galata during the fifteenth century. One of these
is Antoniotto di Cabella, son of the late Antonio, a Genoese civis.*5
Married to Caterineta, daughter of the late Battista de Puteo, they had
five daughters and three sons. They provide a typical example of a prolific
Genoese family, with its widespread connections and sound economic
basis. In 1472 Antoniotto di Cabella left his family in Genoa and moved
to Caffa, where he was very successful in several business ventures. He
was among those who left Caffa before the disaster, and moved to Pera,
thus salvaging his freedom and his newly acquired wealth.
From his will, drawn up at his home in Pera on Saturday 18 Novembei
1475 at 'the third hour of the night' before the customary five witnesses,
all Genoese citizens, we learn that he requested to be buried in the
Church of San Francesco in Pera, with the due funeral rites. He provided
abundantly for his wife and sons in Genoa, both in a private agreement
reached with his brothers in Genoa before he left, and in the clauses of his
will. In his legacy he donated money to the hospitale Scarii and the
hospitale Pammatoni in Genoa, and he took care to settle his accounts

with both debtors and creditors, carefully separating the accounts from
Pera and those from Genoa, and calculating each case in the relevant
currency, whether florins, genovine, golden ducats or the silver aspers of
Caffa. He had apparently had business connections with two nephews in
Caffa: Gerolamo and Giacomo di Paolo di Cabella. In Pera he was served
by a servant {famulus), Cristoforo Andrachus, to whom he owed large
sums of money, and by two Zigi female slaves.
The inventory of his possessions in Pera, drawn up on 21 November,
after his death, reveals a considerable supply of linen, expensive clothes
and a stock of common and quality cloth. Evidently this was a merchant
who was not afraid to leave Genoa for Caffa, where many already feared
the future, and then for Pera - Turkish Galata: in both moves he was
fortunate.
Another example is that of Francesco Fieschi, brother of Giacomo
Fieschi, who lived in Pera in 1469.8* Francesco was a banker, and very
likely had previously worked in Caffa, according to the Genoese system
of dividing tasks in différèrent areas between various members of a family.
This can be deduced from the fact that Cipriano Vivaldi, who was in Caffa
in 1469? claimed the sum of 12,000 aspers of Caffa from Francesco. On
25 October 1475 the two requested Lazzaro de Cavo and Melchiorre de
Garbarino to act as arbitrators, meanwhile settling for a compromise
which was to last until 4 November.88 In November, after a new com-
promise had been reached which was valid until 24 December, the matter
was submitted to the arbitration of Leonardo Versano and Giovanni
Spinola.89 On 5 December, with a third compromise agreement valid until
15 January 1476, the case was transferred to the arbitration of Giovanni
Spinola, Oberto di Rovereto and Antonion Salvago di Casano.90
This was not Spinola's only financial problem. Stefano de Nigrono,
who had already been active in Caffa in 1469," entrusted Spinola in
accomendacione with 1,000 rolls of fustian for linings {boccasini), which
explains Spinola's stay in Caffa. However, when he requested a final
settlement, Spinola refused, claiming that Stefano was bankrupt and that
the goods would have to be included in the agreement with the creditors,
who would otherwise create difficulties for Spinola. In a lawsuit before
the Kadi of Pera, Francesco Spinola was ordered to return the goods to
Stefano; however, Spinola took precautions, and on 9 November 1475

organized for a notary to register the sworn depositions of three Genoese
who supported his case.'2 Special notice should be taken of this inter-
vention of a Turkish magistracy in a dispute between Genoese residents
in Pera - the first known case of its kind - and also of the opposition to its
decisions and recourse to testimony witnessed by a notary, by the party
which had lost in the earlier appeal to the Kadi.
As if this was not sufficient, on 16 November 1475 Francesco Fieschi

sold the ship (griparea) Santa Maria (with a tonnage of 1,300 kantars) to
Oberto di Rovereto, for the sum of 10,000 Ottoman aspers.93 Was this
possibly a favour, in return for Oberto's testimony in support of Fieschi,
or was it due to the latter's need of money? Alternatively, was it a wise
investment on the part of Fieschi, who feared the possible future Turkish
legal and economic moves against the Genoese and Latins in Pera after
the conquest of Caffa? It seems likely that there is a connection between
this sale and the one effected on 15 January, when Giacomo Ponsono sold
a similar ship, also called Santa Maria (with a tonnage of 800 Kantars) for
2,700 Ottoman aspers to the brothers Bartolomeo and Giovanni Battista
Bederii,9* who immediately paid 900 aspers, but postponed settlement of
the remaining sum for six months.95
Francesco Fieschi's situation was not easy, but that of our third
example, the notary Niccolo di Torriglia, was downright dramatic. A
relative of the above-mentioned Antonio di Torriglia, he was in Caffa
from 1459 to 1475 'aliquando scriba curie, aliquando mercando et
negociando'.96 He built his own house there," and became involved in
various financial obligations to the serenus dominus Theodoroca de
Telicha, a resident of Soldaia;98 the properties of the above-mentioned
Niccolo in Caffa and deeds registered by the notary Lodisio de Petrarubea
were offered as guarantee. Niccolo, a bachelor, kept a concubine, a
Goth called Benedetta but nicknamed Sasia, who was legally free, of
good morals and an excellent reputation. She bore him several sons and
daughters, all of whom died in Caffa except for the first-born, Giovanni,
at whose baptism Luchino Squarciafico and the wife of the notary Lodisio
de Petrarubea had been godfather and godmother. Later, Niccolo had
arranged for Benedetta to marry the freed'man, Anechino Rechane, 'vir
bone qualitatis', celebrating the wedding at his own house."
During the Turkish occupation of Caffa, when the Sultan decreed that
'omnes Latini Caffè' should move to Constantinople, Niccolo entrusted
14,000 aspers of Caffa to his nephew, Giovanni di Onzo, in July 1475, in
an attempt to save whatever he could from the Turkish fiscal inventory.
The nephew, who was leaving for La Copa (though it is not clear by what
means) was requested to invest the money in Trebizond. Niccolo was
deported to Constantinople where he was imprisoned at the Sultan's
orders (for reasons unknown to us), but he reappeared as a free man in

Pera. Nevertheless, he could not leave the partes Constantinopoli ob
avariarli impositam Caffensibus'm at the end of December 1475, and he
appointed the Genoese civis, Goffredo Lercari, as his legal representa-
tive in order to take care of his business in Chios and elsewhere, to collect
his debts, to organize loans and to issue bills of exchange.101
In Pera, on 5 February 1476, Niccolo dictated a document to the notary
Domenico deAlsario which echoes his desperation: together with his own
familia he is captive in Pera and in those parts where 'exire non potest
... nisi sub magno periculo vite'. He is forced to actions he would
not normally take 'si esset in sui libértate'; none of his written evi-
dence, except for his testament, is the product of his own free will,
'sed metu et pro evitandis periculis et aliis de quibus loco et tempore
latius declarabitur': therefore they must be considered as null and void.102
Later Niccolo tried to retrieve the 14,000 aspers of Caffa which he had
entrusted to his nephew, who was by then in Trebizond from where he did
business with La Copa. Niccolo sent messages via merchants who were
going to La Copa, including Meliaduce Spinola and Galeoto Musca, who
were part of the caravana Copparii of 1477. He received nothing, and
learned that his nephew told Meliaduce Spinola that he wanted to keep
the money as payment for a debt Torriglia was said to owe Lorenzo
Spinola, Giovanni's father-in-law; meanwhile he openly confessed to
Galeoto Musca that, concerning the money, he 'intendebat gaudere et
sibi dare bonum tempus'.103
In 1479 Giovanni di Onzo was in Pera. His uncle tried to reach an
agreement with him, and a series of arbitration committees was appointed
on 20 and 28 July, and on 17 August,104 but nothing was concluded;
furthermore, the arbitrators declared that they would give up, as it was
105
impossible to reconcile the parties. Niccolo produced proof and gave
106
evidence, and further sworn testimonies were recorded by a notary.
Niccolo declared that he was unable to say everything, being 'in his
partibus Saracenorum', and that his adversary acted 'per subterfugio et
sugestione testium, ut mos est in his partibus... minando de testibus et de
rebus dominacionis Turcorum';1"7 he even noted that 'in his partibus
108
Saracenorum ... habetur copia falsorum testium'.
Giovanni di Onzo prevaricated, and presented different versions of
what had become of the 14,000 aspers of Caffa, while his uncle turned to
the notary and witnesses who acted in 'loco maģistrātus Christianorum
non existentis in his partibus dicionis regis Turcorum'. "" He then
appealed to the Turkish Kadi in Trebizond, and there Niccolo was
ordered to pay 2,000 Ottoman aspers (in addition to the 14,000) as
compensation for the presumed arbitrary confiscation of a ship owned
by Giovanni's father-in-law, Lorenzo Spinola, which apparently had
occurred in Caffa at the instigation of Torriglia, during the period

of Genoese rule. The matter was referred to the judgement of two
arbitrators in Pera, but was dropped for lack of evidence."0 An interest-
ing fact is that for the appointment of the court of arbitration it was
assumed that 'domini arbitratores possint et debeant coram domino cadi,
maģistrātus Turcorum, testimoniare veritatem sentencie ferende, et hoc
secundum morem Turcorum'.1" Evidently the arbitration procedure no
longer followed the Latin method, but was according to the Turkish legal
system.
Between the end of 1479 and the beginning of 1480, Niccolo di Torriglia
finally succeeded in emigrating to Chios, presumably having paid the
special imposition for the right to leave Constantinople (avaria) demanded
by the Ottoman government. In Pera (at the request of Niccolo, who
evidently wanted to settle his affairs) Paris de Morde, ex-protogerus of
the populus Latinus Caffè, declared on 2 February 1480 that, during
the period of Mehmet's decree concerning the building of houses in
Constantinople by the Latin population of Caffa, he had been registered
with a building company together with Ottaviano Adorno, and not with
Cristofero de Canevalli. The house of the latter, built together with
Gabriele Pilavicino, had remained unfinished and had been sold by the
Turkish administration to Paolo de Roestropis for 150 Ottoman aspers."2
On the same day Damiano di Gravaigo, son of the late Pietro, declared he
had paid 300 Ottoman aspers, with Niccolo as guarantor, to the above-
mentioned Cristoforo de Canevalli, after the compulsory transfer of the
Latins from Caffa to Constantinople."3
However, the controversy with Giovanni di Onzo does not seem to
have resulted in any positive conclusions. Due to a sentence passed by the
Kadi of Pera and further arbitration by Giovanni Battista Gentile and his
companions, Torriglia's attorney, Pantaleone Coressi, obtained the pay-
ment of 5,000 Ottoman aspers of the 7,000 owed by Giovanni (the
Ottoman asper being twice the value of the asper of Caffa). However,
Giovanni later managed to obtain a letter from the Sultan in Adrianople
which he presented to the Kadi of Pera, and on this basis, using Greeks
from Trebizond as false witnesses and with the help of 'multi viri male
qualitatis et ribaldi, ... periti subterfugiorum iuris Saracinorum in
modum quod omnem rem flectere faciunt prout volunt', he forced poor
Pantaleone Coressi to return the 5,000 aspers, using Niccolo deAmigdola
as mediator. On 13 December 1484 Pantaleone informed Torriglia, via a
notary in Pera, that he had every right to repeat his appeal against his
nephew."4
We do not know how this event, which had even led to the intervention
of the Sultan, came to an end. In February 1490 Primofiore, grand-
daughter of the late Theodoroca de Telicha, waived her claim against
Niccolo regarding her inheritance in a compromise agreement mediated

by Antonio di Gibelletto, in return for Niccolò's payment of 150 Genoese
liras in three instalments. Primofiore's mother, Catimyhia, gave her con-
sent as far as her dowry was concerned. Paolo de Restropis and Manuele
de Alegro, both olim Caffenses, acted as witnesses and consiliatores to the
notarial act; the document included a formula which was then still in use
by the Genoese of Pera: 'in loco dictionis Turcorum, ubi non sunt periti et
ubi non possunt fieri solemnitates iuris more Christianorum'."5
The documents drawn up in Pera-Galata, which have formed the basis for
this study, are rarer during the later years and come to an end in 1490,
though one cannot exclude the possibility of new discoveries in the years
to come. However, the problem is not only one of documentation; the
Genoese presence as a stable, compact group in Pera-Galata diminished
gradually. Those who persisted always seem to be the members of
the biggest families: Adorno, Campofregoso, Cibo, De Franchis, De
Nigro, De Nigrono, Doria, Fieschi, Giudice, Giustiniani, Grillo, Lercari,
Pallavicino, Pinelli, Salvago, Spinola, Squarciafico, Vivaldi
Among the professionals and artisans mentioned during these later
years, we find the notaries Domenico de Alsario, Nicola de Mauro,
Teramo di Castellazzo; the shoemakers Constantino di Mitilene and
Luca di Voltaggio; the textile merchant Battista de Ripa; the baker
Giovanni di Torriglia and the spice merchant Pietro de Eliano. In 1478 we
encounter an emissary from Chios, Casano Giustiniani, who appeared in
Pera, probably sent by the Maonese government of the island for the
usual negotiations with the Porte."6
The references to Genoese and Latin shops are numerous and include
those of the above-mentioned professionals and artisans. In the list of
householders we find: Antoniotto di Cabella; Bartolomeo Bonaventura,
(in the district of San Francesco); Bartolomeo di Langasco (intus
castellimi); Limbania, widow of Ottaviano Adorno; Giovanni Spinola
and Battista Cibo; Tommaso Spinola and Luca Soffiano; the house of
Nicola de Amigdola, and the house where Camby Sarviati usually lived,
in the district of San Domenico. During these years, publicplaces are also
mentioned frequently: the cloistered church of San Francesco; the church
of San Domenico; the public loggia and the loggia (probably one and
the same) of the merchants (intus castellum); the public road near
the Genoese loggia, the crossroads (carrubeus) retro logiam and the
carrubeusprope logiam;- the carrubeus near the church of San Domenico
and the castellum near the loggia."1
During the late 1470s and early 1480s, when the documents are rarer,
one gets the impression of a persistent Genoese presence and activity in
NOTES
1. J. Ebersolt, Constantinople byzantine et les voyageurs du Levant (Paris, 1918), p. 48;
A. Vasiliev, Histoire de l'Empire byzantin (Paris, 1932), 2, p. 380.
2. Pera and Galata correspond to the present quarters of Beyoglu and Karaköy in
Istanbul. Galata was the term preferred by the Byzantines and afterwards used by the
Turks. Pera was the name adopted by the Genoese, without any distinction between
the two areas, also after they came under Ottoman administration. In this study we
adopted the denomination Pera, which is normally used in Genoese documents.
3. G. Pistarino, 'La caduta di Costantinopoli: da Pera genovese a Galata turca', in La
storia dei Genovesi (Genoa, 1985), 5, pp. 7-48.
4. Ö. L. Barkan, 'Les déportations comme méthode de peuplement et de colonisation
dans l'Empire ottoman'. Revue de la Faculté des Sciences Economiques de l'Université
d'Istanbul, 2, 1-4 (1949-50), 86 ff.; 101 ff.; I. Beldiceanu - Steinherr, 'Déportation et
pêche à Kilia entre 1484 et 1508, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies,
38, 1 (1975) 40-50. Cf. also Fr. Babinger. Maometto il Conquistatore e il suo tempo,
Italian edn. E. Polacco, introd. by D. Cantimori (Turin, 1977), passim. On the depor-
tation of Turkish and Armenian families in order to repopulate Constantinople cf.
Abraham di Ankara, Lamento sulla presa di Coslanlinopoli, in A. Pertusi, La caduta
di Costantinopoli: l'eco nel mondo (Milan, 1976), pp. 410-19 (includes bibliography).
5. Babinger, Maometto, pp. 193-5, 271-2.
6. Ibid., p. 296.
7. Ibid., p. 326.
8. J. Lefort, Documents grecs dans les Archives de Topkapi Sarayi, Contribution à
l'histoire de Cem Sultan (Ankara, 1981), p. 20 and docs. 16, 18; L. Balletto, 'Nutazioni
genovesi nella storia di gem sultano', Bullettino ligustico, 30, 1-4 (1985), 65-80.
9. Babinger, Maometto, pp. 455-6.
10. Pertusi, La caduta di Costantinopoli, pp. 68-79, 437-8.
11. Babinger, Maometto, pp. 411-13, 459, 556.
12. J. Heers, Gênes au XVe siècle. Activité économique et problèmes sociaux (Paris, 1961),
p. 366.
13. Babinger, Maometto, pp. 227, 267-8, 271-2, 294-5, 351.
14. Ibid., pp. 194, 267, 272-4, 298, 338, 386, 552, 558-9.
15. Ibid., p. 294.
16. Ibid., pp. 30-31, 47-8, 139-41.
17. Domenico Malipiero, 'Annali Veneti dell'anno 1457 al 1500", Archivio Storico
Italiano, ed. F. Longhi, 7, 1 (Florence, 1843); Benedetto Dei, Croniche fiorentine; for
the various editions cf. Repertorium fontium historiac medii aevi, 4 (Rome, 1976), 147-
8.
18. A. Roccatagliata, Notai genovesi in Oltremare. Atti rogati a Pera e Mitilene, 1, Pera,
1408-1490, Collana Storica di fonti et studi, ed. G. Pistarino, 34, 1 (Genoa, 1982).
19. Pistarino, La caduta di Costantinopoli, pp. 19-20.
20. Roccatagliata, Notai genovesi, doc. 38.
21. Ibid., doc. 47.
22. Ibid., doc. 48.
23. Ibid., doc. 50.
24. Ibid., doc. 54.
25. Ibid., doc. 55.
26. Ibid., doc. 56.
27. Ibid., doc. 49.
28. Ibid., doc. 51.
29. Ibid., doc. 52.
30. Ibid., doc. 57.
31. Ibid., doc. 58.
32. Pistarino. 'La caduta di Costantinopoli', pp. 25, 29.
34. Ibid., doc. 59.
35. Ibid., doc. 60.
36. Ibid., doc. 61.
37. Ibid., doc. 62.
38. Ibid., doc. 64.
39. Ibid., doc. 63.
40. Among the names mentioned are: Nicola Panicio, Antonio Confortino, Bartolomeo
di Pontremoli, Giovanni de Pinu, Giovanni Sisno Absalom's, Antonio di Levanto,
Luca Panicio, Bartolomeo de Massa di Ancona, Giovanni Antonio de Ferrariis,
Buzolino and Giogio Terra di Albenga. Pietro de Puteo, Giovanni Francesco di
Firenze, Francesco de Alegro, Antonio Pansano, Raffaele Lomellini, Giovanni de
Serra, Antonio Coca. Lodisio de Lazaris di Castelnuovo. Carlo di Bozolo, Cremete de
Alegro. Antonio de Carmadino, the tailor Antonio Guidoto, Marco Paterio. Stefano
Parisola. Gerolamo de Francis, Giovanni Ponsono, Angelo de Benvenuto, Oberto
Faxolo, Tommaso di Capriata. Augusto di Taggia, Nicola de Monte. Gaspare di
Benedetto. Gerolamo di Zoagli, Antonio Drago, Giovanni di Semino di Matteo,

Lorenzo de Podio, Constantino Cattaneo, Antonio de Ponia.
41. Roccatagliata, Notai genovesi, passim.
42. Ibid., doc. 65.
43. Ibid., doc. 66.
44. Ibid., doc. 68.
45. Ibid., doc. 70.
46. Ibid., doc. 75.
47. Ibid., doc. 67.
48. On the meaning of the word passonata, which recurs among the Genoese legal
documents in Pera, cf. G. Pistarino, 'Nota alle fonti sulla caduta di Costantinopoli',
Atti della Accademia ligure di scienze e lettere, 40, 1983 (1984), 279-80.
50. Ibid., doc. 72.
51. Ibid., doc. 73.
52. Ibid., doc. 80.
53. Ibid., doc. 81. The partes inferiores is the southern area of Chios.
55. Ibid., doc. 83.
56. Ibid., doc. 84.
57. Ibid., doc. 85.
58. Ibid., doc. 87.
59. Ibid., doc. 88.
60. Ibid., doc. 91.
61. Ibid., doc. 67.
62. Ibid., doc. 69.
63. Ibid., docs. 71, 76.
64. Ibid., doc. 77.
65. Ibid., docs. 72, 73. The palamita is a salt-water fish.
66. Ibid., doc. 78.
67. Ibid., doc. 79.
68. Ibid., docs. 80-88.
69. Ibid., docs. 89, 91.
70. Ibid., doc. 90.
71. Ibid., doc. 74. Cf. also L. Balletto, 'Genova sul mare', in La storia dei genovesi
(Genoa, 1985), 5, p. 362.
72. For Gotia cf. Pistarino, Nota alle fonti, p. 282.
73. For the identification of Penderarchia and of the Portus Castellarum cf. C. Desimoni
and L.T. Belgrano, 'L'Atlante idrografico del medioevo posseduto dal prof. Luxoro',
Atti della Società ligure di storia patria', 5 (1867); a new edition of the atlas as an
appendix to Cinquant'anni di storiografia medievistica italiana e sovietica. Gli insedia-
menti genovesi nel Mar Nero: Atti del Convegno storico italo-sovietico e della Tavola
rotonda, Genova, 11-13 novembre 1976 (Genoa, 1982); V. Branca, comp., Lauro
Quirini umanista, ed. K. Krautter et al. (Florence, 1977), p. 185.
74. About Carpi (Kirpe) cf. Branca Lauro Quirini, pp. 185, 229; A. Pertusi. Testi inediti e
poco noli sulla caduta di Costantinopoli. posthumous edn. by A. Carile (Bologna,
1983), p. 79.
76. Ibid., passim.
77. Ibid., doc. 106.
78. Ibid., doc. 110.
79. Ibid., passim.
80. Cf. A. Boscolo, 'Il genovese Francesco Pinelli amico a Siviglia di Cristoforo
Colombo', Nuova Rivista Storica, 68, fasc. 3, 4 (May-Aug. 1984), 355-66.
81. Roccatagliata, Notai genovesi, docs. 25, 26, 27.
82. Ibid., doc. 105.
83. Ibid., doc. 92.
THE GENOESE IN PERA - TURKISH G ALATA 85
84. Ibid., doc. 99. On the monastery of Santa Maria della Cisterna cf. V. Polonio, 'Studi di
storia monastica ligure', in Liguria Monastica, Italia Benedettina 2 (Cesena, 1979),
pp. 359-421.
85. Roccatagliata, Notai genovesi, docs. 97, 98.
86. Ibid., doc. 71.
87. Ibid., doc. 74.
88. Ibid., doc. 93.
89. Ibid., doc. 96.
90. Ibid., doc. 100.
91. Ibid., docs. 71, 76, 77.

92. Ibid., doc. 94.
93. Ibid., doc. 95.
94. Ibid., doc. 103.
95. Ibid., doc. 104.
96. Ibid., doc. 119.
97. Ibid., doc. 124.
98. Ibid.
99. Ibid., doc. 119.
100. Ibid., doc. 106.
101. Ibid., doc. 101.
102. Ibid., doc. 105.
103. Ibid., doc. 106.
104. Ibid., docs. 107, 108, 111.
105. Ibid., doc. 114.
106. Ibid., docs. 109, 110, 112, 113, 115.
107. Ibid., doc. 109.
108. Ibid., doc. 110.
109. Ibid.
110. Ibid., docs. 111, 116.
111. Ibid., doc. 111.
112. Ibid., doc. 117.
113. Ibid., doc. 118.
114. Ibid., doc. 123.
115. Ibid., doc. 124. Regarding the serenus dominus Theodoroca de Telicha, inhabitant of
Soldaia, cf. S. Andreescu, 'Au temps de la chute de Constantinople: nouvelles
données sur les relations roumano-génoises', Revue roumaine d'histoire, 23, 4 (Oct.-
Dec. 1984), 331-2.
117. Ibid., passim.
118. Ibid., docs. 120, 121, 122.

Pistarino, Geo - The Genoese in Pera

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Pistarino, Geo - The Genoese in Pera

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This article was downloaded by: ["Queen's University Libraries, Kingston"]

On: 30 December 2014, At: 03:05

Mediterranean Historical Review

The Genoese in Pera ‐ Turkish

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09518968608569502

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In the early fifteenth century, Byzantine Constantinople had not yet

(probably assigned by the Florentine government) as treasurer by the

to attract businessmen from Florence. The reaction of the other Italian

Constantinople, some never went back, seeking refuge in the Genoese

Lorenzo Gattilusio, olim de Porta, who explicitly declares that he is

the same purpose;30 on 20 August Lorenzo Gattilusio, appointed as

A power of attorney dated 2 September 1458 and granted by Isabetta,

apparently continued to be actively involved in the local economic

Antonio di Valditaro, and sold them to Cristoforo de Oderico di Taddeo

numbers of those who defined themselves as burgenses Pere, a legal

the form of a group of foreign guests with limited privileges residing in a

official office of the curia used.

in Caffa on 27 November paints a vivid picture of Genoese trade and

ing to Armenicha Musa, who declared that he intended to reach Sevasto-

di Savona.... Some of these were defined as burgensis Pere, most as civis

Giuliano de Marzocho, the acimator Antonio Vegino, the spice merchant

Another gap in our series of notarial documents brings us to a date some

allowed to leave their new area on payment of a tax." Among the

Squarciafico di Giovanni; Bernardino de Nigro di Giovanni; Giuliano de

hospitale Pammatoni in Genoa, and he took care to settle his accounts

Stefano; however, Spinola took precautions, and on 9 November 1475

As if this was not sufficient, on 16 November 1475 Francesco Fieschi

orders (for reasons unknown to us), but he reappeared as a free man in

occurred in Caffa at the instigation of Torriglia, during the period

Niccolo regarding her inheritance in a compromise agreement mediated

Benedetto. Gerolamo di Zoagli, Antonio Drago, Giovanni di Semino di Matteo,

91. Ibid., docs. 71, 76, 77.

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