JUDAICA. - Trial of a sixteenth-century Jewish... Lot 33

JUDAICA. - Trial of a sixteenth-century Jewish bank protected by the House of Este. S.l.n.d. [at the end]: Modena, 10 February 1577. Manuscript, small folio, 92 pages, paperback, contemporary cover, in a turned-over leather case (modern binding). Manuscript concerning the trial of a Jewish bank in northern Italy in the 16th century. The manuscript, in Italian with parts in Latin, gives details of the proceedings conducted by Giulio Cesare Castaldi, a prominent jurist from the city of Modena; the name of the president of the court is found at the end: Io Giulio Castaldi Auditore, tanto dico quanto di sopra. A 10 di febraio 1577. The legal and financial data relating to the bank's activities, the privileges it enjoyed, the various testimonies and arguments produced by the parties during the trial, etc., are set out. On the original blank cover is the inscription Pocessus actitatus (trial pleaded), as well as the names of two jurists who took part in the trial: Joannes Baptista Basaneo and Stephano Ghisoni. The indicted bank was founded by two Jewish brothers, Gratiadio and Moses de Herberia. Philip I of Este (1537-1592), lord of San Martino in Rio near Modena, had granted them privileges and the right to extend their activity to other localities in the area (Campogalliano, Castellarano, etc.). Extremely rare document.