(Text adapted from “A belligerent vicar-general and the Bologna dynasty” by John Attard Montalto, retrieved from http://user.orbit.net.mt/fournier/a_belligerent_vicar.htm )

 

The method preferred by the wealthy to conserve their patrimony as an undivided whole was through the erection of what was known as a primogenitura or primogeniture. When a primogeniture was instituted it was not uncommon for the holder to enhance same by adding properties to it. Also, it was not unusual for the person who had set up a primogeniture to set up more than one. It is difficult to read a pattern into the way primogenitures were set up in general, and cases have to be evaluated on an individual basis. The Vicar Alessandro Bologna made two important deeds.

 

On October 22, 1678 he set up the primogenitura Bologna and nominated his nephew Pietro Perdicomati as its beneficiary; at the time the notary of the Bologna family was Luca Mamo, who was in time succeeded by Notary Benedetto Vassallo. In the acts of the latter, still extant in the Notarial Archives, we find a deed dated April 3, 1686. The income of Canon Bologna, in this important document, is established at 3,348 scudi. The notary took the precaution of adding a rider to the effect that that this included ordinary and extraordinary income collected and calculated.

 

Again, the beneficiary was to be his nephew Pietro. The extent of the Bologna entails can be gauged by reference to the acts of a 19th century suit that ended up before the Privy Council. Detailed lists of the family assets and their revenue clearly illustrate that the Bologna entails were among the most lucrative in the islands. They consisted of houses, shops, lands and fields. The main residence of the family, situated in Strada Mercanti, was the first item listed in the said primogenitures. There was another large house in Strada San Giorgio, today Republic Street. Beneath these two properties there were five shops which were all leased at substantial rents. The most rewarding property was, however, a house and surrounding gardens situated in Siggiewi which rendered 1,500 scudi. Also included are the family lands at the outskirts of Mgarr which in the mid-18th century were erected into a fief. These fields were known as De la Catena or Delle Mori. They were divided into two and their combined income was 810 scudi. In Malta the Bologna held a further 24 fields, the largest being Fgura, which was leased for 600 scudi. These fields today are the town known by the same name. There were also another 11 holdings in Gozo which provided almost one-third of the whole income of the entail. One of these known as Ta' Dbieghi, is today a crafts village. Further property was added towards the end of the 18th century. The villa at Casal Attard, Villa Bologna, tops the list. Other houses in Valletta and St Paul's Bay were incorporated together with 15 fields.

 

The Bolognas were an established and esteemed family, but they only received their first title of nobility towards the middle of the following century.

 

The grandson of Pietro Perdicomati Bologna, also named Pietro, was the first of the family to be honoured with a patent of nobility. The title of Count della Catena is rarely referred to by its alternative name delle Mori, of the Moors. It was conferred by Grand Master Pinto on January 20, 1745 upon Pietro Gaetano Perdicomati Bologna and his sons as well as his heirs and successors, whether relatives or strangers. The title was attached to the landed estate of della Catena or delle Mori. As the lands formed part of the Bologna primogeniture the title was to be enjoyed by the holder of the entail. In recognition of the said title the holder had to present a flower on the first of May. The patent specifically mentions the primogeniture erected by Canon Alessandro Bologna and refers to the deed of Notary Luca Mamo of October 22, 1678. As the title and the primogeniture became entwined it was only natural that the clauses of succession to the title were made as wide as possible so as to avoid ambiguity. Pietro Perdicomati Bologna died in 1756.

 

A few months later the family was involved in a mysterious episode.

 

During the night of December 17, 1756 the Vice Chancellor of the Order went to the house of the late Count Bologna. Accompanied by 18 soldiers, he ordered the Countess to vacate her house and informed her that he was following the direct instructions of Grand Master Pinto. The Countess was bewildered as she had no idea why she was being treated in such a way. The issue was not subject to discussion. Hastily she collected some clothes and the moment she was out of her palazzo the door was barred.

 

The Vice-Chancellor of the Order, however, notwithstanding the harsh order of the Prince of Malta, offered Countess Bologna the use of his sedan chair and she was taken to the house of her brother, Mgr Testaferrata. The reason why the recently widowed countess was evicted is obscure. Some light is shed on the matter in a confidential memorandum dated August 20, 1756, forwarded to the Holy Office in Rome by Inquisitor Salviati. The whole episode appears to have been instigated by none other than Fabrizio Grech, the Grand Master's lawyer, in relation to a dispute between two of the most prominent families on the Island, the Bolognas and the Testaferratas. The lawyer was the father in law of Count Nicola and was not in the least bothered to use his ends to justify his means.

 

It is evident that, unlike his mother, Count Nicola Perdicomati Bologna never fell out of favour with the Grand Master or his advisers. In 1758 he was selected for the post of Ambassador to Licata, with responsibility for the purchase and supply of wheat for the Maltese Islands, an office that guaranteed a considerable income.

 

Nicolo Perdicomati Bologna was recognised as the second Count della Catena after the Grand Master increased the homage payment from a flower to the provision of a military horse. Nicolo’ was invested in May 1758.

 

“Dopo la morte del do Nobe Pietro Gaetano, il Nobe e Magnifico D. Nicolo’ Perdicomati Bologna ebbe l’investitura di dta Contea, non gia’ coll’ obbligo di presentare il Mazzetto come Sopra ma coll’ obbligo del Militare Servizio d’un Cavallo alforcato e fece il giuramo di fedelta’. 30. Maggio 1758, f. 170, p.2” http://www.saidvassallo.com/SME/maltesenobility/nobility/Archivesofordervol627.html

 

Nicolo departed with his family in June and returned two years later having successfully completed his Ambassadorship.

 

Despite the numerous intermarriages between the Bologna and the Testaferrata families, polemics between these two dynasties appear to have been endemic. As soon as one issue was solved another erupted. In one particular instance a court case between Count Nicola’s widow Maria Teresa and Baron Pietro Paolo Testaferrata disturbed Grand Master De Rohan to such an extent that he decided to impose perpetual silence between the warring parties on the 30 June 1783.

 

“Silenzio perpetuo imposto dai G. Maestri sopra le Lite – Fu’ sopra la lite verteva tra la Contessa vedova D. Maria Teresa Bologna, ed il Barone Pietro Paolo Testaferrata, 30 Giugno 1783. Imposto perpetuo Silenzio, Vedi. F. 265”

 

 

 

EXTERNAL LINKS:

http://user.orbit.net.mt/fournier/a_belligerent_vicar.htm

 

REFERENCES (THIS SITE):-

 

History of the Perdicomati Bologna family: http://www.maltagenealogy.com/libro%20d'Oro/catena.html

Title of Conte della Catena: http://www.saidvassallo.com/SME/maltesenobility/contedellacatena.htm

 

 

Statements/Disclaimers