A belligerent vicar-general and the Bologna dynasty

The parameters governing the office of Vicar-General were always ambiguous. In the absence of the Bishop, the Vicar-General took his place. In the presence of the Bishop his place was unspecified. Did he precede or follow the Cathedral hierarchy?.

As the Archdeacon was head of the latter, disputes with the Vicar-General were bound to arise. In time, the issues went beyond the threshold of Christian civility and culminated in a conflict which turned violent. It was Christmas Eve 1662. Alessandro Bologna had been Vicar General for almost two years. It is recorded that on this particular occasion he was wearing il mantellato, a short mantle worn by the higher clergy symbolizing authority. As Vicar-General he expected to precede all the officials of the Cathedral Chapter. He entered the choir and as soon as he arrived at the Archdeacon's stall he stopped. It was evident that he intended to have a showdown. Alessandro Bologna stood motionless waiting for the Archdeacon to give up his place. At the time the Archdeacon was Agostino Xara, who was equally determined not to be intimidated. Xara remained steadfast and did not move. The Vicar had come prepared. He signalled his guards, who pounced on the Archdeacon and removed him by force. Almost everyone froze. Just as soon as Xara was literally lifted from his stall, his assistant, the Coadjutore, stepped in to take his place. He instantly suffered the same fate as his superior. When order was somehow restored Vicar-General Alessandro Bologna calmly took his place as if nothing had happened.

Archdeacon Xara and his coadjutor must have had the most miserable Christmas of their lives. They were taken to Birgu and imprisoned. They remained in this sorry state for three whole months until instructions for their release were received from Rome. The order was given by Pope Alexander VII, who had served as Inquisitor in Malta.

On regaining his freedom, the Archdeacon immediately proceeded to Rome where he remained a whole year advocating his right of precedence. In the meantime, Inquisitor Marescotti was given the task of conducting an inquiry into the matter. Moreover, the Inquisitor was ordered to imprison Bologna. This command was commuted to internal exile and the Vicar was sent to Gozo on condition that he would have to find a guarantor who would in turn have to pledge his own liberty as a safeguard against the escape of Bologna. The Vicar's favourite nephew, Pietro Perdicomati Bologna, did not hesitate to offer the guarantee. However when the Inquisitor eventually recalled Alessandro Bologna from Gozo the unexpected happened. As soon as the Vicar-General, accompanied by the leading prelate in Gozo, arrived at Mellieÿa, they boarded a feluca, a boat of considerable size, and together with his nephew set sail for Rome. In the Eternal City, Alessandro instituted all sorts of legal proceedings. These however came to an abrupt end when Xara's ally, Bishop of Malta Balaguer, died. His successor, Bishop Buenos, must have been a friend of Bologna for they returned together to Malta and the matter stopped there. It cannot even be excluded that the Bolognas had in some way a say in the appointment of Buenos. At the time the Bolognas were a powerful family. 

There are various versions as to the origins of the family. According to a history of the family entitled Strickland of Sizergh, Bologna was not really a family name, but was the birthplace of the Balì Beccadilli who brought the fleet of the Order from Rhodes to Messina. He married the sister of a French Knight named de Bonelis. Although he does not appear to have had the appropriate dispensation to marry, his children did inherit property in Malta. Another version is given in an 18th century patent of nobility; it is specifically stated that the family is descended from the counts of Ariano in the territory of Naples. Alessandro Bologna had a sister, Vincenza, who married Francesco Perdicomati. This is how the two surnames were joined, and their first born came to be known as Pietro Perdicomati Bologna. There is no doubt that the Perdicomati originated from Greece. When the Order left Rhodes they were accompanied by Greek families who did not want to be governed by their new Turkish overlords, probably because of their close association with the Order.

Fabio Chigi Inquisitor of Malta 
and later Pope Alexander VII

Together with the Knights, they eventually settled in Malta. They continued to carry their surnames: Paleologo, De Piro, Crispo, Crispi and Perdicomati. They even enjoyed the privilege of falling under the jurisdiction of the Grand Prior of the Order. Alessandro Bologna was very close to his nephew Pietro Perdicomati Bologna. During the unfortunate episode over ecclesiastical precedence it was Pietro who helped his uncle the Vicar escape to Rome. In time the latter reciprocated by making his nephew a very rich man.
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. 
Alessandro Bologna made two important deeds. 

On October 22, 1678 he set up the primogenitura Bologna and nominated his nephew Pietro 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 loyal 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 influence of Vicar Bologna extended up to the end of the 17th century. After the earthquake of 1693 destroyed the greater part of the Cathedral in Notabile, ecclesiastical dignitaries were summoned to decide how to allocate the apse chapels of the new Cathedral.

In the summer of 1694 the chapter made its final decision. It accepted the offer of Vicar Canon Alessandro Bologna, and his coadjutor Gio Franco Mangione, to pay 1,200 scudi for a chapel to be dedicated to San Filippo Neri. They also undertook to set up a giuspadronato attached to the chapel, which was to provide an annual income of 400 scudi. 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. These lands were erected into a noble fief. 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. Three months after Pietro Gaetano was created Count della Catena, his first born Nicola married Maria Grech. Maria was the daughter of Fabrizio Grech, the foremost lawyer of the time and the influential adviser to the Grand Master. In fact he derived his influence from his position of uditore to Grand Master Pinto and consequently was able to wield substantial power. It appears however that some members of the Bologna family considered the marriage to the daughter of a lawyer as a mésalliance. These insinuated that Grech did not even have a decent residence. As a reply Pinto's lawyer built one of the most beautiful villas in the islands, situated in the immediate vicinity of San Anton, the Grand Master's inland palace. 

Fabrizio Grech gave this fabulous villa as a wedding present to his daughter. Henceforth it came to be known as Villa Bologna. Almost 200 years later it became the private residence of Lord Gerald Strickland, Count della Catena, who became Prime Minister of Malta in 1927. Nicolo Perdicomati Bologna was recognised as the second Count della Catena after the death of his father Pietro 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. He departed with his family in June and returned two years later having successfully completed his term of office. 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 them disturbed Grand Master De Rohan to such an extent that he decided to impose perpetual silence between the warring parties. Apparently the belligerent genes of Vicar Alessandro Bologna had not died with him.

Dr Attard Montalto, apart from being a commercial and criminal lawyer, former minister and Labour MP, read History at the University of Malta. This article is an excerpt of material to be published in a book in the coming months. Dr Attard Montalto is contesting the European Parliament election of June 12 as a Labour Party candidate.