Naples 
231 
It is necessary, in spite of the inventory, to run through almost the entire col¬ 
lection to exhaust a subject, as each fasce contains letters from a great variety 
of persons and extends over many years, often more than a century. Within 
the fasce, however, the letters of a single writer are usually together. The 
extreme dates of the collection are 1271 and 1734. The documents of Mar¬ 
garet of Austria might contain something on America, but the ones most 
likely to be of interest are those of Cardinal Alexander Farnese, vice-chan¬ 
cellor under Paul III., which contain much properly belonging to the papal 
nunciature, particularly between 1541 and 1544; and much intimate corre¬ 
spondence with nuncios and other papal officers. The bulk of this mate¬ 
rial relates to the Council of Trent, but references to America may exist. 
Hinojosa 15 states that numbers 688, 690 , 696 , 708 , 710 , 711 , 712 , 713 , 716 , 
717 , 721 , 723 , 725 , 728 , 729 , 731 , 746 , 748 , 753 , 756 , and 955 , contain, in addi¬ 
tion to other material, letters properly belonging to the nunciature of Spain. 
Of these 688, 690 , 696 , 753 , and 756 were examined without result. In addi¬ 
tion 689 , 696 bis, 715 , 732 , and 750 were examined without result. A list of 
the fasci remaining, which may possibly contain American material, with the 
exception of those just cited as mentioned by Hinojosa, follows. Very useful 
in examining them are the analytical indexes which have been or are being 
prepared. Of these eleven have been finished and a twelfth is in preparation. 
Number I. is for Rome, containing an alphabetical index of names of cor¬ 
respondents, with date and place of the letters; a chronological index; and an 
index of places from which letters are written. Series II., number 1, inven¬ 
tories fully the material in each fasce belonging to the Spanish group ; number 
2 does the same for “ Milano, Fiandra e Spagna, Parma e Spagna ”. The re¬ 
maining numbers treat the material in other groups of fasci, upon one or the 
other, or a combination of these systems, as follows: (3) “ Parma e Toscana ” ; 
(4) “Genova, Siena, Toscana” ; (5) Vienna ; (6) “Venezia, Lione, Alta Italia, 
Boemia, Portogallo ” ; (7) “ Francia ”; (8) “ Londra ” ; (9) “ Parma ” ; (10) 
“ Parma ” ; (n) “ Parma ”. 18 These recent and admirably prepared aids were 
not used, owing to the lack of time, and to the fact that, as references to Ameri¬ 
can topics would be incidental, the giving of names, dates, and places would 
still leave so much open to examination that little would be gained. For such 
items, a dogged examination of one fasce after another is probably still 
necessary. 
1 . Poggio to Ott. Farnese. 1539-1543. 
2 . Ardinghelli to Margaret, etc. 1557-1564. 
5 , 6 . Spanish ministers to Margaret. 1558-1563,1586-1599. 
7 . Peter Aldobrandini to members of the Farnese family from Lisbon, 
Madrid, and Flanders. 1567-1585. 
11 . Franc. Guillamas to Ott. Farnese, from Flanders. 1580-1588. 
14 . Same to same, from Madrid. 1589-1599. 
75 . Carteggio of Margaret on affairs of Spain and Flanders. 1550- 
1584. 
15 Los Despachos, pp. 77-78. 
18 Alfred Cauchie, and L. Vander Essen, “Les Archives Farnesiennes de Naples 
au point de vue des Pays-Bas ”, in Annales du XXe Centres Archeologique et His- 
torique de Gand, 1907 (Ghent, 1907, p. 24) ; A. Cauchie, “ Inventaires des Archives de 
Marguerite de Parme ... a Naples”, in Bulletin de la Commission Royale d’Histoire, 
LXXVI. 61-135 (Brussels, 1907). The Royal Historical Commission of Belgium will 
shortly publish an Inventaire des Archives Farnesiennes de Naples, by MM. Cauchie 
and Vander Essen. 
16 
