An Archaeologist in Rome at the Service of the Order: Letters from the Hospitaller Grand Master to Antonio Bosio (1610-1629)

An Archaeologist in Rome at the Service of the Order presents the so-far completely unknown letters between the Grand Masters (Alof de Wignacourt, Luís Mendes de Vasconcellos and Antoine de Paule) and Antonio Bosio, who is well known worldwide for his extensive discoveries of the Roman Christian catacombs and was also an Agent of the Order of Malta in Rome. The letters were sent between 1604 and 1629 and are currently held at the National Library of Malta.

After a complete account on Bosio’s biography and family history, the letters are transcribed, translated and commented, in order to open a window on the role of the Agent in Rome in the very early seventeenth century, a particular juncture in the Order’s history, and on the relations between Malta and Rome.

The study and publication of these materials make it possible to present Antonio Bosio’s political and administrative works at the service of the Grand Master to the international public and academics interested in the history of the Order.

Chiara Cecalupo is Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Malta. She received her PhD at the Pontificio Istituto di Archeologia Cristiana in Rome and have been collaborating with several research institutions in Italy, Malta, Vatican State, Germany and Spain among others. Her main research focus is on museology and on the rediscovery of early-Christian heritage in the Mediterranean basin. She has a strong interest in history of archaeology, antiquarian studies and reception of antiquities from the 16th to the 19th century.