Alario Flondio - Titolo - 1559

Rare and elegant public notarial instrument on parchment drafted in medieval/humanist Latin, dated December 19, 1559. The document certifies a real estate sale occurred in the city of Chioggia (Clodia), at the time a fundamental part of the mainland dominions of the Serenissima Republic of Venice.

Historical Details and Content:

The deed opens with the solemn Christian invocation (“In Nomine dei eterni amen. Anno ab incarnacione domini nostri jesu christi Millesimo quingentesimo quinquagesimo nono...”) and formalizes the sale from Prospero Sabbatino (Prosper Sabbatini) to Maestro Antonio Vaccaro (Magister Antonius Vaccaro).
The object of the transaction is a property of notable size: a whole house with upper floors, an uncovered courtyard, and an adjacent warehouse (“totam unam meam domum soloratam cum quodam suo discosoperto, et uno suo magaleno...”). The deed meticulously lists the boundaries with public streets and with the nearby hospitium of the shoemakers (“hospitij spatariorum”), reporting the exact measurements expressed in the old local metric system of the Chioggian feet.
The agreed and fully paid price is 300 Ducats (“ducatos trecentos in totidem pecunie auri & argenti”), the famous commercial currency of the Republic of Venice.

Elements of Exceptional Paleographic Value:

• Signum Tabellionis: splendid and finest notarial mark traced entirely by pen in the lower left corner. It presents a complex geometric base with a tight interlaced pattern (anti-counterfeiting function) surmounted by a staff with a cruciform globe containing the cryptographed monogram of the notary.
• Subscriptio and Autentica: The deed is closed by the autograph completion of the notary Alario Flondio (son of the late Vincenzo), who signs officially as Notarius Venetiarum (Notary of the Venetiae), followed by the signatures with cross marks of the witnesses Paolo Pisani and Valeriano.
• Dorso: On the reverse (dorsal), the parchment bears the ancient archival classification registry of the period (Seventeenth/Eighteenth century) with the designation “N. 3” and the name “Antonius Vaccaro.”

Condition Report:

The parchment is in excellent preservation for its age (467 years). The membranous support is solid, flexible, and free of major gaps. The original iron gall ink remains perfectly clear and legible on nearly the entire surface. Readable, natural traces of historic yellowing give the piece authentic period charm.
• Era: 16th Century (1559)
• Material: Animal parchment
• Dimensions: [Insert measurements in cm: Height x Width]
• Language: Notarial Latin