Letter from Antonio Di Seravezza to, 1670-02-25, Marseille

Letter from Antonio Di Seravezza to, 1670-02-25, Marseille

Franciscans

Seravezza case

Slaves (Christian)

Tunis

Letter from Antonio Di Seravezza. It has been seven months since he left Tunis, where he should be vicar apostolic. He has been forced to leave Tunis, because of several incidents that will become clear from the letter that [Tenente?] Bausset will send. He had to abandon the poor church and leave between five and six thousand souls behind, in order to come to Marseille to ask for justice. He would also have gone to Paris, if the circumstances would have allowed him, in order to present his case to the king. The French king protects the Holy Faith in these areas, and would have surely defended it now. However as he did not know how things work in these countries, he went to the consuls of Marseille, after he had arrived in that city. They heard his reasons, and read the testimonies of the merchants and Christian slaves, who had told Di Seravezza that he should go to the officer of justice and make a verbale. He also revealed the case to the nuncio, who brought it to the attention of the king. When he saw that such pious people defended his case, he happily left the officer of justice. Now he hopes that the consulate (which means Mister Pias), will keep account of the goods that Ambrogini [Jean Ambrozin] has taken from the church. He asks for the response to be send to Luigi Calaman. Being a Franciscan, Di Seravezza does not take money, therefore Calaman handles all his letters. This letter is a copy sent by Colbert.

Additional comments

This might be the letter to Father Benigno Bruni that Di Seravezza mentions elsewhere, see: APF SC Barbaria1, 180r-181v (database item 881).

APF SC Barbaria 1, 176r-177v

1670-02-25

For the verbale mentioned in this letter, see: APF SOCG 430, f. 248r-249v, 255r-256r (database item 734).

copy; signed

Italian

Letter

879

Origin: Marseille

Destination: unknown