Illustrating a Family. The Printing Press and Political Issues in the "Ritratti della Prosapia et Heroi Moncadi nella Sicilia"

Abstract

In an early printed book, the presence of a large iconographic apparatus normally reveals a strong effort both in designing its shape and in the financial coverage needed to make it possible. Such effort can be fully explained by paying attention to the scope and target behind its conception. The two volumes of “Ritratti della Prosapia et heroi Moncadi nella Sicilia”, published in 1657 in Valencia, offer a notable example of the political exposure sought after by a noble family, that of Moncada, through the printing press technique and its power of circulation, combined with the attractiveness of family portraits. In particular, the 1657 book, written by Giovanni Agostino Della Lengueglia, marks the leading role of Luigi Guglielmo Moncada, a prominent figure in the political arena of the Spanish domains during the 17th Century. He had commissioned archival research on his family’s long-lasting noble tradition many years before its final publication, repeatedly trying to get to publish his family’s heroic roots: close to 1640, when Luigi Guglielmo hoped to become Sicily’s new Viceroy, and again at a time (around 1650, shortly after the mass rebellion in Naples and Palermo) when his individual position as a privileged supporter of the Spanish Crown was under question. Illustrating a family through typography and engravings was then a viable strategy in order to turn off some rumours heard about his supposed treachery.