The following text is the text from the cipher key that is most consequential and that I am having the most difficult reading and identifying the person.
Their title appears to be "dominus", but who exactly they were I don't yet know. The same person occurs 3 times in the text. Once in the title of the cipher key indicating who the correspondent was. Once in the last line of the cipher key. And once in the nomenclature.
Obviously the first word of the last line is "zifra" meaning "cipher".
I wonder if I read the following words:
"davidis" or "danielis"
"oviglia"(Oviglio is a town in Piedmont???)
"dgoralo"/"dgorali/"dgoralus" (However, the first letter of this word is most mysterious. It looks like a "d", but maybe it is an "ol" or "os" or "oz" or "x" or something else.)
I wonder if we have the word "cum" in the title and last line.
Then in the last line we have something like "torpnhai".(Taurinorum was the name for Turin???)
Perhaps: cum d(omi)no gorel(l)o origlia
and that's just an embellishment between dno and gorelo / gorello?
(24-06-2026, 08:05 PM)JoeyB Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.Perhaps: cum d(omi)no gorel(l)o origlia
and that's just an embellishment between dno and gorelo / gorello?
There was a "Gorello Origlia". However he seems to have died in 1412 before the date I associate with the cipher. Although maybe he had a son or other relative with the same first name.
D'Gorello
Jacopo Origlia was a 15th-century Italian noble and religious figure. He could have been representing the Kingdom of Aragon, Kingdom of Naples or the Pope.
This could be a completely incorrect identification.
From the guide book "L'abbazIa dI San nazzaro Sesia guida aI percorsi architettonici e fIguratIvI a cura di Massimiliano Caldera e Valeria Moratti con la collaborazione di Samuel Beltrame" and translated into English it says about Antonio Barbavara->
"Antonio Barbavara was then abbot, governing it from April 28, 1429, to 1466, ending a long period of political instability. Appointed by papal bull by Pope Martin V, he was an excellent administrator as well as a good diplomat of vast culture, endowed with the common sense necessary to resolve legal issues. Originally from an important Lombard family close to the Viscontis, he was the son of Nicolino, the last Visconti podestà of Vercelli, brother of the first count of Gravellona Lomellina, uncle of the bishop of Tortona. He had previously been abbot of Santa Giustina di Sezzadio (in the diocese of Acqui, today in the province of Alessandria), before being called by Pope Martin V to San Nazzaro, where he remained until his death. His election is certainly to be considered linked to political maneuvers by the Lombard dukes, given that, as evidenced by documents, his brother Giacomo drew up his will in favor of his children in 1452 in San Nazzaro, remembering and citing them not only by name but also by the positions they held within the ducal court, demonstrating that they were all related, in various capacities, to the Visconti family. Another sign of the abbot's importance occurred in 1448, when Francesco Sforza besieged Novara and dictated peace terms to the city and the Novara area; the duke was in fact forced to recognize the abbot of San Nazzaro's rights, the only exception in the entire territory. We also have a physical description of Barbavara, given to us by contemporary testimonies: he was a "homo pinguis, niger et mediocris stature," that is, fat, dark, and of medium height. In the cloister and in the church it is still possible to see the family's coat of arms, a white castle with two towers, in memory of the derivation from the Castello family. The abbot is buried in the church itself, as recalled by the funerary inscription. Sesia at that time was the state border between the Lombard duchy and the Savoy possessions; On this side of the Sesia, bordering San Nazzaro, were Recetto and Cassinale, possessions of the Arborio family, loyal to the Savoy, while the territory to the south was divided between Novara and Vercelli. San Nazzaro thus emerged as a Milanese wedge in Savoy lands, a fact which gave rise to its strategic importance as well as the attention paid to it by the dukes.
During Barbavara's reign, many works were carried out to improve the agricultural landscape: new crops were introduced, the surrounding lands were reclaimed, the ancient water rights of the Sesia were restored, and the land was repopulated with new plants. He was also responsible for strengthening the existing castle with towers and crenellated walls; the tower in particular was used as a place of detention, a role previously performed by the castle. The abbey church, the cloister, and the chapter house were renovated. The abbot also built his personal residence, as well as a tower with a ravelin above and in front of the western entrance gate. This construction allowed the abbots to live in noble style, offering hospitality to illustrious ladies and knights. In fact, the Duke of Milan, Galeazzo Maria Sforza, lived here twice with his court, shortly before his death in Milan on 26 December 1476. Attics and storerooms allowed the structure to also be used as a warehouse for agricultural supplies; agriculture was one of the interests to which the abbot devoted himself tirelessly, as an excellent administrator. The products of these lands were wheat, grapes, millet, rye, and beans. The new duke, Francesco Sforza, favorably impressed by the perfect organization of the place, reconfirmed the jurisdictional rights of the monastery. The contract specifications for the reconstruction of the hospital of Sant'Andrea in Vercelli, dated 4 September 1461, allow us to know something more about the work carried out during the abbot's presence. It is interesting to note that it was Antonio Barbavara himself, whom we have often mentioned for his role at the abbey, who urged the necessary restorations and expansions to the Vercelli hospital after a visit in 1456. Upon Barbavara's death, the abbey was granted in commendam by the Pope to members of the Roman Curia; among them the Arcimboldi, the Fieschi, the Spinola, the Sforza, the Confalonieri and many others who, however, rarely lived there."
(My research has shown that some of the information about Antonio Barbavara in this book is incorrect. Specifically the precise family tree provided here is contradicted by other evidence. I doubt he was ever Abbot in Sezzadio, my research points to him training to be Podesta of Alessandria with property in the area of Sezzadio and growing up with the Ghilini family.)
I have also translated the following from the guide book->
We know nothing about the appearance of the fortifications around the church, also because Barbavara had the old buildings demolished to make way for the new ones, preserving the plan, but characterizing the complex in a modern sense.
The Barbavara family descends from the division of the Da Castello family, which in turn originated from the Counts of Pombia. In the Middle Ages, the Da Castello family, lords of the Ossola Valley, the upper reaches of Lake Maggiore, and part of the Valais, had split, at the beginning of the 13th century, into the Cavalcadeselle, the Monteorfano, the Collapsamonte, the Gattico, and the Barbavara.
The Barbavara family lived on the borders of several municipal territories; therefore, they alternated between Novara and Pavia. They later enjoyed great success in 14th-century Milan, under the duchy of Gian Galeazzo Visconti. Francesco Barbavara, for example, along with his brother Manfredo, became guardians of the duke's two sons upon the duke's death, exercising extensive powers over the duchy.
The tombstone is transcribed in M. Leoni , "La tomba dell’Abate Antonio Barbavara nella Abbazia di San Nazzaro Sesia", in “Bollettino Storico per la provincia di Novara”, lXXvII (1986), pp. 175-184.
In the Papal bull thorough which Barbavara was appointed he was described as «cui de religionis zelo, scientia, vite munditia, honestate, bonorum spiritualum providentia et temporalium circumspectione, aliisque multiplicium virtutuum donis», that is, «known for religious zeal, science, cleanliness of life, honesty, endowed with spiritual gifts and skilled in temporal affairs and with many other virtues».
At sixteen he was appointed commendatory abbot of the abbey, at eighteen regular abbot of the same.
Archivio di Stato di Milano, Fondi Camerali, 2nd March 1461.
Archivio di Stato di Milano, Feudi Camerali, Cart. 553, 1st of December 1479.
Bibliography of Book by Aina:
CUSANO MARC'AURELIO: Discorsi historiali concernenti In vita et attioni dei Vescovi dì Vercelli. Vercelli, MDCLXXI.
DIONISOTTI CARLO: Pietro Brugo di Romagnano Sesia, ricordo d'amicizia. Torino, 1876.
PEROSA MARCO: Bulgaro (Borgovercelli) e il suo circondario, Monografia. Vercelli. 1889.
ORSENIGO RICCARDO: Vercelll Sacra (brevissimi cenni sulla Diocesi e sue Parrocchie). Como, 1909.
PORTER A. K.: L'Abbazia dì Sannazzaro Sesia, in « Arte e Storia », rivista mensile. Firenze, 1911, ottobre, novembre, dicembre.
PORTER A. K.: Lombard Architecture. New Haven. 1915-1917, vol. III.
BARBONAGLIA B.: Gli Abati dì S. Nazaro Sesia, in « Archivio della Società Vercellese dì Storia e d'Arte ». Vercelli, anno X (1918), n. 2 e 3.
BONOLA N.: La vita di San Benedetto alla Badia dì Sannazzaro Sesia, in « La Fiera Letteraria », anno V, n. 13 (31 marzo 1929).
BARBONAGLIA B.: GII affreschi del Chiostro dì Sannazzaro Sesia in « Bollettino Storico per in Provincia di Novara », anno XXIV (1930), fasc. I.
LAZANIO G.: La torre campanaria dell'Abbazia di Sannazzaro in « Bollettino Storico per In Provincia di Novara », anno XXIV (1930), fasc. I.
VERZONE P.: L'architettura Romanica nel Vercellese. Vercelli, 1934.
VERZONE P.: Il Duomo, la Canonica e il Battistero di Novara, in « Bollettino Storico per la provincia Novara anno XXVIII (1934), fascicolo III.
COGNASSO F.: Novara nella sua storia, in « Novara e il suo territorio », Banca Popolare di Novara, 1952.
BARONI C.: L'arte in Novara e nel Novarese, in « Novara e il suo territorio, Banca Popolare di Novara. 1952.
Le traduzioni dei « Dialoghi » di S. Gregorio sono tratte dal
volume: S. Gregorio Magno: Vita e miracoli di San Benedetto volgarizzata da Antonio Fiorini. Roma 1954, Abbazia di San Paolo.
The few documents of the Abbey are published in the Biblioteca della Società Storica Subalpina:
Archivio Capitolare di Santa Maria di Novara;
Archivio Capitolare di Vercelli;
Museo Civico di Novara.
Some ancient documents have been transcribed with other more recent documents and are located in the State Archives of Milan.
Other documents, once in S. Nazario, are no longer available except in later transcriptions, such as an "Inventory of papers, belonging to the Abbey of San Nazario".
Other texts:
P. Verzone, Sannazaro Sesia: San Nazaro, in Congrès Archéologique du Piémont, 129e Session (paris 1971), paris 1978, pp. 232-240.
Don Mario Capellino Sussidio didattico per la storia, l’arte e la spiritualità dell’abbazia di San Nazzaro Sesia 1994, 89 pages.
Società Storica Novarese L’Abbazia di San Nazzaro Sesia Maggio 1995, 37 pages.
Tiziana dell’Olmo Il restauro dell’abbazia di San Nazzaro Sesia Dicembre 1995, 61 pages.
Santino Ravizza, La fondazione dell'abbazia dei SS. Nazario e Celso in Sannazzaro Sesia, Vercelli, 1974.
Giovanni Donna d'Oldenico, L'abbazia di Sannazzaro Sesia nella politica dei conti di Biandrate, in Bollettino Storico Vercellese, n. 3-4, 1974-75.
Giancarlo Andenna, Abbazia incastellata di San Nazzaro Sesia, in Da Novara tutto intorno, collana Andar per castelli, Torino, Milvia, 1982, pp. 189-195. URL consultato il 23 gennaio 2024. Ospitato su Calameo.
Mario Perotti, L'abbazia incastellata di San Nazzaro Sesia, in AA. VV., La pianura novarese dal Romanico al XV secolo. Percorsi di arte e architettura religiosa, Novara, Interlinea Edizioni, 1996
The great difficulty that I have with research into Antonio Barbavara is tracking down the primary sources for information about him. By this ideally I mean contemporary archival evidence about him.
I haven't tracked down the source texts for Aina. If I do so, I then need to find their sources.
Unfortunately, the sources for the guide book are not fully listed.
He is described as a good diplomat and clearly involved in various diplomatic incidents. So, given this, his intellectual abilities and his family background it is very likely that he was familiar with advanced cryptography.
I haven't been able to study the Barbavara family private archive. However, this is from the inventory document about the archive:
A letter from the ducal chancery, 1456, from Pavia to Abbot Antonio Barbavara.
A volume with "Feudal Privileges" on the cover, including a 1457 letter to Antonio Barbavara, Abbot of San Nazaro, and various privileges—some copies, others originals (parchment dated May 9, 1460). 1425: Election of Francesco Barbavara as secretary to Filippo Maria Visconti, Duke of Milan. Folder labeled "1435 – Francesco Barbavara": Ducal secretary, envoy to the Council of Basel for the Duke of Milan, includes the text read at the 1435 council (held in the Vercellino Visconti archive) and documents regarding Antonio Barbavara (Abbot of the San Celso monastery in San Nazaro, 1448).
I hope some day I may be able to see this material.