(30-04-2021, 01:16 PM)Daniele Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.I would suggest contacting the You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view., which holds the archives of the chancellery of the Visconti Duchy (1395–1447) and the subsequent Sforza Duchy (1450–1499).
Dear Daniele
Thank you so much for your reply it is very kind of you!
Yes, I have had contact with the State Archives in Milan. However I have not yet had the opportunity to visit the Milan archive in person. As I am sure that you can imagine this is a line of enquiry that I have explored a bit.
The difficulty comes from the fact that in 1447 the Castello di Porta Giova, which was located where Castello Sforzesco is currently located, was burned to the ground by those who wished to make the Duchy of Milan a Republic. As it was the Ambrosian Republic only lasted for 3 years before Francesco Sforza became Duke. The Visconti chancellery was in the Castello di Porta Giova and in particular the cipher records were kept there, so almost all of the ciphers were destroyed in the fire.(I only know of enciphered letters from 1445 to or from the Ambassador of Rome, which I suspect were not in Milan at the time of the fire, though I may be mistaken.)
In the Milanese Archivist Luigi Osio's 3 volumes entitled "Documenti Diplomatici Tratti Dagli Archivj Milanese" there is various correspondence from surviving from the Visconti chancellery. However there is only one reference that I have seen to a enciphered letter prior to 1445 and that dates from 1427. However it appears that the original enciphered letter no longer survives, though I do intend to look into it just in case.
I have an electronic copy of both volumes of Lydia Cerioni, which I scanned in full; I couldn't buy a copy, only borrow one. If you are interested get in touch.
Given the destruction of cipher records in Milan I have focused on Milanese ciphers in other state archives like Mantua and Florence. There is a cipher key used for correspondence with Milan in the Gonzaga cipher ledger in Mantua. There is a cipher key generated by the archivist Abbot Gabrielli from enciphered letters from 1424 in the Florence State Archive. In Giovanni Sercambi's book "Le croniche di Luccha" he has some Milanese ciphers from 1397. This is all that I know of. There is a reference to a Milanese enciphered letter intercepted by the Papacy from 1430, however it is doubtful that it survives and if so where about in the Vatican Archives to look is unclear and anyway it may have been given to the intended recipient as this created a diplomatic incident. I am waiting on an enciphered letter from 1421 in the Genoa Diocesan Archive(the archive will reopen in the summer) between Abbot Matteo de Carretto and Archbishop Pileo de Marini as it appears that de Carretto was working on the behalf of the Visconti, but this could easily be a Papal cipher and not a Visconti cipher.
[font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]I think the best bet, though I could be wrong, [/font][font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]is to find enciphered letters sent from Milan for this period in archives outside of Milan(though there could be something in the Diocesan Archi[/font][font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]ves of Milan). There could also conceivably be cipher keys used for communication with Milan in other archives. Given the sheer number of archives not only in Italy, but also in Europe that is a mammoth task.[/font]
May I ask how you are acquainted with the subject?
If you or anyone else has any more ideas then they would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks again!
Mark