Letters from Switzerland Letters from Italy

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1902 Excerpt: ...on his mother's side was Matte.o Martello. The maiden name of his great-grandmother is unknown. The issue of this marriage were two daughters,--Maria, who married Giuseppe Braccoueri, and became the grandmother of Giuseppe Balsamo; and Viucenza, married to Giuseppe Cagliostro, who was born in a little village called La Noava, about eight miles from Messina. (I must note here that there are at this moment living at Messina two bell-founders of this name.) This greataunt was subsequently godmother of Giuseppe Balsamo, who was named after his great-uncle, and at last in foreign countries assumed also the surname of this relation. The Bracconeri had three children,--Felicitfi,, Matte"o, and Antouia. Felicitd was married to Piedro Balsamo, who was the son of Antonio Balsamo, ribbon dealer in Palermo, and probably of Jewish descent. Piedro Balsamo, the father of the notorious Giuseppe, became bankrupt, and died in his five and fortieth year. His widow, who is still living, had borne him, besides the above-named Giuseppe Giovanna, Giuseppe Maria, who married Giovanna Battista Capitummino, who begot three children of her body and died. The memoir, which was read to us by its obliging author, and was at my request lent to me for a few days, was founded on baptismal and marriage certificates and other instruments which he had collected with great diligence. It contains pretty nearly (as I conclude from a comparison with a summary which I then made) all the circumstances which have lately been made better known to the world by the acts of the legal process at Rome; viz., that Giuseppe Balsamo was born at Palermo, in the beginning of June, 1743, and that at his baptism he was received back from the priest's arms by Vincenza Cagliostro (whose maiden name was Martel...