Fonds IT-ASDMAE/CGIG - Archive of Kingdom of Sardinia, Consulate of Palestine (1843-1849) then Kingdom of Italy, Consulate in Palestine then Consulate general of Italy in Jerusalem (1872-1943)

594 files and volumes

The papers of the archive arrived in Rome from Jerusalem in different transfers:

1936. As soon as Quinto Mazzolini arrives in Jerusalem, he reorganizes the archives of the Consulate. Between November and December 1936 he delivers to Rome the files he considers too old or not useful for daily work because of the lack of suitable spaces. He mainly delivers very old papers and registers.
1937. Between May and June 1940 – before the Italian declaration of war to France and the United Kingdom and before the closure of the Consulate - Quinto Mazzolini delivers a relevant number of folders he considers important. He also orders to burn the section of the records which he is not able to move to Rome but he fears it could be captured. A third part is consigned to the Consulate general of Spain. These papers are entirely given back to the Consulate general of Italy on 1948, after the reopening of the mission.
1938. The transfer of 1974 is also relevant. The papers refer to all matters. On a report dated May 1st, 1976 consul Giorgio De Andreis, who recovered the files, declares that he has personally verified the ancient ‘ante bellum’ papers, before sending them back to Italy. In the report - sent to the Historical Archives in Rome – it seems that he considers the old archives entirely transferred.
1939. On 1977 other papers are discovered in Jerusalem and delivered to Rome.
1940. The transfer of papers consists mainly of registers and of few files referred to Civil Status.
1941. This transfer, too, consists of few old registers.

The oldest documents in the Consulate fonds date back to 1843, to the foundation of the Consulate of Palestine during the Kingdom of Sardinia. According to the papers the Consulate closed in 1849 leaving the defence of the citizens to the Consulate of France.

The Royal Decree dated November 17th, 1871 establishes the Italian Consulate in Palestine. The papers cover the history of the Consulate until its closure, in June 10th, 1940. At that date the protection of Italian interests was entrusted to the Spanish Consulate. The activity of Consul Quinto Mazzolini and his Bureau in Rome (Ufficio Stralcio) lasted during 1943.

The archives preserve the original lists of the six transfers and the lists of destroyed documents; part of them were found during the archival arrangement conducted in 2016-2017. Except for a few files from the 1940 transfer, all the papers were found. During 2016 the papers transferred to Rome in 1936 and 1974 were listed and on 2017 the entire archive has been recovered, reorganized and described in an inventory, respecting the original order (this means according to the old classifications applied in Jerusalem until 1924 and according to the file plan released on December 1924 by the Italian Foreign Ministry). Files are identified with a continuous numbering. The fonds can be actually considered closed as the Second World War has certainly marked a clear historical and institutional caesura.
The narrative of transfers and destructions is significant in the measure they reflect the effects and the consequences of the events (of the beginning of the Second World War, for example) and of the historical perception of the value of these documents.

At the end, as a result of the archival arrangement, the fonds have been described into four subfonds:

Part 1 – Subfonds - Ancient archive of Kingdom of Sardinia - Consulate of Palestine (1843-1949)
Part 2 – Subfonds - Papers organized in one level categories ('posizioni'), (1872-1924)
Part 3 – Subfonds - Papers organized according to the general file plan released on December 1924 by the Italian Foreign Ministry (1925-1943)
Part 4 – Subfonds – Registers (1872-1941)

2017-04-27

Author(s) : Costanza Lisi