The Levantine merchants Antonio de Via and Bartolomeo Locadello – protectors of the Catholic missionarism in Wallachia (first half of the 17th century
The Levantine merchants Antonio de Via and Bartolomeo Locadello – protectors of the Catholic missionarism in Wallachia (first half of the 17th century

Summary/Abstract: On the basis of some unpublished sources from the Archives of the Sacred Congregation “De Propaganda Fide” and following a critical analysis of the relevant scholarly literature, the present article attempts to make a synthesis of the activity of two levantine merchants, Antonio de Via, descendant from a Genoese family residing in Pera, and Bartolomeo Locadello, Venetian citizen, as protectors of the Catholic missionarism in Wallachia. Both merchants, before establishing in Wallachia, were involved in commercial activities in the Ottoman capital. Antonio de Via came in the Northern Danubian Principality as member of prince Alexander Iliaş’s court, being granted the office of great cupbearer during 1627-29, probably as a reward for his financial support offered to Iliaş to get the throne. After 1635, de Via held the office of second cupbearer for several years during the reign of prince Matthew Bassarab. Bartolomeo Locadello arrived in Wallachia as commercial agent working for Constantine Battista Vevelli, the brother in law of prince Alexander Iliaş. The second reign of prince Alexander Iliaş in Wallachia (1627-29) and then in Moldavia (1631-33) witnessed an almost continuous presence of the Venetian merchant in the Romanian Principalities, motivated by his commercial affairs. Starting with Matthew Bassarab’s reign, Locadello definitively established his permanent residence in Bucharest. During their presence in Wallachia, Antonio de Via and Bartolomeo Locadello maintained a close communication with the Patriarchal Vicar from Constantinople and the cardinals of the Sacred Congregation “De Propaganda Fide” in Rome, acting as protectors of the Franciscan missions active in the few Catholic communities from the Romanian Principalities.

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