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Matthew of Agrigento. The political and religious engagement of a franciscan... 491

accident, then, that Matthew had conducted his homiletic activity in
Sicily primarily in Messina and Palermo, where, that is, the presence
of the merchant class was dense and where their intervention made
social and economic tensions more pronounced .
40
Also in Palermo, in 1426, the Franciscan was able to obtain per-
mission from the city authorities to found a convent for Observants on
land granted to him by Antonio and Betta de Mirabile . However, the
41
mission conducted by Matthew in the Sicilian capital did not only
gather consensus, as can be seen from the exemptions to suntuary
legislation approved by the viceroy . A letter sent by the Aragonese
42
ruler to Nicolò Speciale on July 31, 1426, on the other hand, reveals
the obstacles Matthew encountered on his way . As early as May of
43
that year, however, the Franciscan had moved on to Agrigento, the city
where he was born, where his intervention had immediately aroused
the reconciliation of several families . On that occasion, the city au-
44
thorities granted Matthew the ancient monastery of St. Nicholas,
which he was only able to restore, however, thanks to the munificence
of King Alfonso . It is likely that Matthew’s mission conducted in Agri-
45
gento was also not particularly successful. On the other hand, after
the sermon conducted in Messina, relations between the Franciscan,
the island’s ecclesiastical hierarchies and the Friars Minor of the

40 Concerning Sicilian cities and its ruling classes, relative to the 15th century,
see the works of P. Corrao, Città ed élites urbane nella Sicilia del Tre-Quattrocento,
«Revista d’història medieval», 9 (1998), pp. 171-192; Id., Amministrazione ed equi-
libri politici nel regno di Sicilia (1416-1443), in G. D’Agostino, G. Buffardi (a cura
di), XVI Congresso Internazionale di Storia della Corona d’Aragona: la Corona d’Ara-
gona ai tempi di Alfonso il Magnanimo; i modelli politico-istituzionali, la circolazione
degli uomini, delle idee, delle merci; gli influssi sulla società e sul costume. Atti, (Na-
poli, Caserta, Ischia, 18-24 settembre 1997), Mondiali Grafica, Napoli 2001, pp.
179-198; and Id., Policentrismo dei poteri e contrattazione politica nel regno di Sicilia
(1282-1458). La fisionomia istituzionale e la negoziazione interna (città, monarchia,
nobiltà, parlamento). Résumé”, in F. Foronda (édité par), Avant le contrat social. Le
contrat politique dans l’Occident médiéval (XIII e -XV e siècle). Colloque international
de Madrid (2008), Publications de la Sorbonne, Paris 2011, pp. 715-716.
41 Palermo, Municipal Library, Qq F 16, cc. 99r - 117. The land grant document
was published by F. Rotolo, Il beato Matthew d’Agrigento cit., pp. 246-249.
42 See M. Sensi, Osservanza francescana cit., p. 1020.
43 Aca, Real Cancilleria, Registros 2813, c. 7r.
44 On the foundation of the convent of St. Nicholas of Jesus in Agrigento, see
A. Giuliana Alaimo, La chiesa di S. Nicola dei Cistercensi ad Agrigento, s.e., Palermo
1953. Regarding the date, the monastery was granted to Matthew of Agrigento, cf.
again J.R.H. Moorman, Medieval Franciscanum cit., 202. Instead, on the donation
of the privilege given by the crown to Matthew, see the document preserved in Asp,
Real Cancelleria, Registro 57, c. 176v. (cf. F. Rotolo, Il beato Matthew d’Agrigento
cit., p. 250).
45 Aca, Real Cancilleria, Registros 2813, c. 85r., (cf. A. Amore, La predicazione
del B. Matthew cit., p. 291).

Mediterranea - ricerche storiche - Anno XX - Dicembre 2023
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