The historical memory of Messina had been cancelled the evening of January 9, 1679.

After the peace of Nimega of 1678 between France and Spain, the King Sun Luigi XIV, by now satisfied of the victories obtained in the Europe north, it abandons Messina to its destiny. The city cannot alone resist the weight to make forehead to an empire and, therefore, understood it after four years of hard and upset resistance in the defense exasperated of the own ones it privileges between suffering and inexpressibile sufferings of all the population.

The rebellion of Messina of 1674 to the dominion of Carl II will be paid to beloved price: the rerevenge Spanish, in fact, it will be inexorable, pitiless. Of a unheard-of violence they are the feracious repressions that viceré the Benavides orders, many illustrious names are forced to abandon the city for the exile. The abolition to carpet of all will be put into effect privileges of which Messina enjoyed to begin from the Free Port, the University comes sluice and the Mint and pulled down the Senatorial Palace on whose ruins salt was scattered in sign of contempt of the trail magnificence. The revenge however has not completed yet.

The viceroy  spanish Francisco de Benavides, duke of Saint Stephen, sent from the king because it gave a hard punishment to the city that was spotted of lèse-majesty, that evening of 9 January 1679, to hours 22, hits the rebellious city just in the pride of its last pomp: one os to the Tower of the Bell tower of the Dome and embezzles Parchments of the Messina Bottom on which were imprinted the power and the largeness of Messina, the glorious historical vicissitudes that derived to them from the large ones privileges that in the course of the centuries the city had received from the several one reigning that they were succeduti.

The Benavides, after the removal, returns to Real Palace, fortunately does not destroy parchments, it finds the beautifulst Library donated from Costantino Lascaris and the door to you via in Spain with to parchments.

Forgiveness the traces, for three centuries has not been known nuller, seems that this extraordinary historical memory never has not existed, nevertheless... happens the miracle!

Accidentally the encounter of one studious sicialian with one Spanish of Seville door to the discovery that in that city documents exist that regard the city of Messina.

That that definitively seemed lost returns to the light: in the archives of the duca of Medinaceli to Seville they come found again Parchments of the Messina Bottom.

Thanks to the interest of the Ing. Cesar Fulci, which he sped up then the President of the Scalfaro Republic because he took part to make to give back to Italy a documentation of therefore great scientific and historical valence, the parchments, for through of the Cultural Assets and Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Acclimatizes them, finally is given back to Italy and delivered for the restoration to the laboratory Paul Ferraris to Turin.

The delivery of parchments to the laboratory from part of the scientific committee Italian-Spanish happens the 26 opens them 1992 and here it begins taken care of the restoration. After the participation of recovery, 1310 parchments return to Seville in the september of 1993 while 115 have been exposed in the great extension "Messina, the return of the historical memory" under the High Patronage of the President of the Italian Republic On. Oscar Luigi Scalfaro and of S.M. the King of Spain Don Juan Carlos I.

Messina, Zanca Palace - March/April 1994.

• Catalogue of the extension (Messina, Zanca Palace, 1 March - 28 you open them 1994) edited by Grace Fallico and Aldo Sparti with the collaboration of Umberto Balistreri - Palermo, Editions 900, 1994, pp. 191-199 - 193.

• Aldo Sparti, the Messina Bottom in the Archives of the House Ducale Medinaceli of Seville in " Messina: the return of the memory ". aldo.sparti@beniculturali.it

• edizioniparentesi.it/pergolizzi