Le catene della gloria. L’uso politico della genealogia di Luigi Guglielmo Moncada (1643-1667)

The XVII century was made of family histories. It witnesses the growing passion between aristocracy and Europe, both looking back to their past and myths to find the roots upon which to build the present and draw the future. This led to host of fantastic stories, often unreliable, unless those based on documents, which represent of method and memory. Among them, the genealogies commissioned by the Duke of Montalto, Luigi Guglielmo Moncada, who, between 1643 and 1667, initiated an historical and iconographic project of great value to boost his rise to the great Mediterranean aristocracy. This paper analyses the Duke of Montalto's great design, delving into some crucial moments when the political competition became so harsh to impede the publication of a book deemed too "dangerous" and only recently found.