Amico, Antonino

AMICO, ANTONINO. - A priest from Messina, canon of the cathedral of Palermo, where he died on 22 October 1641. The year of birth of this celebrated Sicilian scholar is unknown; he is known above all for his research on the ecclesiastical history of Sicily, and was elevated by Philip IV to the office of royal historiographer. With tireless labor he rummaged through the archives of Naples and of Sicily, gathering precious material for the ecclesiastical and civil history of Sicily, most of which remained unpublished.

Of his works, almost all written in Latin, we cite: Trium orientalium latiuorum ordinum... notitiae et tabularium (in fol., Palermo 1636), a partial publication whose continuation is found in Memorie per servire alla storia letteraria di Sicilia, II, Palermo 1736; Dissertatio historica de antiquo urbis Syracusarum archiepiscopatu (Naples 1640); Series ammiratorum insulae Siciliae... (Palermo 1640); De messanensis prioratus sacrae hospitalis domus militum S. Joannis Hieros. origine (Palermo 1640). Other writings that remained unpublished were published by R. Starrabba (Scritti inediti o rari di A. A. e documenti relativi al medesimo, Palermo 1891), who also edited the edition of the Diplomi della cattedrale di Messina raccolti da A. A. (Palermo 1876-90).

Mario Scaduto