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THE ITALIAN LEGACY IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
110
His arrival, however, would take some time. In fact, it would be another year before the bishop of Santo
Domingo would set foot on the island of Hispaniola. As he mentions in ep. 7.11, his first letter written in Santo
Domingo—dated October 6 and addressed to Charles V—he had finally arrived on September 17, 1519.
Alessandro Geraldini seemed to have a rather clear conception of his new diocese’s issues, even before he
physically got there. Beyond the pages of the
Itinerarium,
which he obviously wrote after arriving in Santo Do-
mingo (the “official” date on record is March 19, 1522:
Itin
. XVI 40), he addresses various Dominican issues in
his letters, especially in ep. 9, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20, 22, and 25 (16 and 19 are
memoralia
, requests from the diocese
itself). Of these, 9, 15, 17, and 20 are dated before his departure. The issues, and the proposed solutions, are
summarized in the following table (each concession is attributed to Geraldini’s specific petitions for authority
or other things for himself and/or the diocese):
ISSUES
SOLUTIONS
the general economic poverty
of the diocese and the bishop
•
granting of indulgences: ep. 9.14
•
granting of a jubilee: ep. 19.3, 19.12
•
granting of García de Padilla’s income: ep. 16.5
•
all regions of the diocese must pay tithes: ep. 16.12
•
granting of the
Legatus Natus
office: ep. 19.30, 23.9
•
granting of fees to his nephew Onofrio: ep. 22
•
granting of fees to Alfonso de Espejo: ep. 16.8
the lack (or poor condition)
of the bishop’s palace
•
granting of a palace by Charles V: ep. 15.2–4, 20.3
the lack (or poor condition)
of the cathedral
•
granting of 8000 ducats by King Ferdinand II: ep. 15.6, 20.4–5
•
petition to build a stone cathedral:
Itin.
XIII 37–40
•
shipping the relics of martyrs: ep. 19.7–8, 23.9
•
permission to use gold for the payment of indulgences by
those who committed acts of violence against indigenous
peoples:
Itin.
XVI 32, ep. 19.24
the lack of a hospital
•
granting of funds: ep. 19.11–12
•
cruelty of the Spanish:
Itin.
XVI 16–30
•
accusation of genocide:
Itin.
XVI 27, ep. 19.22
•
charges against Figueroa: ep. 25
•
theft and oppression: ep. 25.2–3, 25.7
•
permission to choose baptized slaves: ep. 16.1
•
slavery of indigenous peoples contributes to the spread of
Christianity: ep. 19.26–27
Spanish violence and
exploitation of indigenous
peoples
the education of indigenous
peoples
•
permission to appoint a schoolteacher: ep. 17.1
•
permission to educate the children of
caciques
(indigenous nobility): ep. 16
Opening page:
Alessandro
Geraldini de Amelia,
Archbishop of
Santo Domingo,
author unknown.
© Image from the
Episcopology of
the Archdiocese of
Santo Domingo, by
José Luis Sáez, S.J.,
Archbishopric of
Santo Domingo, Santo
Domingo 2011.
Page 109:
Alejandro Geraldini,
oil painting by
Vaquero Turcios.
Royal Houses
Museum Collection,
Santo Domingo,
Dominican
Republic.
© Source: “Basílica
Catedral de Santo
Domingo,”(Santo
Domingo: Arzobispado
de Santo Domingo y
Patronato de la Ciudad
Colonial, 2011), 105.