Pietro Dusina was an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

priest from

Brescia Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo. ...

who was the

inquisitor An inquisitor was an official (usually with judicial or investigative functions) in an inquisition – an organization or program intended to eliminate heresy and other things contrary to the doctrine or teachings of the Catholic faith. Literall ...

and apostolic delegate to

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

between 1574 and 1575. Dusina was nominated inquisitor of Malta by

Pope Gregory XIII Pope Gregory XIII ( la, Gregorius XIII; it, Gregorio XIII; 7 January 1502 – 10 April 1585), born Ugo Boncompagni, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 May 1572 to his death in April 1585. He is best known for ...

on 3 July 1574, and he arrived on the island on 1 August of the same year. Prior to Dusina's appointment, the

Bishop of Malta The Archdiocese of Malta (Malti: ''Arċidjoċesi ta' Malta'') is a metropolitan archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church in Malta. History Tradition claims that St. Paul the Apostle established the diocese of Malta in the year 60 A ...

had held inquisitorial authority, but disputes between Grand Master

Jean de la Cassière Fra' Jean l'Evesque de la Cassière (1502 – 21 December 1581) was the 51st Grand Master of the Order of Malta, from 1572 to 1581. He commissioned the building of the Conventual Church of the Order (now Saint John's Co-Cathedral) in Vallett ...

and Bishop Martín Royas de Portalrubio led to the Pope's nomination of Dusina as inquisitor. On 28 January 1575, the Pope confirmed Dusina's role as apostolic visitor to Malta. La Cassière offered Dusina the former Castellania in

Birgu Birgu ( mt, Il-Birgu , it, Vittoriosa), also known by its title Città Vittoriosa ("''Victorious City''"), is an old fortified city on the south side of the Grand Harbour in the South Eastern Region of Malta. The city occupies a promontory of ...

to house his official residence as well as the tribunal of the inquisition. The building had been vacant for some years, and Dusina was temporarily accommodated at

Fort Saint Elmo Fort Saint Elmo ( mt, Forti Sant'Iermu) is a star fort in Valletta, Malta. It stands on the seaward shore of the Sciberras Peninsula that divides Marsamxett Harbour from Grand Harbour, and commands the entrances to both harbours along with Fort ...

Valletta Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an Local councils of Malta, administrative unit and capital city, capital of Malta. Located on the Malta (island), main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, i ...

and later the Dominican convent in Birgu before settling in the Castellania. The latter continued to house Malta's inquisitors until 1798, and it became known as the Inquisitor's Palace. Dusina first heard a case as inquisitor on 25 August 1574, and he retained this role for only eight months, hearing the last case in May 1575 and probably leaving Malta within that month. He was succeeded by Pietro Sant'Umano as inquisitor. In 1575, Dusina visited every church in the Maltese Islands and kept a detailed record of them. Handwritten copies of this report are found in the

National Library of Malta The National Library of Malta ( mt, Bibljoteka Nazzjonali ta' Malta), often known as the Bibliotheca ( mt, Bibljoteka), is a reference library in Republic Square, Valletta, Malta. It was founded by Grand Master Emmanuel de Rohan-Polduc in 1776 ...

, the Archiepiscopal Archives and the

Vatican Apostolic Archive , seal = Seal of the Vatican Secret Archives.svg , seal_width = 200 , seal_caption = Former seal of the Vatican Apostolic Archive , logo = , formed = , jurisdiction = , headquarters = Cortile del Belvedere, Vatican City , coordinates ...

, and they are important

primary source In the study of history as an academic discipline, a primary source (also called an original source) is an artifact, document, diary, manuscript, autobiography, recording, or any other source of information that was created at the time under ...

s about Maltese history in the 16th century. No portrait of Dusina is known to exist.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dusina, Pietro Year of birth missing Year of death missing 16th-century Italian Roman Catholic priests Inquisitors of Malta Religious leaders from Brescia