ABSTRACT

This chapter argues that, at least as far as Carlo Cigala was concerned, Christendom's "archenemy" had a crucial role to play in his quest for social advancement. In fact, Carlo aspired to be, and indeed considered himself to be, part of a trans-imperial nobility. To begin, however, it would be prudent to briefly comment on the main source for Carlo Cigala's appointment to the Duchy of Naxos since the quotation from the berat is taken, not from an Ottoman original, but from an Italian translation preserved in the archives in Venice. Regardless of whether Carlo Cigala actually engaged in such forms of deception and deceit, his skilful invocation of ties on both sides of the political dividing line between the realms of the king of Spain and the Ottoman sultan fits him into the category of trans-imperial subjects.