Málaga
More than 3,000 documents from the old Hospital of Santo Tomás in Málaga, among which are some signed by the Catholic Monarchs, are now available to researchers in the Diocesan Historical Archive.
This Thursday, the Bishopric of Malaga hosted the presentation of the collections of the Santo Tomás Archive, the blessing of the remodeled facilities of the Diocesan Historical Archive and the delivery of the Pro Ecclesia Malacitana medals to people who have distinguished themselves for their dedication to the service of the diocese of Malaga
The collections are made up of more than 3,000 documents generated over more than six centuries. “The oldest dates back to the year 1403. The origin of this hospital dates back to the taking of Malaga by the Catholic Monarchs on August 19, 1487, since on October 2 of that same year they gave way to its founder, Diego García de Hinestrosa (Belmonte, in Cuenca), a house located on Santa María street in the capital, which would be the seed of the care center.”
A charity hospital next to the Cathedral that, since its foundation in 1505, was intended to care for people without resources and that was taken over by the Diocese of Malaga more than ten years ago.
The funds are divided into two different files. On the one hand, there are those from the hospital founded by Diego García de Hinestrosa, which contain documents from 1490, some of them signed by the Catholic Monarchs. These are files that allow us to reconstruct the daily life of Malaga at the time.
On the other hand, there is the archive of the Domínguez family, settled in Marbella since 1568 and which was one of the most powerful in the town for several centuries. Among its members they stood out as governors, councilors, etc. Of this family, which was related to the Hinestrosa, documents have been preserved since 1403.
Along with these funds, the Diocesan Historical Archive has baptism, marriage and death books for the entire province of Malaga since the beginning of the 16th century. “Fundamental records taking into account that the Civil Registry was not created until 1870, so to reconstruct the history of the province until that date there are only ecclesiastical records. This gives us an idea of the value that sacramental books have,” he said. explained the director of the Diocesan Historical Archive, Miguel Ángel Gamero.
Some of the baptismal certificates that are preserved belong to internationally known people from Malaga, such as Pablo Ruiz Picasso, Fernando Ortiz, Emilio Prados, Manuel Altolaguirre, Narciso Díaz de Escovar, José Gálvez Ginachero or the II Marquis of Larios, Manuel Domingo Larios, which is the name of the most famous street in the city.
