Rosalea Mompalao

Rosalea Mompalao, Baroness di Frigenuini (1743-85)

Grew up with her Mompalao family when her mother left Malta for Genoa and styled Baroness di Frigenuini upon her father’s death. Rosalea had petitioned the Grand Master for acknowledgement as Baroness of Frigenuini but the Grand Master had suddenly died and had to put the process into action after the election of the Grand Master. Rosalea Mompalao then styled herself as Baroness, but her brothers and her father’s relatives had made a mockery of her demands and styles. Though the Marquis Diego Moscati had promised to help her and take her into his keep. Rosalea was quite young and also penniless; naturally, looking for patronage was an essential factor to life. The Marquis Moscati had leased a house for her in Valletta, where upon a promise to serve his needs when in town. It seems that her life was in similar circumstances as her mother. Rosalea was treated a lady in the city of Valletta and never worked to survive. Over the years, she bore several children to the Marquis. Failing to secure a male heir with his wife, he was looking to divorce and marry Rosalea and to have their children legitimate. But it failed to come to any conclusion and the Marquis Moscati’s wife family were totally against the annulment. Rosalea bore a daughter, Saveria, whom we treat next, and two sons, Pietro and Edoardo Moscati. The Marquis Moscati had died and Saveria was forced out of her house in Valletta by the Marquis’s family.

Rosalea was then invited to move to a country house in Sliema with the Knight de Lancastre where she gladly accepted, taking her children with her. The Knight would visit when he could and she soon become his mistress bearing four children in a period of seven years.

Her children all took on the surname of Cuschieri and married into the local community. The elder son, Roger had become an abbot and served in the Monastery in Valletta.

Rosalea died at a young age of 42 years of age and was buried in Valletta. By that stage, her eldest daughter had taken patronage of the Marquis de Piro, as we treat below.

* Reference: A professional family of mistresses

Main Menu

See Also

Main Menu