The Remains of Arnau de Torroja, 9th Grand Master of the Knights Templar, Discovered in Verona

摘要

The members of the Torroja family were extremely important as advisers on political and military strategy to the counts of Barcelona (monarchs of the Crown of Aragon) Arnaldo was elected Grand Master of the Knights Templar (1181–1184). On 30 September 1184, the Templar Master passed away in the city of Veneto; Arnaldo de Torroja was buried at the church of San Vitale in Verona. The church was destroyed when the river Adige flooded it in the 18th century, and it was closed down in 1760 as a result of the damage caused. Some years ago, behind a wall, a sarcophagus was discovered on which was carved the typical Templar cross (Cross patty) and, in 2016, it was opened by a team of Italian scientists. The skeletal remains corresponded to the age Arnaldo. Thanks to the book that I recently published “Armorial de los Obispos de Barcelona, siglos XII–XXI”, it has been realized that the sarcophagus of the brother of Arnaldo of Torroja, Guillermo is contained within the Family heraldry “Golden a castle of Gules”, they requested that the aforementioned bishop’s remains be analysed, in order to compare them with those of Arnaldo.