Our Sicilian Family Tree

[johnraciti]

Via Francesca Neosi - Pisa

[johnraciti]

Maria Raciti BID (Hons) Monash University

My top kid sister:

Maria Raciti BID (Hons) Monash University

Bayly Design Award
DIA Design Award
Monash Design Award

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The M269 Patriarch: R1b1c/R1b3 - Found in Europe

The M269 Patriarch: R1b1c/R1b3

"The “Aurignacian Culture” - The Aurignacians left the Asian homeland in the Gulf area of Pakistan, moved along the Zagros Mountains region and entered Anatolia about 47,000 years ago, crossed the then dry Straits of Bosphorus and migrated through present-day Bulgaria up the Danube River to present-day Hungary and Austria and into Germany. Another branch had split from their Austrian relatives and migrated to Italy from there west via the Riviera across the Pyrenees Mountains to El Castillo in Northern Spain by approximately 37,000 years ago."

"It is supposed that many men in the Franco-Cantabrian Refuge (southern France and Spain) carried the M269 marker. However, it is entirely possible that there were other refuges that have yet to be identified. It would make considerable sense that the (now underwater) coastline of the Mediterranean Sea would have offered a hospitable haven, as would the peninsula of Italy."

http://www.ethnoancestry.com/EAM269Sept05.htm

http://www.ethnoancestry.com/haplo.html

This could be why we find M269 Patriarch: R1b1c/R1b3 in Sicily

[johnraciti]

The M269 Patriarch: R1b1c/R1b3

R1b (previously known as Hg1 and Eu18) is the most prolific haplogroup in Europe and its frequency changes in a cline from west (where it reaches a saturation point of almost 100% in areas of Western Ireland) to east (where it becomes uncommon in parts of Eastern Europe and virtually disappears beyond the Middle East). A R1b haplotype (a set of marker scores indicative of the haplogroup) is very difficult to interpret in that they are found at relatively high frequency in the areas where the Anglo - Saxon and Danish "invaders" originally called home (e.g., 55% in Friesland), and even up to 30% in Norway. Thus a R1b haplotype makes it very challenging to determine the origin of a family with this DNA signature.

During the Last Glacial Maximum, about 18,000 years ago, the people bearing the R1b haplogroup over wintered in Northern Spain (see map1). After the glacial retreat about 12,000 years before present, R1b began a migration to the north in large numbers (see map 2), and to the east in declining numbers.

R1b probably arrived in Spain from the east 30,000 years ago among the paleolithic or "old stone age" peoples considered to be aboriginal to Europe). It is believed that everyone who is R1b is a descendant in the male line from an individual known as "the patriarch" since his descendants account for over 40% of all the chromosomes of Europe. This haplogroup is characteristic of the Basques whose language is probably that of the first R1b, and who are genetically the closest to the original R1b population (which probably amounted to only a few thousand individuals). Source: Dr. David Faux

http://www.davidkfaux.org/shetlandhaplogroupR1b

The members of R1b3 (or R-M269, formerly known as R1b) are believed to be the descendants of the first modern humans who entered Europe about 35,000-40,000 years ago ( Aurignacian culture). Those R1b3 forebearers were the people who painted the beautiful art in the caves in Spain and France. They were the modern humans who were the contemporaries - and perhaps exterminators - of the European Neanderthals.

Source: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb..._2003_R1b3.html

Hg R was the dominant lineage in Western Europe and then, pushed south by the descending Ice Age, to southwestern France and northwestern Spain to evolve into lineage Hg R1b. This area became a refuge for humans in Europe during the coldest millennia of the last Ice Age. As the climate warmed, the scattered clan Hg R1b followed the migration of game to the north and some of them reached what is now the British Isles about 15,000 years ago which at this time was connected to mainland Europe. It is believed they changed from hunter-gatherers to farmers in southeastern Europe about 8,000 years ago and in Britain about 4,000 years ago. As hunter-gathers became farmer’s permanent settlements ended this great migration period and over time Hg R1b settled predominately in what is known today as Spain, Portugal, France, Belgium, Denmark, England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland.

Members of the "West Atlantic Modal" haplogroup (WAMH), which is part of the R1b1c (M269) haplogroup, meaning he has a lot of very distant relatives in Portugal, Spain, France, Britain and Ireland. It is the dominant haplogroup found in the areas where the “beaker folk” once lived, and stone monuments (French: “menhirs”) such as Stonehenge were once built. More generally, the R1b (P25+) haplogroup is thought to be one of the European haplogroups that has been in Europe the longest.

Long before there were Celts in Western Europe, one of the early European men of this R1b family (perhaps in Spain, during the last Ice Age) became the patriarch of this enormous western European “WAMH” super-family. See...

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb...hg/YCC_R1b.html

http://hpgl.stanford.edu/publicatio..._v290_p1155.pdf

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb...R1b_modal2.html

[johnraciti]

Ibero-Sicanians & The Aurignacian culture.

The oldest-known clay hearths have recently been discovered in the Peloponese region of Greece, dated to 33,000 BC. The hearths were fired at temperatures estimated to be between 400 degrees C and 600 degrees C, by people of the Aurignacian culture.

Over 70 hearths built using clay were unearthed in ground layers associated with a prehistoric culture known as the Aurignacian. Analysis reveals that the hearths were fired to between 400C and 600C.

Virgilius considered to the Ibero-Sicanians as the oldest settlers of the latium (it is to say of the peninsula Thyrrenian or Italian)

The Iberian origin of the Sicanians is confirmed by Thucydides, Denys Halicarnasse, Ephorus (quin affirms had been the first inhabitants of the Magnâ Greece (islands of Sicily and the Aegean) and Philiste de Syracuse.
Servius, in its "Antiques of the Latium or of Italy", affirms that "old" the Ibero-Sicanes "was the first inhabitants of the same city that later got to dominate the world". It affirms Servius that the Ibero-Sicanians, was the first colonizadores of old Rome.

Plinius, also confirms the data of the colonization of the Ibero-Sicanians on the Thyrrenian.

Denys Halicarnasse, counts up to two thousands of Iberos on the old inhabitants of priemra primitive Rome.

Canton affirms that still at the time in which they arose the Sicules (Sicilians) existed the Sicanians dominating on the Latium, until they were defeated by the Sicules.

According to Diómedes, the Iberian got to colonize until the coasts of the Adriatic, that is to say, until Asia.

According to Denys Halicarnasse, the Ibero-Sycanians was allied with the Pelasges and Tursanes (Etruscians) to fight against the Ombrios, Sicules and other towns egeans. According to this same author, the Ibero-Sicanians was those that gave name to the Tiber river and the old city of Tibur in the peninsula of the Latium or Thyrrenian.

Thucydides, affirms that ibero-sicanians when they colonized Sicily, they called Sicania, and thus he appears attested by Homero in his Odyssey, which confirms that the colonizations that made the Iberians in the direction of the interior of the Mediterranean, that is to say, towards the East, until the Thyrrenia and Asia, it was long before the times of Homero, and before the Phoenicians arrived at Iberia.

[johnraciti]

Relação dos Nomes Patronímicos

Caggi - Caggegi - Jewish

http://www.ensinandodesiao.org.br/Abradjin/0202.htm

Raciti Raisi Rais

RAIS m Arabic
Means "leader, chief" in Arabic.

RAIS
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic
Extra Info: Related Names
Options: Contribute Information, Add to List
Means "leader, chief" in Arabic.

http://www.behindthename.com/nmc/ara3.php

The Punta Raisi airport of Palermo

Serraino Vulpitta in Trapani

[johnraciti]

My R1b ancestors originate on the island of Sicily - in Randazzo CT & Frankavilla ME

http://www.parks.it/parco.alcantara/Epun.html

Randazzo - was called Yanazzo. It means 'Suburb'.

[johnraciti]

Raciti Rizzo Coat of Arms, Family Crest

Spelling variations include: Rizzo, Ricci, Rizzi, Riccio, Rizza, Risso, Lo Riccio, Lo Rizzo, Lorizzo, La Riccia, La Rizza

First found in various parts of Italy including early references in Emilia-Romagna, Venice, Bologna as well as in Lombardy and Tuscany.

http://www.houseofnames.com/coatofarms_details.asp?sId=&s=Rizzo

Blasone - famiglia Raisi

Secondo Mugnos, famiglia nobile di Saragozza, portata in Sicilia da un Giammatteo Rais a' servigi militari di re Martino da cui in compenso ottenne la castellania di Bruca, e poscia il governo d'Augusta.
Si distinsero in oltre; un Pierantonio maestro razionale della Camera Reginale 1420, ed un Gianfilippo cameriere della regina Maria, e castellano della città di Noto.
Levò per arme: d'azzurro, con un pesce raja d'argento, posto in fascia.



Fuoti Furlani Coat of Arms, Family Crest

From the ancient and picturesque Italian region of Venice emerged a variety of distinguished names, including the notable surname Furlani. Although people were originally known only by a single name, it became necessary for people to adopt a second name to identify themselves as populations grew and travel became more frequent. The process of adopting fixed hereditary surnames was not complete until the modern era, but the use of hereditary family names in Italy began in the 10th and 11th centuries. Italian hereditary surnames were developed according to fairly general principles and they are characterized by a profusion of derivatives coined from given names. Although the most traditional type of family name found in the region of Venice is the patronymic surname, which is derived from the father's given name, local surnames are also found. Local names, which are the least frequent of the major types of surnames found in Italy, are derived from a place-name where the original bearer once resided or held land. Often Italian local surnames bore the prefix "di," which signifies emigration from one place to another, but does not necessarily denote nobility. The Furlani family lived in Friuli, in the northeast of Italy.

http://www.houseofnames.com/coatofarms_details.asp?sId=&s=Furlani

Blasone - famiglia Foti

Nobile famiglia di Messina dove al dir del Villabianca ha occupato le cariche nobili della Senatoria. Un Simone Foti e Marullo fu il primo marchese d'Inardo per concessione di Carlo VI imperatore 1717. Da lui ne venne un Nicolo investito del detto titolo nel 1743, senatore di Messina nel 1762.
Arma: diviso d'oro e di nero, con quattro catene moventi da' quattro angoli dello scudo, e legate nel cuore ad un anello, dell'uno all'altro.
Corona di marchese.


Patti Parrino Coat of Arms, Family Crest

Spelling variations include: Parrino, Parrinello, Parrinelli, Parrinu, Patrinu, Padrino, Parri, Parrelli, Parrini, Parin and many more.

First found in Messina, formerly Promontorium or Pelorum, a city of Sicily and capital of the province of Messina.

http://www.houseofnames.com/coatofarms_details.asp?sId=&s=Parrino

Patti Coat of Arms, Family Crest

The Patti family name dates back to the time of the Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. It comes from an early member of the family who was a small person. The surname Patti originally derived from the Old French word Petit which referred to small or tiny. A broad and miscellaneous class of surnames, nickname surnames referred to a characteristic of the first person who used the name. They can describe the bearer's favored style of clothing, appearance, habits, or character.

Spelling variations include: Pettey, Petty, Pettie, Pety, Petie and others.

First found in Warwickshire where they were seated from very ancient times as Lords of the Manor of Ilmington conjecturally descended from the land holder recorded in the Domesday Book survey taken in 1086 A.D.

http://www.houseofnames.com/coatofarms_details.asp?sId=&s=Patti

Blasone - famiglia Patti

Famiglia di antica e chiara nobiltà della città di Messina, dice Mugnos originata da Anfusio cavaliere greco, signore dei castello di Sterope, il quale nell'anno 892 ivi fortemente dall'almirante de' Saraceni assediato si arrese a patti, che non furono poscia mantenuti.
Epperò l'Anfusio ciò prevedendo ricevuto avea in ostaggio il figlio del principe saraceno Vendecair; ed uscito co' suoi da quel forte, giusto nel sito ove è oggi la città di Patti, venne da quei barbari assalito; del che bravamente difendendosi nell'ira strangolò il giovine ostaggio a vendetta de' non osservati patti.
Ei fuggì ricoverandosi entro una fortezza, ma raggiunto infine fu da essi barbaramente ucciso. Quel sito, come dicemmo, veinne a concorrenza de' Saraceni estesamente edificato e quindi a perpetua memoria di vendetta chiamato de' Patti. La città poi si accrebbe per le rovine dell'antica Tindaride e dell'antica Sterope di già distrutta. La famiglia fu anche detta de' Patti a tal riguardo.
Di essa fiorirono: un Ansaldo, figlio d'Anfusio che membro della commissione assicurò al conte Ruggiero l'esibito acquisto dell'isola di Sicilia; un Riccardo straticoto di Messina 1137; un Luzio uno de' capi congiurati del Vespro, ricevuto avendo la sovraintendenza delle città di Naro e Girgenti, perlocchè unitamente ai suoi due figli Giannicolò e Pellegrino da Federico II 1325 fu creato barone. Il Pellegrino intanto la foresta di s. Giorgio, Grassetta, Porta di Traina, la gran foresta di Signi e quella di Lucia si ebbe. Un Ansaldo fu uno dei primi baroni di Messina ai servigi di rè Ludovico II, il di cui figlio Nicolo signore della terra della Scaletta, della foresta di Traina, di Attilia e Guidomandri; un Giovanni signore del feudo della Placa in Troina; un Anselmo ottenne il casale di Piazza; un Bartolomeo fu due volte senatore di Messina acquistando Mamula ed Agriato in Calabria, non che la baronia della terra di Linguagrossa in Sicilia; uno Scipione cavaliere gerosolimitano un Andrea tré volte senatore e principe de cavalieri della Stella; un Donnizio giudice della Gran Corte; un Ansaldo barone di Belvedere, tré volte senatore; un fra' Italiano cavaliere di Malta 1492, ed altri.
Arma: diviso, di rosso e d'oro, ed una sbarra d'azzurro, attraversante sul diviso. Corona di barone.

[johnraciti]

Azzolina Coat of Arms, Family Crest

The distinguished surname Azzolina originated in an area of Italy, known as the Papal States. Although people were originally known only by a single name, it became necessary for people to adapt a second name to identify themselves as populations grew and travel became more frequent. The process of adopting fixed hereditary surnames was not complete until the modern era, but the use of hereditary family names in Italy began in the 10th and 11th centuries. Italian hereditary surnames were developed according to fairly general principles and they are characterized by a profusion of derivatives coined from given names. The most traditional type of family name found in the region of the Papal States is the patronymic surname, which is derived from the father's given name. During the Middle Ages, Italians adopted the patronymic system of name-making because it perfectly complemented the prevailing feudal system. In Italy the popularity of patronymic type of surname is also due to the fact that during the Christian era, people often named their children after saints and biblical figures. The surname Azzolina came from the personal name "Azzo."

http://www.houseofnames.com/coatofarms_details.asp?sId=&s=Azzolina

Este, Italian noble family, rulers of Ferrara (1240–1597) and of Modena (1288–1796) and celebrated patrons of the arts during the Renaissance. Probably of Lombard origin, they took their name from the castle of Este, near Padua. They succeeded to the house of the Guelphs when the original Guelph line died out.
Azzo d'Este II, 996–1097, lord of Este and the founder of his family's greatness, was invested with Milan by the emperor. Azzo's son, Guelph d'Este IV or
Welf IV,
d. 1101, was adopted by his maternal uncle, Guelph III, whom he succeeded as duke of Carinthia. In 1070 he was made duke of Bavaria. The grandfather of Henry the Proud of Bavaria and Saxony, Guelph IV was the founder of the German line of the Guelphs, from whom the British royal family is descended. He died on Cyprus while crusading.
Azzo d'Este II had another son, who continued the Italian line of the house; among that son's successors was Obizzo d'Este I, d. 1193. Obizzo and his grandson played an important part in the struggle of the Guelphs against Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I (see Guelphs and Ghibellines. He married the heiress of one of the two families contending for supremacy in Ferrara. His grandson, Azzo d'Este VI, 1170–1212, was podesta [chief magistrate] of Mantua and Verona and fought to obtain Ferrara, but it was left for his son, Azzo d'Este VII, 1205–64, to succeed in becoming (1240) podesta of that city at the head of the triumphant Guelph party. Obizzo d'Este II, d. 1293, was made perpetual lord of Ferrara in 1264, lord of Modena in 1288, and lord of Reggio (now Reggio nell' Emilia in 1289.
Because Ferrara was held as a fief from the pope, the Este became papal vicars in 1332. Niccolò d'Este III, 1384–1441, made Ferrara a center of arts and letters and increased the power of his house by playing his more powerful neighbors against each other. Under his successors the court of the Este became one of the most brilliant in Europe. Among them were his illegitimate sons Leonello d'Este, 1407–50, an accomplished prince, and Borso d'Este, 1413–71, who received the title duke of Modena and Reggio from Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III in 1452 and that of duke of Ferrara from Pope Paul II in 1471.
Niccolò's legitimate son Ercole d'Este I, 1431–1505, lost some territory in wars against Venice. Ercole's beautiful and brilliant daughter, Beatrice d'Este, 1475–97, married Ludovico Sforza, duke of Milan, one of the most lavish of all Renaissance princes. Her sister, Isabella d'Este, 1474–1539, married Francesco Gonzaga , marquis of Mantua. Ariosto, Boiardo, and Berni were her friends, and Leonardo da Vinci and Titian painted portraits of her.
Ercole I was succeeded by his son, Alfonso d'Este I, 1476–1534, second husband of Lucrezia Borgia . In the Italian Wars he entered the League of Cambrai against Venice and remained an ally of Louis XII of France even after Pope Julius II had made peace with Venice. The pope declared Alfonso's fiefs forfeited and excommunicated him (1510); Modena and Reggio were lost. However, in 1526–27 Alfonso participated in the expedition of Charles V, Holy Roman emperor and king of Spain, against Pope Clement VII, and in 1530 the pope again recognized him as possessor of those duchies. Ariosto lived at his court in Ferrara after a long employment by Alfonso's brother, Ippolito I, Cardinal d'Este, 1479–1520, to whom Ariosto's Orlando Furioso is dedicated.
Alfonso's son and successor, Ercole d'Este II, 1508–59, married Renée, daughter of Louis XII of France. He joined the pope and France against Spain in 1556, but made a separate peace in 1558. He also was a patron of the arts, as was his brother, Ippolito II, Cardinal d'Este, 1509–72, an able diplomat who led the pro-French party at the papal court. Ippolito built the celebrated Villa d'Este at Tivoli.
With Ercole II's son, Alfonso d'Este II, 1533–97, the direct male line of the house ended. He willed his titles to his cousin, Cesare d'Este, 1533–1628, but Pope Clement VIII refused to recognize Cesare's rights, and Ferrara was incorporated into the Papal States in 1598. Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II recognized Cesare's rights to Modena and Reggio, but without Ferrara the duchy lost political importance.
The last duke, Ercole d'Este III, was deposed in 1796 by the French and died in 1803. His daughter, Maria Beatrice, married Archduke Ferdinand of Austria, a son of Austrian Emperor Francis I, who founded the house of Austria-Este. After the restoration (1814) of the duchy of Modena their son and grandson, Francis IV and Francis V, ruled as dukes of Modena, Massa, and Carrara. Francis V was expelled in 1859, and his territories were annexed (1860) to the kingdom of Sardinia.

[johnraciti]

Caggegi Galligari Callegari Galli Coat of Arms, Family Crest

From the ancient and picturesque Italian region of Venice emerged a variety of distinguished names, including the notable surname Callegari. Although people were originally known only by a single name, it became necessary for people to adopt a second name to identify themselves as populations grew and travel became more frequent. The process of adopting fixed hereditary surnames was not complete until the modern era, but the use of hereditary family names in Italy began in the 10th and 11th centuries. Italian hereditary surnames were developed according to fairly general principles and they are characterized by a profusion of derivatives coined from given names. Although the most traditional type of family name found in the region of Venice is the patronymic surname, which is derived from the father's given name, local surnames are also found. Local names, which are the least frequent of the major types of surnames found in Italy, are derived from a place-name where the original bearer once resided or held land. Often Italian local surnames bore the prefix "di," which signifies emigration from one place to another, but does not necessarily denote nobility. The Callegari family lived in Bologna, where Grazia Calegari was one of 10 members elected to the provisional government in 1394.

http://www.houseofnames.com/coatofarms_details.asp?sId=&s=Callegari

Origine -> Descrizione - famiglia Caggio

Antica e nobile famiglia della città di Palermo originaria d'Alemagna al dir di Mugnos. Commendansi Giorgio Caggio castellano del palazzo reale di Palermo; Luca figlio del precedente, paggio di rè Martino e tant'altri gentiluomini, tra' quali si annovera un fra' Luca Caggio cavaliere gerosolimitano nel 1590.
Arma: campo d'argento con una croce scorciata di rosso accompagnata in punta da una stella dello stesso.

http://www.famiglia-nobile.com/links.asp?CatId=422

Todaro Coat of Arms, Family Crest

Spelling variations include: Teodori, Teodoro, Todai, Todaro, Toderi, Todero, Totaro, Todarello, Todarini, Toderini, Teoderini, Todaru and many more.

First found in Venice a city and seaport occupying one of the most remarkable sites of the world.

http://www.houseofnames.com/coatofarms_details.asp?sId=&s=Todaro

La Rosa Coat of Arms, Family Crest

Spelling variations include: Rosa, De Rosa, Rosas, Rosi, Di Rosa, La Rosa, Larosa, Roselli, Rosellini, Rosiello, Rosetti, Rosettini, Rosettin, Rosina, Rosini, Rosin, Rosita, Rosoni, Rosone, Roson, Rosani, Rosano, Rosan, Rosanelli, Rosatto and many more.

First found in Italy, where bearers of La Rosa were found since the Middle Ages in many areas of Italy, including Venetia, Emilia and the south.

http://www.houseofnames.com/coatofarms_details.asp?sId=&s=La+Rosa

Origine -> Descrizione - famiglia Rosa o Larosa

Da Gerardo Rosa potente cavaliere bresciano dice Mugnos, trae origine questa nobile famiglia, che sotto l'imp. Federico II venne a stabilirsi in Siracusa. Di essa fiorirono: Maurizio Larosa castellano di Castellammare di Palermo 1320; Antonio Castellano del r. palazzo e giurato 1345; Giovanni senatore di Palermo 1475; Vincenzo senatore 1584, indi inviato ambasciatore a rè Filippo III 1604, ed altri che in varie città dell'isola si diffusero. Epperò un rampollo di essa in Palermo esiste in Francesco Larosa maggiore al ritiro dell'esercito italiano, essendoché ammesso nello squadrone delle R. Guardie del Corpo in Napoli provar dovette con documenti la sua nobiltà, e quindi la provenienza dalla famiglia in parola.
Arma: d'azzurro, con una banda d'oro caricata da' tré rose al naturale.

[johnraciti]

Serraino Serra Coat of Arms, Family Crest

Noble surnames, such as Serra, evoke images of the ancient homeland of the Spanish people. The original bearer of the name Serra, which is a local surname, once lived, held land, or was born in the beautiful region of Spain. In Spain, hereditary surnames were adopted according to fairly general rules and during the late Middle Ages, names that were derived from localities became increasingly widespread. Local names originally denoted the proprietorship of the village or estate. The Serra family originally lived near a ridge or chain of hills. The name was originally derived from the Old French word Serre, but it was recorded in medieval documents in the Latin form Serra, which means ridge.

Spelling variations include: Serrano, Serrana, Serra, Sierro, Sierra and others.

First found in Castile, the medieval Spanish kingdom whose language and culture were to spread to many countries of the world.

http://www.houseofnames.com/coatofarms_details.asp?sId=&s=Serra

"Serraino Vulpitta" di Trapani

CASTELLO DEL BALIO (Erice)

Sul luogo ove forse le bellissime sacerdotesse di Venere intrecciavano le sacre danze dei riti, il castello è ancora circonfuso dalla eterna leggenda della Dea, che qui in Erice fu particolarmente adorata, e si compone di un gruppo di torri create al tempo dei normanni quali propaggini e difesa del grande castello da loro edificato sulle rovine del tempio.
Nel XIV sec., regnando Federico III e poi Martino, la castellania di Erice apparteneva alla famiglia trapanese Abate, celebre per aver segnato, attraverso suoi uomini illustri, numerose pagine di storia siciliana. Essa divenne famosa anche per aver dato vita a un santo, quel S. Alberto degli Abate (del XIII sec.) che forse ebbe a scegliere a sua dimora una di tali isolate torri dove, circondato da tante memorie sacre e pagane, avrebbe dedicato la sua vita a Dio.
Dette torri poi, con atto stipulato nel 1872, furono cedute al trapanese Agostino Sieri Pepoli, il quale, avuta questa concessione dalla amministrazione comunale del tempo, ebbe però l'onere di restaurarle e crearvi attorno un grande giardino per utilità pubblica. Nacque così il bellissimo parco detto «Balio» poiché creato su quel piano che immetteva al castello nel quale, un tempo, risiedeva il «Baiolo» e cioè colui che amministrava la giustizia civile.
Le belle torri restaurate e collegate, pur senza il fascino degli antichi tempi, si presentano oggi con l'aspetto di un vero e proprio castello medioevale, emergente con la sua agile struttura dalla nebbia (che in ogni stagione tanto spesso lo avvolge) quale favolosa visione che svanisce e riappare...
E' proprietà delle famiglie Adragna, Sieri Pepoli e Serraino.

http://www.castelli-sicilia.com/links.asp?CatId=68

Zingali Zinger Coat of Arms, Family Crest

Spelling variations include: Zeng, Zenge, Zenger, Zengerle, Zengern, Zengl, Zengel, Zaengel, Zange, Zanger and many more.

First found in Saxony, where this family name became a prominent contributor to the development of the district from ancient times.

http://www.houseofnames.com/coatofarms_details.asp?sId=&s=Zinger

Zing Coat of Arms, Family Crest

Spelling variations include: Zink, Zinke, Zincke, Zingg and others.

First found in Bavaria, where the name was closely identified in early medieval times with the feudal society which would become prominent throughout European history.

http://www.houseofnames.com/coatofarms_details.asp?sId=&s=Zing

[johnraciti]

Russo Coat of Arms, Family Crest

From the historical and enchanting Italian region of Tuscany emerged a multitude of noble families, including the distinguished Russo family. During the Middle Ages, as populations grew and travel between regions became more frequent, the people of Tuscany found it necessary to adopt a second name to indentify themselves and their families. The process of adopting fixedhereditary surnames was not complete until the modern era, but the use of hereditary family names in Italy began in the 10th and 11th centuries. Italian hereditary surnames were developed according to fairly general principles and they were characterized by a profusion of derivatives coined from given names. Although the most common type of family name found in Tuscany is the patronymic surname, which is derived from the father's given name, the nickname type of surname is also freqently found. Nickname surnames were derived from an eke-name, or added name. They usually reflected the physical characteristics or attributes of the first person that used the name. The surname Russo is a name for a person with red hair or a reddish complexion. The surname Rossi is derived from the Italian word Rosso, which comes from the Latin word Rubius and Rossius, which mean red. The name Rossi is the most frequently occurring surname in Italy. In the South, the name is usually in its variant forms of Russo, Ruggiu and Ruiu, whereas in the North, Rosso is the most common form of the name.

http://www.houseofnames.com/coatofarms_details.asp?sId=&s=Russo

Origine -> Descrizione - famiglia Rosso o Rossi

Da Ugone Rosso, uno dei figli di Guglielmo d'Altavilla signore normanno, e consanguineo di rè Rugiero, secondochè scrive Mugnos, trae origine questa nobilissima antica e storica famiglia.
La troviamo illustre in vari punti d'Italia, e con precisione in Sicilia, ove fiorirono: Enrico Rosso, barone delli Martini, il di cui fratello Goffredo, Conte di Montescaglioso nel Napolitano fu ceppo dei Rossi d'Italia; Rosso Rosso Conte di Sperlinga; Enrico Conte di Aidone e Cerami; Cataldo ambasciatore al rè di Aragona 1293, e gran camerlengo del regno; altro Rosso conte di Aidone e di Sclafani, barone di Cerami, Sanfiladelfo, Scordia Sottana, Calatabiano, Monterosso, Caltavuturo, Motta Santanastasia, Sinagra, Militello, Saponara, Sperlinga, Sirumi, Pietraliscia, Nucifora, Ravagliuso, Granavilla, Graniti, Calatamauro e delli Martini, grande Ammiraglio e grande giustiziere del regno, strategoto di Messina, dichiarato padre della patria per aver salvi quattro rè di Sicilia dall'anarchia feudale, non ostante aver perduto gran parte de' suoi beni nella rivolta dei suoi cognati Chiaramonti; Nicolo signore delli Gulfi e castello di Naro, Favara, Saladino, Giannone, Falsina, Farun, Minima, Fundarò e delle terre attorno la città col mero e misto imperio, capitano giustiziere e governatore perpetuo di Naro, non che progenitore de' Rossi di detta città, da' quali giurista nel secolo XVIII, lodato dal Decosmi, e padre di Francesco giudice della R. G. Corte in Palermo, commissario con alter ego nella città e contado di Modica, segreto e ricevitore del porto in Messina ed intendente di quella dogana, ascritto al patriziato di Catania ed autore d'una opera importante di dritto feudale; Emanuele insigne letterato e pubblicista, celebre nel parlamento Siciliano dal 1812 al 1814, ed in quel di Napoli del 1820, Consigliere di Stato; Andrea Cav. dell'Ordine di Cristo; Giovanni Canonico della Cattedrale di Catania, ed Andrea magistrato e cittadino benemerito, deputato al Parlamento siciliano nel 1814, più volte consigliere provinciale. Rappresenta questo ramo il cav. Ignazio Emanuele Rossi residente in Aci Catena.
Leva per arme: di rosso, con una cometa d'oro, ondeggiante in palo. Corona di principe. Motto Serenat.


Neosi Neos Coat of Arms, Family Crest

Spelling variations include: Neo, Neau, Neaud, Noue, La Noue, Lanoue, Noe, Nauda, Noit and many more.

First found in Maine, where the family has been a prominent family for centuries, and were seated with lands and manor.

http://www.houseofnames.com/coatofarms_details.asp?sId=&s=Neos

[johnraciti]

Palermo Coat of Arms, Family Crest

From the ancient and beautiful Italian island of Sicily emerged a variety of distinguished names, including the notable surname palermo. Although people were originally known only by a single name, it became necessary for people to adopt a second name to identify themselves as populations grew and travel became more frequent. The process of adopting fixed hereditary surnames was not complete until the modern era, but the use of hereditary family names in Italy began in the 10th and 11th centuries. Italian hereditary surnames were developed according to fairly general principles and they were characterized by a profusion of derivatives coined from given names. Although the most traditional type of family name found in the region of Sicily is the patronymic surname, which is derived from the father's given name, local surnames are also found. Local names, which are the least frequent of the major types of surnames found in Italy, are derived from a place-name where the original bearer once resided or held land. Often Italian local surnames bore the prefix "di," which signifies emigration from one place to another, and does not necessarily denote nobility. The palermo family lived in the city of Palermo, in northwest Sicily.

Spelling variations include: Palermo, Palarmo, Palermoe, Palermow, Palerma and many more.

First found in Palermo in Sicily. In those ancient times only persons of rank, the podesta, clergy, city officials, army officers, artists, landowners were entered into the records.

http://www.houseofnames.com/coatofarms_details.asp?sId=&s=Palermo

Origine -> descrizione - famiglia Palermo

Stando al Minutolo famiglia nobile della città di Messina, fiorente sotto rè Federico III.
Sembra, essere stato primo ceppo un Salvo Palermo cui successe un Giovanni, ed a costui altro Salvo maestro segreto del regno, che passò in Modica. Da lui una serie d'illustri personaggi, come un Cesare giudice della G. Corte di detta città; un fra' Diego cavaliere gerosolimitano 1645 e bali di Venosa; un Giovanni al dir del Villabianca, barone di s. Stefano Inferiore e di Calati, non che primo principe di s. Margherita 1708; un Francesco investito 1715; un Tommaso barone di Castelluccio e possessore delle terre e casali di Messina detti s. Stefano Mezzano, di s. Margherita, di Calati e di Mili Superiore; un Girolamo vescovo di Mazzara 1759, giudice della R. Monarehia o Legazia Apostolica coll'aggregamento dell'abazia di s. Maria di Terrana 1764, ed infine arcivescovo di Laudicea; un Giuseppe Giovanni investito de' cennati titoli 1758 e della signoria col vassallaggio Martini 1759, ed altri.
Arma giusta Minutolo: partito, nel 1° d'oro, con un grifo rampante d'azzurro, sormontato da lambello di rosso, di tré pendenti; nel 2° d'azzurro, con un leone d'oro, sostenendo sul dorso un giglio d'argento. Cimiero: l'aquila nascente spiegata di nero, imbeccata e coronata d'oro. Corona di principe.


Renna Coat of Arms, Family Crest
The name Renna is of Anglo-Saxon origin and came from when the family lived in the region of Renwick beside the Eden river in Cumberland. Renna is a topographic surname, which was given to a person who resided near a physical feature such as a hill, stream, church, or type of tree. Habitation names form the other broad category of surnames that were derived from place-names. They were derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads. Other local names are derived from the names of houses, manors, estates, regions, and entire counties.
Spelling variations include: Renwick, Rennick and others.
First found in Cumberland where they were seated from early times and their first records appeared on the early census rolls taken by the early Kings of Britain to determine the rate of taxation of their subjects.

http://www.houseofnames.com/coatofarms_details.asp?sId=&s=Renna

Letizia Coat of Arms, Family Crest
Spelling variations include: Leto, Leti, Leuto, Letto, Alitto, Letta, Lette and many more.
First found in Ferrara a city in Emilia capital of the province of Ferrara.

http://www.houseofnames.com/coatofarms_details.asp?sId=&s=Letizia

Mazzeo Coat of Arms, Family Crest
The surname Mazzeo is a common occupational name for a person who was a toolmaker. The occupational surname Mazza is derived from the Italian word mazza, which is translated as a club, hammer, mace or staff of office. The name also exists as one of a number of compound names such as Mazzacane, Mazzagalli, Mazzapica, or Mazzamici.

http://www.houseofnames.com/coatofarms_details.asp?sId=&s=Mazzeo

Aliberti Coat of Arms, Family Crest
The distinguished surname Aliberti can be traced back to the ancient and beautiful region of Venice. Although people were originally known only by a single name, it became necessary for people to adopt a second name to identify themselves as populations grew and travel became more frequent. The process of adopting fixed hereditary surnames was not complete until the modern era, but the use of hereditary family names in Italy began in the 10th and 11th centuries. Italian hereditary surnames were developed according to fairly general principles and they were characterized by a profusion of derivatives coined from given names. The most common type of family name found in the region of Venice is the patronymic surname, which is derived from the father's given name. During the Middle Ages, Italians adopted the patronymic system of name-making because it perfectly complemented the prevailing feudal system. In Italy the popularity of patronymic type of surname is also due to the fact that during the Christian era, people often named their children after saints and biblical figures. The surname Aliberti came from Alberto which is formed from ala, which means everything, and bertha, which means famous. Thus the name means one who is famous in everything.

http://www.houseofnames.com/coatofarms_details.asp?sId=&s=Aliberti

Merlo Coat of Arms, Family Crest
The surname Merlo is a habitational place-name, which is a type of hereditary surname, and is derived from the name of the place in which the first bearer lived. Merlo is derived from is Morlaix, in Brittany, a peninsula in the northwest of France. Formerly known as Armorica, a possession of the Roman Empire, this land consists of a plateau with a deeply indented coast and is broken by hills in the west.
Spelling variations include: Marlowe, Marloe, Marleau, Marlow and others.
First found in Cheshire where they were seated from very early times and were granted lands by Duke William of Normandy, their liege Lord, for their distinguished assistance at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 A.D.

http://www.houseofnames.com/coatofarms_details.asp?sId=&s=Merlo

Blasone - famiglia Merlo

Nobile ed antica famiglia portoghese, sparsa in Ispagna ed in Sicilia, come dal nobiliario del conte Bracelos.
Un Corriglio de Merlo capitano di 200 fanti spagnuoli la portò in Sicilia.
Ne vennero varì distinti personaggi, tra cui meritano essere notati: un Giuseppe Merlo e Ducci regio tesoriere delle finanze doganali, e marchese di s. Elisabetta investito 1785; un Domenico maresciallo di campo, Directorytore generale de' Dazi InDirectoryti, controloro generale delle officine militari, insignito di vari ordini; un barone Giuseppe Merlo controloro generale delle officine militari, e cav. della Corona di Ferro; un Carlo capitano della r. marina e comandante del porto di Trapani; un Domenico marchese come sopra e senatore di Falermo 1853; altro Carlo barone di Tagliavia Directorytore del Demanio e Tasse, officiale dell'Ordine de7 ss. Mauri zio e Lazzaro; ed un Vincenzo barone di Tripi.
Arma: tagliato, d'azzurro e d'oro, con la banda di rosso attraversante sul tagliato, sormontata da un merlo passante d'oro. Corona di marchese.

[johnraciti]

We have Italian, English/French, German, Spanish, and French names in our Sicilian family.

Patti: Anglo-Saxon

Azzolina: Frankish

Serraino: Spanish

Zingali: Germanic

Neosi: French

Renna: Anglo-Saxon

Merlo: French

Sicilian Peoples: The Vandals and Goths

http://www.bestofsicily.com/mag/art162.htm

They cannot be said to have influenced Sicily to the extent of the Greeks or Romans, but the Vandals and Goths (specifically the Ostrogoths) controlled the island for a brief interlude which ushered in the Middle Ages. Most historians date the Middle Ages from the fall of the Western Roman Empire, circa AD (CE) 476, until the fall of Constantinople (Byzantium) in 1453 or, more generally, from AD 500 until 1500. Little visible evidence of the Vandals or Goths remains, but they may have intermarried with Sicilians to some extent. In Sicily their legacy is essentially a question of a purely historical record of an important transitional period.
Sicilian Peoples: The Normans

http://www.bestofsicily.com/mag/art171.htm

To call them "Vikings" (Norsemen) is to oversimplify the culture of the medieval Normans, for their society, heritage and genetic make-up were as Frankish and Roman as they were Norse. The term "Norman" refers to the residual Norse and Frankish civilization of Normandy. Much as the Lombards of Lombardy were not purely Longobardic, the Normans of Normandy were not purely Norse. In fact, they were descended not only from Vikings but from Franks, Romans and Celts, and their language was a dialect of French. Unlike their Viking forebears, the Normans were Christians, and their society was highly evolved in its government, law, art, architecture and literature, which during the twelfth century profoundly influenced not only Normandy but England and southern Italy.
Sicilian Peoples: The Swabians

http://www.bestofsicily.com/mag/art174.htm

If the Normans brought Sicily back into the European orbit following centuries of Byzantine and Arab rule, the Swabians made it one of the most important regions of Europe. Swabia is a region of southwestern Germany which in the twelfth century included part of Bavaria and eastern Switzerland. Swabia takes its name from a Germanic people, the Suabi, and borders the region once ruled by the Alemanni, another Germanic tribe.
Sicilian Peoples: The Angevins

http://www.bestofsicily.com/mag/art177.htm

Anjou is a region of west-central France traditionally held as a fief of the French ruling family. The term "Angevin" refers to both the "Plantagenet" dynasty of England from 1154 to 1399 (descendants of Geoffrey, Count of Anjou, and Matilda, daughter of Henry I) and the dynasty that ruled southern Italy from Naples beginning in the thirteenth century. In the time of Frederick II and the Swabian rule of Sicily, France was ruled by the Capetians (so-called for their descent from Hugh Capet). One of the dynasty's most remarkable rulers was Louis IX (the saint). Louis' less-remarkable younger brother, Charles, Duke of Anjou, was crowned King of Naples and Sicily in 1266 by authority of Pope Clement IV, a Frenchman. Following a series of battles, the last Hohenstaufen, the young Conradin (a grandson of Frederick II), was executed in 1268. From this death was Italy's Angevin period born, in a dynastic change representing the ultimate form of papal hegemony. Following the death of Frederick II, it seemed that no pope would be content to share the Italian peninsula with so formidable a force as a Holy Roman Emperor who also ruled southern Italy.

Sicilian Peoples: The Aragonese

http://www.bestofsicily.com/mag/art180.htm

The Aragonese period of Sicily can be said to have lasted from 1282 until 1492, bridging the medieval and modern eras. The Kingdom of Aragon, which by the middle of the thirteenth century encompassed Catalonia and other lands, was an ethnically diverse region with its own language and a flourishing capital, Barcelona. Indeed, Aragon emerged as a powerful "Spanish" state in an age when most of the Iberian monarchies were struggling against the Moors, a conflict which was to continue well into the last years of the fifteenth century. Until the end of the Middle Ages, Spain was not a unified nation.


Sicilian Peoples: The Spaniards

http://www.bestofsicily.com/mag/art186.htm

The Sicily one sees today is an essentially "Latin" region which, as part of Italy, has a distinct yet Italian character. For the most part, the people are Roman Catholic (at least nominally) and superficially those of Palermo and Catania don't seem too different from those of Naples or Bologna. The unification of Spain led to a degree of stability and forged a powerful European state prepared to defend its interests, both in Europe and in the emerging New World colonies. Sicily, however, was essentially a Spanish "possession."

[johnraciti]

Azzo - Azzolina

Alberto Azzo (Azo) II (Marchese) of ESTE - Alberto Azzo I of LIGURIA (970? - 1029?) - Oberto Obizzo (I; II; Marquis) of ITALY - Obert I (Marquis) of ITALY (912? - 975) - Adalbert III di LUCCA (Margrave) of TUSCANY - Gui (Guido) de LUCCA - Adalbert II (Margrave) de TUSCANY (? - 915) - Rothilda (Rohaut Anonsura) di SPOLETO (848? - 884+) - Gui (II; Duke) di SPOLETO - Gui (Guido) (I; II; Margrave) di SPOLETO (? - 858?) - Charlemagne of the FRANKS


Adalbert II (Margrave) de TUSCANY
Gui (Guido) de LUCCA (? - 929)
OR: Gui (Guido) de LUCCA
Bertha (Princess) de LORRAINE
Adalbert III di LUCCA (Margrave) of TUSCANY
or: poss. Sigfredo di CANOSSA, q.v.
OR: Adalberto II (I) d' ESTE
Marozia (Maricucca Marozzia) of ROME
Obert I (Marquis) of ITALY (912? - 975)
Oberto Obizzo (I; II; Marquis) of ITALY (940? - 1017?)
Bonifacio I (29th Duke) of SPOLETO
Guilla di SPOLETO (920? - ?)
Waldrada of BURGUNDY
Alberto Azzo I of LIGURIA
Olderado di COMO
Wirprand (Wiprand Riprandi) (Count) of COMO
Railinda di VERTICILIO
Railinda of COMO (950? - ?)
or: Perengarda

Olderado di COMO
Wirprand (Wiprand Riprandi) (Count) of COMO (? - 999?)
Auprando (Count) di VERTICILIO (875? - ?)
Railinda di VERTICILIO (Lombardy 900? - ?)
Railinda of COMO

Adalbert II (Margrave) de TUSCANY
Gui (Guido) de LUCCA (? - 929)
OR: Gui (Guido) de LUCCA
Bertha (Princess) de LORRAINE
Adalbert III di LUCCA (Margrave) of TUSCANY
or: poss. Sigfredo di CANOSSA, q.v.
OR: Adalberto II (I) d' ESTE
Marozia (Maricucca Marozzia) of ROME
Obert I (Marquis) of ITALY (912? - 975)
Oberto Obizzo (I; II; Marquis) of ITALY
Hubaldus (Count) of BOLOGNA
Bonifacio I (29th Duke) of SPOLETO
Guilla di SPOLETO (920? - ?)
Rudolph I (Duke/King) of UPPER BURGUNDY
Waldrada of BURGUNDY
Willa (Gisele) of VIENNE

Bonifacio II (Count) of LUCCA
Bonifacio III (Count) of LUCCA (? - 842?)
Adalbert I (Margrave) of TUSCANY (? - 891?)
Adalbert II (Margrave) de TUSCANY (? - 915)
Gui (II; Duke) di SPOLETO
Rothilda (Rohaut Anonsura) di SPOLETO (848? - 884+)
Angiltrude (818? - ?)
Gui (Guido) de LUCCA
Lothar (Hlothar Lothaire) I of GERMANY
Lothar `the Saxon' II (King) de LORRAINE (827 - 869)
Ermengarde (d' ALSACE) of ORLEANS
Bertha (Princess) de LORRAINE (863? - 925)
poss. Ludolph `the Great' of SAXONY
OR: Ludolph von FRIULI
Waldrada (of WORMSGAU ?) (835? - 868+)
poss. Oda BILLUNG of THURINGIA
OR: Hedwige de FRIOUL (FRIOL)