As there are for many of the ancient Italian families there are several lines.  I am able to trace my roots to the start of the Orsini line to my 33 Great Grandfather. Here is the link to the start of the Orsini Line. My line then picks up here with the Pigliatano line This link will take you to all the Orsini lines. Orsini Family, one of the oldest, most illustrious, and for centuries most powerful of the Roman princely families. Their origins, when stripped of legend, can be traced back to a certain Ursus de Paro, recorded at Rome in 998. They first became important in the late 12th century with the election of Giacinto Orsini as Pope Celestine III (1191–98), whose generosity to his nephews founded the territorial fortunes of the family. During the next 100 years, allegiance to the papacy developed into a firm, if profitable, tradition in the house of Orsini; they assumed leadership of pro-papal Guelf interest against the pro-imperial Ghibelline Colonna family, and for centuries afterward the savage rivalry of these two magnate families dominated the politics of Rome and its territory. Nerola: Orsini CastleOrsini Castle in Nerola, Italy.MM In 1241, as senator of Rome, Matteo Orsini (d. 1246) saved the city from capture by the Holy Roman emperor Frederick II and the Colonna. As the 13th century advanced, the Orsini acquired increasing influence in church policy and administration; four of the family were chosen cardinals, and one of them, Giovanni, also became pope, as Nicholas III, in 1277. Their Guelf allegiance also brought them land and lordships in the Angevin kingdom of Naples, where several long-lived lines of the family took root among the nobility. At the end of the 13th century, the Orsini were among the principal supporters of Pope Boniface VIII in his attacks on the Colonna family and were rewarded for their services with the grant of Nepi in fee. Not all of them, however, were partisans of Boniface. Napoleone Cardinal Orsini, partly for family reasons, sided with the Colonna and the French, and it was he who promoted in 1305 the election of a French pope, Clement V, the first of the “popes of Avignon.” From this time on, apart from the brief interval of Borgia rule (late 15th and early 16th centuries) when the Orsini were dispossessed of their castles and three of them were put to death, the Orsini retained their dominant place among the Roman aristocracy, providing soldiers, statesmen, and prelates to the church. In 1629 they were created princes of the Holy Roman Empire, and in 1718 they were raised to the princely dignity at Rome. In 1724 Pietro Francesco Orsini was elected pope as Benedict XIII. The family survived in the Orsini dukes of Gravina, descended from Napoleone Orsini, son of the 13th-century senator, Matteo. Their principal fiefs were Bracciano (near Rome), acquired in the 14th century, and Gravina (near Bari), acquired in the 15th century. They received the ducal title from Pius IV in 1560 and held Bracciano into the 17th century and Gravina to 1807. From the 16th century it became regular for an Orsini to hold the office of prince assistant to the pontifical throne.  Citation InformationArticle Title:Orsini FamilyWebsite Name:Encyclopaedia BritannicaPublisher:Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.Date Published:24 November 2010URL:https://www.britannica.com/topic/Orsini-familyAccess Date:February 07, 2019 The Orsini family was very prominent in the RC church.  This the list of Popes and Cardinals. Orsini popes Pope Stephen II(Stepfanus Orsinus) Pope Paul I(Paulus Orsinus) Pope Celestine III(Giacinto Bobone, created cardinal in 1144) Pope Nicholas III(Giovanni Gaetano Orsini, created cardinal in 1244) Pope Benedict XIII(Pietro Francesco Orsini, created cardinal in 1672) Orsini cardinals Pietro Orsini(1181) Matteo Rubeo Orsini(1262) Latino Malabranca OrsiniO.P.(1278) Giordano Orsini(1278) Napoleone Orsini(1288) Francesco Napoleone Orsini(1295) Matteo OrsiniO.P. (1327) Rinaldo Orsini(1350) Giacomo Orsini(1371) Poncello Orsini(1378) Tommaso Orsini(1382/1385) Giordano Orsini(1405) Latino di Carlo Orsini(1448) Cosma OrsiniO.S.B. (1480) Gerolama Duchess of Parma my 13th GG. Born in Rome, she was the daughter of Lodovico Orsini and Giulia Conti. In 1513 an engagement contract between Orsini and Pier Luigi Farnesewas drawn up, and in 1519 the wedding celebrated at Valentano.[1]Her husband was the illegitimate son of Pope Paul IIIand Silvia Ruffino. The couple had five children three of which would have further progeny. Despite a loveless marriage, Gerolama remained a faithful, devoted wife, tolerating Pier Luigi’s excesses, brutality, and extravagances with dignity.[1] When Cardinal Alessandro Farnese became Pope Paul IIIin 1534 he made his son Pier Luigi captain-general of the Church and in 1537 duke of Castro and finally in 1545 Duke of Parma and Piacenza. He was murdered in 1547, and Gerolama outlived him by 43 years, dying at the Palazzo FarnesePiacenzain 1590.[1]She was buried at the Farnese crypt at the Sanctuary of Santa Maria della Steccata, Parma. Pope Nicholas III 23rd Great Grand Uncle The lands under direct Papal rule were threatened by surrounding powers. In the second quarter of the 13th century, they were threatened by the expansionist policies of the Emperor Frederick II, who aimed to unite his inheritance in the south (Sicily and southern Italy) with his acquisition of the German Empire in northern Italy. He spent a great deal of time and energy attempting to gain control over Lombardy and Tuscany, which brought him into direct conflict with the Papacy. Frederick was repeatedly excommunicated by one pope after another. In order to drive off the Hohenstaufen, the Papacy contrived a deal with the brother of Louis IX of France, Charles of Anjou, Count of Provence, who was invited to Italy to assume the crown of Sicily and be a counterweight against the Empire. He was too successful, however, and the Papacy found itself in the deadly embrace of the Angevins. Nicholas’ prime goal was to loosen Charles I’s grip on the Papacy, Rome, and the lands of the Church. Nicholas’ pontificate, though brief, was marked by several important events. He greatly strengthened the papal position in Italy. On 1 October 1273, Rudolph Iof Habsburg, the godson of Frederick II, had been elected King of Germany and King of the Romans. Pope Gregory X had recognized him as King, after some hard negotiation, but the imperial title and coronation were withheld. Pope Nicholas was willing to negotiate, but he refused to crown Rudolf as Emperor until Rudolph had acknowledged all the claims of the Church, including many that were quite dubious. The concordatwith Rudolph I of Habsburgwas concluded in May 1278. In it the city of Bologna, the Romagna, and the exarchateof Ravennawere guaranteed to the papacy.[34]According to the chronographer Bartholomew of Lucca(Ptolemy of Lucca), he discussed with Rudolph, in general terms at least, the splitting the German empire into four separate kingdoms – Lombardy, Burgundy, Tusciaand Germany– where Rudolph’s kingdom would be made hereditary and he himself would be recognized as Holy Roman Emperor. Nicholas III was even able to persuade King Charles I of Naples and Sicily to give up his position as Roman Senator in 1278, at the conclusion of ten years of tenure,[35]as well as the position of Papal Vicar for Tuscany.[36]In July 1278, Nicholas III issued an epoch-making constitution for the government of Rome, Fundamenta militantis[37]which forbade foreigners from taking civil office. It depends for its justification not only on the biblical phrase, “Tu es Petrus, et super hanc petram aedificabo ecclesiam meam” (Matthew16:18), but also on the forged Donations of Constantine. Pope Celestine III 27th Great Grand Uncle Celestine crowned the Holy Roman EmperorHenry VIon the day after his electionin 1191 with a ceremony symbolizing his absolute supremacy, as described by Roger of Hoveden, after Henry VI promised to cede Tusculum. In 1192 he threatened to excommunicateKing Tancred of Sicily, forcing him to release his aunt Empress Constance, who was wife of Henry VI and a contender of Sicilian crown, captured by Tancred in 1191, to Rome to exchange for his recognition of Tancred while also put pressure on Henry, but Constance was released by German soldiers on borders of the Papal States before reaching Rome the following summer. He subsequently nearly excommunicatedthe same Henry VI for wrongfully keeping King Richard I of Englandin prison.[5]He placed Pisaunder an interdict, which was lifted by his successor Innocent IIIin 1198.[6]He condemned King Alfonso IX of Leónfor his marriage to Theresa of Portugalon the grounds of consanguinity. Then, in 1196, he excommunicated him for allying with the Almohad Caliphatewhile making war on Castile.[7]Following his marriage with Berengaria of Castile, Celestine excommunicated Alfonso and placed an interdict over León.[8] In 1198, Celestine confirmed the statutes of the Teutonic Knightsas a military order.[9]

Yesterday I posted a quick start guide for the Antenai.  It’s a great resource, and as I said, the more you use it, the better you get at research and understanding Italian.  I was doing great finding my mom’s family in Bari, there are a lot of records already indexed for many of those towns.  I hit two brick walls on my dad’s family in Naples.   First the Sorrentino family — Based on the naming convention for Italian children and knowing that my grandparents followed this exactly, I knew that my great grandfather had to be Achille.  Nothing was coming up for him remotely close to that name. Second the Piromallo Family — Based on the records of noble families, and confirmation from my cousin, I knew that my great grandparents were Nicola Piromallo and Emilia Caracciolo, I was able to find several records for Emilia, but nothing for Nicola and his family that would confirm that I was looking at the right family, As I searched around on the internet, I came across Bella Italia Genealogy they offer 1 hour free consultation with a guarantee of giving tangible results.  Their fees are quite reasonable and after exchanging and email or two with Alessandro, I decided to take a shot on the 1 hour consultation.  Alessandro sent a few documents that confirmed that they were bonafide researchers so I took the next step and signed up for 10 hours of research for $500. The first drop of records gave me detail on the Piromallo family that I would not have been able to find.  You can see some of the records below.  The second drop gave me Sorrentino information.   This is only one small part of what I received.  Bella Italia sent me over 200 pieces of documentation, that later allowed me to continue to research and find more records, based on names included in these two drops that I would have never found on my own.  In addition to record research, Bella Italia also provides tours to meet your distant cousins in Italy and help to get Italian citizenship. This record confirms the birth of my great grandfather This record confirms the birth of my great grandmother Line 5C shows the marriage of Nicola and Emilia that I had from Caracciolo records on Angelfire. These two pages from the Comune Di Napoli show the marriage of Nicola and Emilia that I received from Bella Italia. These pages show the birth of my great grandfather Achille.

My entire ancestry quest started with my great grandfather’s card below.  I never expected to find the wealth of information contained in this post, our the fact that I would find so many cousins in Italy.  Throughout this post, I will be adding photos, charts, history and so forth.  I expect that it will take many updates, so come back, or sign up for updates.  I would love for anyone that has additional information to please add comments.   I am also working with a cousin here in America that is going to document the history in a book.  We both engaged researchers and are combining our notes.  If anyone in America, Italy or anywhere else who reads this, Linda and I are hoping that we can get some more DNA samples from people, especially in Italy.  Living DNA is based in Europe and is one of the best. To my new found Italian cousins, I would like to thank you for the photos and the help in gathering information to put some of the pieces in place. Calling card of my Great Grandfather I often wondered why my grandparents came to America, especially after finding out that my grandmother’s maternal and paternal families were from Naples nobility.  While I cannot be 100% certain, the most logical explanation is that her aunt Maria Piromallo migrated here in 1905, with her husband Tomasso Pergamo and family.  It took sometime to put all these pieces together, but from speaking with older cousins, finding some census records and Linda finding some articles from the 1920’s, we were able to put it altogether, even though we have not been able to find Maria’s birth record. Birth record of Maria CarolinaPiromallo my great great aunt ( sister of Saverio Giovanni and Francesco ) On the 9th of October 1814 in the Montecalvaro district of Naples Count Giacomo Piromallo a rich person age 54 living at Strada ? number 30 testified that his legitimate wife Countess Beatrice Capece Piscicelli of Capracotta presented a female chid Maria Carolina.  Witnessed by Onofrio Mattera a domestic age 37 and ?? Marriage of Giuseppe Piromallo to Maria Luisa D’Andrea Marriage of Francesco Piromallo to Maria Caracciolo On the year 1855, the 27th day of April at 18 hours, before us knight Giovanni Todaro, elect and civil status officer for the circle of Vicaria, city of Naples, province of Naples, appeared [1] the Baron della Pietra don Francesco Piromallo from Messina, of 43 years of age not yet attained, widower of baroness donna Capece Minutolo of the princes of Collereale, landowner residing in the circle of San Lorenzo, Arcivescovado street, door number 40, elder son of the late count don Giacomo, landowner, and of the living lady donna Beatrice Capece Piscicelli duchess of Capracotta, residing outside porta Capuana number 24, and without paternal grandfather, and [2] lady donna Maria Caracciolo of the princes of Torchiarolo from Naples, of 37 years, unmarried residing in this circle in Carbonara street, door number 33, elder daughter of the late don Luigi Caracciolo prince of Torchiarolo, landowner, and of lady princess donna Costanza Saluzzi of the dukes of Corigliano, aged 73, residing in said place, and without paternal grandfather, represented by her special proxy mister knight don Giuseppe Caracciolo di Torchiarolo from Naples, aged 36, officer of the Guard residing in strada Carbonara, door number 33, whom at the presence of the below said witnesses by them provided requested to us that we receive their solemn pledge to marry before the Church according to the rites prescribed by the holy council of Trent. The banns of this pledge were posted on Sunday April 8th at the door of this municipal house and at the door of the municipal house of San Lorenzo. […] The actual marriage took place on May 20th, same year, in the church of saint Sofia. Birth record of Saverio Giovanni Piromallo my great great grandfather This is the oldest record that I have found.  Basic translation is, on the 21st of February 1812, Count Giacomo Piromallo age 40 living at Via Campanille 89 ( Profession not legible ) presented a male son from his legitimate wife Countess Beatrice Capece Piscicelli age 30?.  Witnessed by Cristorforo Di Blasio and Gaetano Di Bernadino. Gallery of Piromallo Photos Gallery of Piromallo Records Gallery of Piromallo Records from Naples Books Descendant Report Count Giacomo Click above to see the ancestors of Count Giacomo Piromallo in the USA and Italy. Birth record of Errico Piromallo my great great uncle Very hard to read this one.  On the 9th of 1855 Don Saverio Givonni Piromallo presented a child from his legitimate wife Maria Savino age 30 a male named Errico.  Second page shows witnesses Nicola Bavi and Raffaelo Celano.  Birth record of Giovanni Piromallo my great uncle On the 17th of April 1901 Nicola Piromallo age 47 son of Saverio Giovanni living at Vico Lepri 78 and his wife Emilia Caracciolo age 40 daughter of Filippo presented a son Giovanni.  Witnessed by Salvatore Cannatiella age 35 profession?  and Luigi Caracciolo son of Filippo age 38 a property owner. Death record of Giacomo Piromallo my great uncle

Italiano Guidobaldo Della Rovere Guidobaldo II della Rovere (2 April 1514 – 28 September 1574) was an Italian condottiero, who succeeded his father Francesco Maria I della Rovere as Duke of Urbino from 1538 until his death in 1574. He was a member of the House of La Rovere. Guidobaldo was an important patron of the arts in general, and of Titian in particular, commissioning his own portrait, and buying Titian’s Venus of Urbino. In 1546, he received a condotta as military leader (Governatore) by the Republic of Venice, for which his father had been a valiant commander during the Italian Wars. After the 1547 death of Giulia da Varano, in 1548 he married Vittoria Farnese – the daughter of Pier Luigi Farnese, Duke of Parma and Gerolama Orsini, daughter of Lodovico Orsini and wife and first cousin Giulia Conti. Later he was made Papal governor of Fano, receiving also the title of capitano generale (commander-in-chief) of the Papal States, as well as that of Prefect of Rome. In 1559, he was hired by the King of Spain, helping Bernardo Sanseverino (who had married Isabelle, one of Guidobaldo’s daughters) in the war against the Ottoman Turks. On 1 January 1573, a revolt rose against Guidobaldo in Urbino, due to the excessive tax burden that he was exerting over his state. He reacted by bloodily suppressing the riot. His additional children included: Francesco Maria II, who succeeded him as Duke of Urbino. Isabelle, wife of Niccolò Bernardino Sanseverino, 6° Prince of Bisignano. Lavinia, married Alfonso Félix de Ávalos Aquino y Gonzaga, Marquis del Vasto. After falling ill during a voyage to Ferrara and Pesaro, he died in the latter town in 1574.

For over ten years, while doing my ancestry research, I’ve seen almost every ad that you can think of touting “Your Family Tree”  or “Your Family Chart”.  It appears that most of these sites are pumping out canned data without verifying accuracy or if you actually descend from anyone with the theoretical tree or coat of arms they send you. Last year, on Facebook, I came across the “Your Royal Lineage” Group and saw the great charts being published by Ancestralcharts.com.  I went to that site a few times and saw the amazing charts produced by Ky and his staff.   Rather than a very cumbersome chart that is hard to read, they produce a chart that highlights the most prominent people in your tree, with their COA and pertinent titles.  They also branch off the families, so that it is easy to see the royal connections going back centuries.   I contacted Ky via email and once he verified my royal connections ( and he does check you out ), we talked about chart design.  Ky normally works with those that have “Gateway Ancestors” in America that trace their roots back to mainly England and France.  However, once he saw that my Italian roots traced back to most of Europe, we moved forward,  Ky did not only make a chart, but checked and verified my ancestors and their titles and COA’s.  The finished product was amazing and here’s a photo of the finished product that I had professionally framed. Click here to join our Facebook group Ky also produces books specific to your family and other historically accurate books.