Well of course I may be a little bit biased, but Marietta Nicoletti was perhaps the best grandmother ever.  She had 11 children and 23 grandchildren.  She loved having all her grandchildren around, and didn’t mind having a bit of pasta now and then.   I’ll always remember playing cards with her and having to take out the 8’s 9’s and 10’s first.  The fun times in the yard for her birthday and Mother’s day. I don’t remember too much about my grandfather Luigi as he passed when I was only about 9 or 10.  I do remember him playing bocce, making his own wine and occasionally having a glass or two.   The Nicoletti’s Arrive Grandma “Enemy Alien” Grandpa “Enemy Alien” Grandpa’s Birth Record

Aside from his father Angelo, mentioned in the record below, Vincenzo is the oldest Sorrentino record found to date, thanks to Bella Italia Genealogy.   There is not much that I can say regarding him or the family other than to publish in the hope that someone will have him as a common ancestor. Birth Record of Vincenzo Sorrentino Birth record excerpt for mr. Vincenzo Sorrentino, number 48. On November 11th, 1813, at 22 hours, before us Pietro Contaldi, adjunct and civil status officer for the municipality of Nocera Corpo, province of Principato Citra, appeared sir don Angelo Sorrentino, pharmacist aged 29, residing in strada San Pietro of the said town, and declared that at 16 hours of the above said day, in his own house, to him declarer and to lady Carmela Genovese, his lawful wife aged 29, was born a child whom he presented to us and to whom he bestows the name of Vincenzo. This present declaration is done in the presence of Luigi Contaldi, well-off aged 30, residing in said municipality, strada San Pietro, and of Vincenzo D’Andrea, tailor aged 40. This present act was read out to the declarer and the witnesses, and then signed by us, and crossmarked by one of the witnesses who is not able to write. Issued for marriage use, October 6th, 1834. True signature of the mayor, Salerno, October 13th, 1834. [This place is today’s Nocera Superiore in the province of Salerno. I’ve used sir and lady not because they were noble, but to render the respectful signore and signora that the clerk used at the time, most probably because being him a pharmacist he was an important person. Hours are counted from sunset, so 22 is actually in the late afternoon, and 16 in the late morning.] Marriage of Vincenzo Sorrentino to Maria Michela Longo Perhaps the longest marriage contract ever on the pages below.  Partial Translation. Ferdinand the Second, by the grace of God king of the kingodom of the Two Sicilies, and of Jerusalem, Duke of Parma, Piacenza, Castro, great hereditary prince of Tuscany. On the 30th day of March, 1835, in the municipality of Nocera, province of Principato Citeriore. Before us, notary Agostino Primicerio of the late Giuseppe, residing in the hamlet said Portaromana of this municipality of Nocera, and [before] the undersigned witnesses to us known, according to the Law, personally appeared messrs. don Angelo Sorrentino of the late don Tommaso, pharmacist aged 50, and donna Carmela Genovese of the late Vincenzo, aged 47, spouses well known to us, residing in this municipality of Nocera, and in the San Pietro hamlet, who with this present act give and concede their full consent to their son don Vincenzo Sorrentino, attorney at law aged 22, resinding in Napoli, vico Lungo a Carbonara number 40, as to enter into a true and lawful marriage with ms. donna Maria Michela Francesca Saveria Longo, daugher of don Paolo and of donna Eleonora Scafuro, unmarried aged 25, residing with her father in Napoli in the said vico Lungo a Carbonara number 40, and this according to the prescriptions of the civil and canonical laws, also declaring that this son of theirs is unmarried, never belonged, nor belongs, to any troop, either of land or the sea, nor was enrolled in the army, having always practiced as a lawyer, and never was employed in the ministry of war, and finally never received any veteran pension. Because of the foregoing, this act has been drafted and read to the appearing spouses, and to the witnesses, and they all declared that it was by them well understood. Done, read, and published by us the above said notary and in our studio located in the above mentioned Portaromana hamlet of the above said municipality of Nocera, province of Principato Citeriore, and before the above said spouses, and [before] the below said witnesses messers. don Ignazio Lamberti of the living Pasquale, owner residing in the said San Pietro hamlet, and Domenico Carpentiere of the late Pasquale, owner residing in the said Portaromana hamlet, both of this municipality, having the qualities required by the laws, who declare that they know the above said appearers, and together with them they have signed [this act], except for ms. donna Carmela Genovese who has declared before us and the witnesses that she is not able to write.

I chose to post Nicola Piromallo today, as I received a long lost obituary from a distant cousin yesterday.  Nicola is where my real interest and quest began.  When I was very young my mother would always show me his calling card, and tell me how he was nobility.  Nicola is my paternal grandmother’s father, and while I do not have a lot of first hand knowledge, I have found a lot of documentation.  Below is the image of his card.  My best guess is that this dates  between 1900 and 1915, I always presumed early on, that I would find a good deal of information about Nicola doing simple google searches.  That was far from the truth.  What happened was that I came across a Nicola Piromallo marrying Emilia Caracciolo in 1882, but that was under Caracciolo.  Now plenty of children were listed throughout the lineage, but I did not see my grandmother.  I finally realized that in all the nobility records, the children were always listed under the father.  I then asked my older cousin Luisa, that lived with my grandmother,  if she recognized the name Caracciolo.  She said that she did and that our great grandmother was a Caracciolo.  Little did I know how important that family is in Italian history. Record of the marriage of Nicola Piromallo to Emilia Caracciolo (5C) Here is the link to the Caracciolo di Torchiarolo Ancestry. http://www.famiglienobilinapolitane.it/Genealogie/Caracciolo-Torchiarolo.htm And the link to Capece Piscicelli  with succession to Piromallo. http://www.genmarenostrum.com/pagine-lettere/letterac/capece/CAPECE%20PISCICELLI.htm As it turns out, Piromallo is not a common name in Italy.  Searching google some more, I came across the Piromallo Capece Piscicelli.  This family seemed the most logical fit, however, I could not find “my” Nicola.  That being said, everything else, such as the family crest, dates, names etc. all pointed to this being my great grandfather’s family.  I struggled with making this connection for years.  My third great grandmother, Duchess Beatrice Capece Piscicelli, merged the to family names, when she inherited the title Duchess of Capracotta.  As a result, only her son that inherited the title from her carried both family names.  The rest of the children from her and Count Giacomo Piromallo, carried only the Piromallo name, including Saverio Giovanni, Nicola’s father. Finally, I hired Alessandro, from www.bellaitaliangenalogy.com to help me find the missing records, which pulled this altogether. Index Record for the Birth of Nicola Piromallo Birth Record of Nicola Piromallo Page 1 Birth Record of Nicola Piromallo Page 2 The basic translation shows Nicola Piromallo born to Saverio Giovanni Piromallo.  Along with marriage information.  I am working on full translation. Birth Record of Saverio Giovanni Piromallo The year 1816, the 2nd day of the month of December at the hour of 23, before me, Giuseppe Pignatelli, an official of the town of Montecalvario, province of Naples appeared Signor Conte Don Giacomo Piromallo, age 40, a landowner living at Vico Campanile, number 22, and he said on this day at the hour of 10 Italian was born at the house of the declarant and Signora Contessa Donna Beatrice Capece Piscicelli, his legitimate wife, age 30, a male infant given the name Saverio Giovanni. This presentation and declaration was made in the presence of Cristofaro di Blasio, age 45, a coachman living at Strada Toledo number 373 and Gaetano di Berardino, age 24, a waiter living in the same place. After reading this act to all present, we all signed our names. Notation bottom right: The baby was baptized at the parish of Santa Maria Ogni Bene on the 3rd. These records show the link from Beatrice and Giacomo to Saverio Giovanni to Nicola. Record of Nicola Piromallo’s Death My best guess between 1923 and 1930.

Elisa Mohr was born in Naples in 1830.  Her father was Martino Mohr, and I am still researching her mother.  It took quite a long time to figure out how a woman from Lucerne married a man from the Caracciolo family.  As it turned out, Martino Mohr was a Captain in the Swiss Guard assigned to the Neapolitan Army.   Filippo Caracciolo di Torchiarolo, whom she married on May 12, 1850, was a Lt. in the Horse Guard of the Neapolitan Army at the same time as Martino.   Her family has a long history back to Lucerne, and while the Swiss did not have Noble families, the Mohr’s are one of the prominent Lucerne families dating back to the 1500’s.  She passed away in Naples in 1872.

CARACCIOLO , Francesco Marino . – Son of Marino, Prince of Avellino, and of Francesca d’Avalos, was born posthumously 29 Jan. 1631. Universal heir of the titles and assets of his father, who in his will had not failed to direct him practical suggestions to achieve prestige and success, was held by proxy by the Infanta of Spain, Mary, Queen of Hungary, who shortly before his birth he had enjoyed the hospitality of the princess of Avellino. The C. was placed first under the tutelage of the uncle Tommaso Caracciolo, bishop of Cyrene, who absolved his duties towards his nephew with much effort and, in addition to administering the assets. he obtained for him the succession in the office of great chancellor, already held by his father, and from 1636 the salary of captain of a company of men of arms. Passed under the tutelage of another uncle, Giuseppe Caracciolo, prince of Torella, on May 25, 1646 C. appears for the first time as an actor in a public document. In 1647, the moto that took its name from the Masaniello capopopolo broke out in Naples. C. was assigned to hire men to make them available to the viceroy. Soon, however, his lands were reached by the wave of revolt. After an unsuccessful episode in Montoro, he heard of the uprising in San Severino and retired to Avellino, but while Paolo di Napoli took possession of his palace at Atripalda, he felt he was in a precarious situation, even if the order of the viceroy, aware of the strategic importance of the city, was to keep Avellino firmly, abandoned the castle. At first sheltered in Capua, he reached around December 15 with his uncle Giuseppe, who had come to his aid, Aversa, where many barons were concentrated loyal to Spain and remained there until the beginning of the following year, while the insurgents (December 19) they had occupied and sacked his city. In the war council of January 6, which took part, the C. had been opposed to the opinion to withdraw, but was then approved by the majority. He then went to Capua, then to Gaeta and finally on 22 February in the part of Naples loyal to the viceroy. Completing the revolutionary movement with the departure of the Duke of Guise and with the reconquest – which also took part in the C. – of the neighborhoods occupied by the popular, the first of. April 1648, he got back from the Parenti of Paolo di Napoli, killed by the Duke of Guisa, Avellino and San Severino. In June the C., who had been reported for the commitment placed in the restoration of the order by Don Giovanni of Austria in his report, gave the new viceroy, the count of Oñate, a priest who had arrested at Atripalda, because filofrancese letter-bearer. When in the summer the French fleet, led by Prince Thomas of Savoy made, after having occupied Procida, a landing in Vietri, near Salerno, C. participated with reported courage to the fighting, which were – successfully – hired to prevent the constitution of a dangerous bridgehead. In October 1650 the C., who had also had a certain attitude of frond towards the authoritarian viceroy and had been detained for two short periods in Castelnuovo, participated in Naples at the solemn rite, which was celebrated in the presence of ‘Oñate, in the church of Carmine, in thanksgiving of the happy outcome of the expedition against Portolongone, which fell a few years earlier into the hands of the French. A little more than two years later he attended a lavish ride after a similar rite in the same church on the occasion of the reconquest of Barcelona by the Spanish king. In 1653 he was commissioned to bring the traditional quinca to the pope. He took part in the procession, which took place in Rome with great pomp on 28 June, but returned to Naples without having sought permission from Innocent X, because he refused to wait to be received. When, the following year, the Duke of Guise made a new landing, this time in Castellammare (November 14th). C., who, like his father and grandfather, was a general of chivalry, worked in military operations, which forced the French to re-embark a little more than a month later. From Pavia, where in 1655 he had brought a corps of cavalry to aid the city besieged by the Duke of Modena, the C. returned to Naples at the beginning of the following year, when the plague was already beginning to meander. He remained at first in the city of Naples exercising his office as a great chancellor, but then he went to Avellino, where he arrived on 10 June, when the epidemic was now manifesting with great virulence. On this occasion he worked with intelligence and self-denial: he tried to circumscribe the spread of the disease, distributed relief in food and money and predisposed other provisions. Nevertheless, only on December 9th C. could celebrate with a surviving citizenship a Te Deum of thanksgiving for the end of the contagion. Back in Naples at least since 1659, the following year he sent a challenge to the constable Colonna and in December he took part in a procession. In 1662 the C., who had been created master of the field of the State of Milan the year before, went to court in Spain, perhaps to solicit the grandate. He did not obtain it, but the following year he became a collateral councilor and on 18 June he was awarded the Golden Fleece by Philip IV, who also, on 23 March 1664, made the grand chancellorship inherited from his family. In February 1672 the C., who had disapproved of the opportunity to impose the tariff against the rising of prices, advocated first and then implemented by the viceroy, fell ill. Restored, it was at the beginning of 1673 one of the nobles who welcomed the viceroy Marquis of Astorga, but fell ill again in July 1674 and died on December 12 in Naples. He was buried in Avellino, in the Carmine church. He had married in Madrid on November 7th. 1666 Geronima Pignatelli, from whom he had Francesca, Giovanna and Marino Francesco Maria. CARACCIOLO, Francesco Marino. – Figlio di Marino, principe di Avellino, e di Francesca d’Avalos, nacque postumo il 29 genn. 1631. Erede universale dei titoli e dei beni del padre, che nel suo testamento non aveva mancato di indirizzargli suggerimenti pratici per conseguire prestigio e successo, fu tenuto a battesimo per procura dall’infanta di Spagna, Maria, regina d’Ungheria, la quale poco prima della sua nascita aveva goduto dell’ospitalità della principessa d’Avellino. Il C. fu posto dapprima sotto la tutela dello zio Tommaso Caracciolo, vescovo di Cirene, il quale assolse ai suoi doveri nei confronti del nipote con molto impegno e, oltre ad amministrarne i beni. ottenne per lui la successione nell’ufficio di gran cancelliere, già detenuto dal padre, e dal 1636 lo stipendio di capitano di una compagnia di uomini d’arme. Passato sotto la tutela di un altro zio, Giuseppe Caracciolo, principe di Torella, il 25 maggio 1646 il C. compare per la prima volta quale attore in un documento pubblico. Scoppiato a Napoli nel 1647 il moto che prese nome dal capopopolo Masaniello, il C. si diede ad assoldare uomini per metterli a disposizione del viceré. Presto però le sue terre furono raggiunte dall’ondata di rivolta. Dopo una infruttuosa puntata a Montoro, ebbe notizie della sollevazione di San Severino e si ritirò in Avellino, ma, mentre Paolo di Napoli si impadroniva del suo palazzo di Atripalda, egli, che sentiva di essere in una situazione precaria, anche se l’ordine del viceré, consapevole dell’importanza strategica della città, era di tenere Avellino saldamente, abbandonò il castello. Rifugiatosi dapprima a Capua, raggiunse verso il 15 dicembre con lo zio Giuseppe, che era accorso in suo aiuto, Aversa, dove erano concentrati molti baroni fedeli alla Spagna e vi rimase fino al principio dell’anno successivo, mentre gli insorti (19 dicembre) avevano occupato e messo a sacco la sua città. Nel consiglio di guerra del 6 gennaio, cui prese parte, il C. era stato contrario al parere di ritirarsi, che però fu poi approvato dalla maggioranza. Si portò quindi a Capua, poi a Gaeta e infine il 22 febbraio nella parte di Napoli fedele al viceré. Conclusosi il moto rivoluzionario con la partenza del duca di Guisa e con la riconquista – cui partecipò anche il C. – dei quartieri presidiati dai popolari, ai primi di. aprile del 1648, riebbe dai Parenti di Paolo di Napoli, fatto uccidere dal duca di Guisa, Avellino e San Severino. Nel giugno il C., che era stato segnalato per l’impegno posto nel ristabilimento dell’ordine da don Giovanni d’Austria in una sua relazione, consegnò al nuovo viceré, il conte di Oñate, un prete che aveva fatto arrestare ad Atripalda, perché latore di lettere filofrancesi. Quando nell’estate la flotta francese, guidata dal principe Tommaso di Savoia effettuò, dopo aver occupato Procida, uno sbarco a Vietri, vicino Salerno, il C. partecipò con segnalato coraggio ai combattimenti, che furono – con successo – ingaggiati per impedire la costituzione di una pericolosa testa di ponte. Nell’ottobre del 1650 il C., che pure aveva avuto un certo atteggiamento di fronda nei confronti dell’autoritario viceré ed era stato per questo detenuto per due brevi periodi in Castelnuovo, partecipò a Napoli al solenne rito, che si celebrò alla presenza dell’Oñate, nella chiesa del Carmine, in ringraziamento del felice esito della spedizione contro Portolongone, caduta qualche anno prima nelle mani dei Francesi. Poco più di due anni dopo presenziò dopo una sfarzosa cavalcata ad un rito analogo nella stessa chiesa in occasione della riconquista di Barcellona da parte del sovrano spagnolo. Nel 1653 fu incaricato di recare al papa la tradizionale chinca. Egli prese parte al corteo, che si svolse a Roma con grandissima pompa il 28 giugno, ma ritornò a Napoli senza aver chiesto licenza ad Innocenzo X, poiché si rifiutò di attendere per essere ricevuto. Quando, l’anno dopo, il duca di Guisa effettuò un nuovo sbarco, questa volta a Castellammare (14 novembre). il C., che come il padre e il nonno era generale della cavalleria, si adoperò nelle operazioni militari, che costrinsero poco più di un mese dopo al reimbarco i Francesi. Da Pavia, ove nel 1655 aveva recato un corpo di cavalleria in aiuto alla città assediata dal duca di Modena, il C. tornò a Napoli agli inizi dell’anno successivo, quando già cominciava a serpeggiare la peste. Rimase in un primo tempo nella città partenopea esercitando il suo ufficio di gran cancelliere, ma poi si recò ad Avellino, dove giunse il 10 giugno, quando l’epidemia si andava ormai manifestando con gran virulenza. In questa occasione si prodigò con intelligenza e abnegazione: cercò di circoscrivere la diffusione del morbo, distribui soccorsi in viveri e in denari e predispose altre provvidenze. Ciononostante soltanto il 9 dicembre il C. poté celebrare con la cittadinanza superstite un Te Deum di ringraziamento per la fine del contagio. Di nuovo a Napoli almeno dal 1659, l’anno dopo inviò un cartello di sfida al connestabile Colonna e nel dicembre partecipò a una processione. Nel 1662 il C., che l’anno prima era stato creato maestro di campo dello Stato di Milano, si recò a corte in Spagna, forse per sollecitare il grandato. Non l’ottenne, ma l’anno dopo divenne consigliere collaterale e il 18 giugno fu insignito del Toson d’oro da Filippo IV, che inoltre, il 23 marzo 1664, rese ereditario nella famiglia il gran cancellierato. Nel febbraio del 1672 il C., che l’anno prima aveva disapprovato l’opportunità di imporre il calmiere contro la lievitazione dei prezzi, caldeggiato prima e quindi messo in atto dal viceré, cadde ammalato. Ristabilitosi, fu al principio del 1673 uno dei nobili che accolsero il viceré marchese d’Astorga, ma si ammalò di nuovo nel luglio 1674 e morì il 12 dicembre a Napoli. Fu sepolto ad Avellino, nella chiesa del Carmine. Aveva sposato a Madrid il 7 nov. 1666 Geronima Pignatelli, dalla quale ebbe Francesca, Giovanna e Marino Francesco Maria.