Italian Noble and Princely Families 2: July 2007-

[MarkUK]

I have independently compiled a list of the 58 people who had a "better" claim to the Throne than George, Elector of Hanover in 1714. He only gained the Throne by the 1701 Act of Settlement. Amazingly I found when I joined here that my list tallied with the list compiled by a long standing member.
Anyway, number 51 on that list is Clemente of Modena. He was born on 20 April 1708, the third and youngest son of Rinaldo III, Duke of Modena, and is the only one on the list for whom I do not have a date of death. Some sources state he died in infancy, others that he lived until at least his mid teens, having entered the Church in 1719. The latest record I can find of him is on an Italian Royal Genealogical website which says :
"proposto di Santa Maria della Pomposa dal 1722. Arciprete di Bondeno dal 1722".
I know no Italian, so could someone please translate it for me. Also does anyone have a date of death for Clemente of Modena ?

[Grazia Barbaro]

Originally Posted by bjv

Could anyone tell me who were the Parents of aviator pioneer Count Aldo Barbaro Cornaro, born 1892 and who died when his plane crashed in Bolivia 1923 ?

I understand a road in Catanzaro, Italy was changed from Via Barbaro to Via Aldo Barbaro in recognition of his achievements, that the Villa Trieste there was the pre-Venetian Barbaro home and that his mother's line was of the Venetion house of Cornaro.

Then I get stuck .

Aldo Barbaro was my uncle. He was Aldo Barbaro Cornaro, my father was Marco Antonio Barbaro Cornaro, his brother

[Marchesina]

Originally Posted by MarkUK

"proposto di Santa Maria della Pomposa dal 1722. Arciprete di Bondeno dal 1722".
I know no Italian, so could someone please translate it for me. Also does anyone have a date of death for Clemente of Modena ?

"parson of St. Mary of Pomposa since 1722. Dean of Bondeno since 1722"

[DBlair]

I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask, but there are a few questions that I have difficulty answering and it seems the knowledgeable members here might be able to provide assistance.


- It is my understanding that a Prince in Italy could be either a royal Prince or a non-royal/feudal Prince. (Any guidance about this would be appreciated) Accordingly, a royal Prince would be His Royal Highness (HRH/SAR), but what is the form of address for a non-royal Prince?

- Is there a list somewhere of all Italian noble and princely titles and the names of all those who legitimately held/hold these titles? (for historical and/or verification purposes) As there were so many kingdoms and principalities that existed over the centuries, I'm guessing this might be complicated and somewhat unlikely with the older/lesser known non-royal titles proving difficult to verify, but I am curious if there is any such list.


I appreciate any information or guidance the members here might be able to provide. Thanks!

[MAfan]

During the Kingdom of Italy (1861-1946) the Princes of the Royal Family were styled either His/Her Royal Highness or His/Her Serene Highness, accordingly to a Royal Decree issued in 1890 (although applied with many exceptions).
The other non-Royal Princes were styled either His/Her Serene Highness (mainly the Princes whose title was created by the Holy Roman Emperor and then recognized by the Kingdom of Italy - i.e. the Princes della Torre e Tasso or the Princes Gonzaga) or His/Her Excellency.

As for your second question, you can find a list of (many of) the Italian noble families in the Annuario della Nobiltà Italiana (Yearbook of Italian Nobility); I have find some lists of surname of noble families taken from the Annuario:
(Some of the) Noble families whose titles were recognized/conferred by the King of Italy: https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&p...UwNjFiOWU0N2U2
Noble families whose titles were conferred by the Sovereign Military Order of Malta: https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&p...ZTExMDFhMDUyYw
Noble families whose titles were conferred by King Umberto II of Italy during his exile: https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&p...BlNTJhNDMzZmYx

[DBlair]

Originally Posted by MAfan

During the Kingdom of Italy (1861-1946) the Princes of the Royal Family were styled either His/Her Royal Highness or His/Her Serene Highness, accordingly to a Royal Decree issued in 1890 (although applied with many exceptions).
The other non-Royal Princes were styled either His/Her Serene Highness (mainly the Princes whose title was created by the Holy Roman Emperor and then recognized by the Kingdom of Italy - i.e. the Princes della Torre e Tasso or the Princes Gonzaga) or His/Her Excellency.

As for your second question, you can find a list of (many of) the Italian noble families in the Annuario della Nobiltà Italiana (Yearbook of Italian Nobility); I have find some lists of surname of noble families taken from the Annuario:
(Some of the) Noble families whose titles were recognized/conferred by the King of Italy: https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&p...UwNjFiOWU0N2U2
Noble families whose titles were conferred by the Sovereign Military Order of Malta: https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&p...ZTExMDFhMDUyYw
Noble families whose titles were conferred by King Umberto II of Italy during his exile: https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&p...BlNTJhNDMzZmYx

Thanks for your quick response. To clarify so that I understand fully... generally speaking, any non-royal Prince who is not His Royal Highness or His Serene Highness would be His Excellency?

Is this generally a standard style of address in both northern and southern Italy for non-royal Princes who are not from royal family dynasties or tied to the Holy Roman Emperor?

My question is especially of interest as to non-royal Princely titles in southern Italy that were pre-unification/pre-Kingdom of Italy, and whether "His Excellency" (what is the Italian-language equivalent?) would be used. Is this style still used today in both Italy and internationally?

Any information about this or otherwise would be appreciated. Thanks for your help!

(My experience thus far with His/Her Excellency styles has been tied to international diplomatic usage and so I am currently unfamiliar with how they are used in the case of non-royal Italian Princes, thus my desire to understand and learn more... please forgive my lack of subject matter knowledge)

[MAfan]

Basically yes, all the non-royal Princes, with the only exception of those who were styled Serene Highness, were styled as His/Her Excellency (in Italian, Sua Eccellenza).
As far as I know, also before the unification in most of the Italian States non-royal Princes - as well as the Dukes, if I don't mistake - were styled His/Her Excellency.

[DBlair]

Originally Posted by MAfan

Basically yes, all the non-royal Princes, with the only exception of those who were styled Serene Highness, were styled as His/Her Excellency (in Italian, Sua Eccellenza).
As far as I know, also before the unification in most of the Italian States non-royal Princes - as well as the Dukes, if I don't mistake - were styled His/Her Excellency.

Thank you very much, this was the information I've been struggling to find.


Is the style His/Her Excellency still used in modern-day Italy to address non-royal Princes and Dukes, or is this no longer the case?

For example, if writing/speaking about them/speaking to them, is His/Your Excellency still appropriate and currently used?

[MAfan]

I don't think it is any longer used, at least not officially.

Btw, I've made some more researches, and I've discovered that apparently the use of the style Excellency during the Kingdom of Italy wasn't so much a general rule as I thought before.
I've found some royal decrees issued during the 1920s and early 1940s which stated - as far as I have understood - that as a general rule only the Roman Princes (members of some Roman families ennobled by the Pope before the Italian unification) were styled Excellency, while the other Princes were just styled Don/Donna (unless they were specifically given another style, i.e. Excellency or Serene Highness).
So it appears that the situation wasn't so much clear and simple as I thought - and described to you - previously.

[Loyalist]

Originally Posted by MAfan

18 May: Don Flavio of the Princes Borghese married to Isabella Olimpia Capuano at the Borghese Chapel, in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, Roma..

Is don flavio closely related to Lorenzo Borghese?

[CyrilVladisla]

Countess Anna de Pahlen was a guest at the July 5th, 2014 wedding of Prince Amedeo of Belgium and Elisabetta.

Originally Posted by zarat

Few photos of Lavinia Borromeo with her husband John Elkann and their daughter.
Olycom - News

Who is Lavinia Borromeo?

[MAfan]

Not only her, but also her sisters were (as well as many members of Italian noble families).

[zarat]

Few photos of Lavinia Borromeo with her husband John Elkann and their daughter.
Olycom - News

[zarat]

Originally Posted by CyrilVladisla

Who is Lavinia Borromeo?

As Wikipedia stated Dona Lavinia is " a member of the prominent Italian aristocratic family the House of Borromeo".

[Spheno]

Originally Posted by CyrilVladisla

Who is Lavinia Borromeo?

She is the daughter of Count Don Carlo Ferdinando Borromeo, Count of Arona and a half-sister of Beatrice Borromeo, girlfriend of Pierre Casiraghi.

[MAfan]

Don Marco Torlonia, 6th Prince of Civitella Cesi, passed away on 5 December 2014, aged 77.

He was born at Rome on 2 July 1937, the second child and eldest son of Don Alessandro Torlonia, 5th Prince of Civitella Cesi, and of his wife, née HRH Infanta Beatriz of Spain. Through his mother, he was a first cousin to King Juan Carlos of Spain; he also was uncle to Princess Sibilla of Luxembourg.
He married three times; firstly in 1960 to Donna Orsetta Caracciolo, of the Princes of Castagneto and Dukes of Melito; secondly in 1968, soon after the death of his first wife, to Philippa McDonald, until they divorced in 1985; and thirdly, in 1985, to Blazena Svitakova. He had one child by each of his wives.

Fallece Marco Torlonia, primo hermano del rey Juan Carlos y tío de Alessandro Lequio
Torlonia

[zarat]

Originally Posted by MAfan

Don Marco Torlonia, 6th Prince of Civitella Cesi, passed away on 5 December 2014, aged 77.

He was born at Rome on 2 July 1937, the second child and eldest son of Don Alessandro Torlonia, 5th Prince of Civitella Cesi, and of his wife, née HRH Infanta Beatriz of Spain. Through his mother, he was a first cousin to King Juan Carlos of Spain; he also was uncle to Princess Sibilla of Luxembourg.
He married three times; firstly in 1960 to Donna Orsetta Caracciolo, of the Princes of Castagneto and Dukes of Melito; secondly in 1968, soon after the death of his first wife, to Philippa McDonald, until they divorced in 1985; and thirdly, in 1985, to Blazena Svitakova. He had one child by each of his wives.

Fallece Marco Torlonia, primo hermano del rey Juan Carlos y tío de Alessandro Lequio
Torlonia

Photos from funeral of prince Marco Torlonia.
Álex Lequio acude con su abuela Sandra al funeral de su tío abuelo Marco Torlonia.

[MAfan]

H.S.H. Princess Donna Francesca Romana Orsini and of the Holy Roman Empire, Duchess of Gravina, née Bonacossi, Marchioness and Countess of S. Michele Arcangelo, passed away on 14 December 2014. She was 88.

She was born in Padova on 18 March 1926, the youngest of the two daughters of Count Taino Bonacossi, Marquess and Count of S. Michele Arcangelo, and of his wife, née Donna Carolina de Zara, of the Counts of Serra.
She married in 1946 to H.S.H. Prince Don Filippo Orsini and of the Holy Roman Empire, 21st Duke of Gravina, etc. (1920-1984). They became parents of two sons, Domenico Napoleone (the current Prince Orsini and Duke of Gravina) and Benedetto, and one daughter, Ildegarda (who died soon after the birth).
In 1958 Prince Orsini - who was one of the highest ranking officials at the papal Court - caused a huge scandal, when he fled from home with his then mistress, American actress Belinda Lee.
Though they separated, Don Filippo and Donna Francesca never divorced. The Prince died in Rome in 1984.

Morti 2014 - BONACOSSI FRANCESCA - Gazzetta di Mantova - 558534

[MAfan]

Count Don Giberto Borromeo-Arese, Prince of Angera, passed away on 16 February 2015 at Milano, Italy. He was 82.

He was born on 21 November 1932, the eldest son and second child of Count Don Vitaliano Borromeo, Prince of Angera, and of his wife Ida, née Taverna (of the Counts of Landriano).
He was married since 1958 to Bona Orlando, by whom he had two sons, Vitaliano and Federico.

He is survived by his wife, their sons, their daughters-in-law, four grandchildren, as well as by his two siblings.

La Stampa - Addio al principe Giberto Borromeo Arese

His funeral was celebrated at the Church of Santa Maria della Passione in Milan on 18 February, followed by the burial in the family grave at the cemetery of Arona.

La Stampa - L’addio al principe Giberto con le camelie delle sue isole

His younger brother, Count Don Carlo Borromeo, is the father - among the others - of Lavinia Elkann, Princess Matilde zu Fürstenberg and of Beatrice Borromeo, fiancée of Pierre Casiraghi. All they attended the funeral.

[maria-olivia]

I wonder if Pierre Casiraghi will be among the close family without any official engagement or wedding annoucement.