Hi, all:
My name is Salvatore Lagattuta, and I am a member of a small group of
persons on the Internet, who have ancestry from, or are interested in, the comune of Mezzojuso, in the province of Palermo in Sicily.
Mezzojuso has a historical record as a continuously inhabited entity for
well over a millennium, and its name derives from the Saracen Arab "Manzil Jusuf," meaning "the village of Joseph," purportedly named after its native leader Yusuf Ibd Abd Allah, who became a reigning Emir of Sicily. After the Normans completely conquered the Arabs of Sicily in 1090, the town was given by the Norman king Roger II, in 1132, to the Monastery of Saint John
of the Hermits in Palermo.
In 1490, 48 Albanian soldiers and their families (under the command of Giorgio and Basilio Reres, sons of the governor of Calabria, Demitrios
Reres, a relative of the Albanian king Giorgio Castriota "Skanderbeg") were granted permission by the Monastery to settle in Mezzojuso, which had
become increasingly depopulated by the late 1400's. Then, in 1527, the Monastery handed over the village as a fief to the noble lord Giovanni Corvino of Pisa, and thereafter Mezzojuso was held as a feudal land by various nobles until 1832, upon the death of the last lord, Francesco Paolo Corvino Filingeri.
So, the rulers of Mezzojuso were: Saracen Arabs, prior to 1090;
Normans, 1090-1132; Monastery of Saint John of the Hermits, 1132-1527; various nobles (Giovanni Corvino to Francesco Paolo Corvino Filingeri), 1527-1832; local political leaders (prior to Italian nationhood),
1832-1860; politically elected officials (since Italian nationhood), 1860-present.
Mezzojuso is one of about a dozen towns/villages in Sicily that thus has a quite pronounced Italo-Albanian/Arberesh heritage. In the main piazza of Mezzojuso are: on the western perimeter of the piazza, the Castello Vecchio of the former nobles; on the northern perimeter of the piazza, the Latin rite matriarchal church of Maria Santissima Annunziata (between the
Castello Vecchio and the Italo-Albanian/Arberesh matriarchal church), and
the Byzantine rite matriarchal church of San Nicola di Mira (of the Italo-Albanians/Arberesh). Both matriarchal churches are of the same Catholic faith, although of different rites.
By long-standing Mezzojuso tradition, if the husband and the wife are of different rites, then the wife (and any children) will take on the rite of the husband. Some surnames in Mezzojuso, therefore, are more closely aligned with either the Latin rite or the Byzantine rite. This is important, genealogically, because family ancestry can be traced according
to the parish records of the two matriarchal churches, with paternal lines nearly always following directly back in either the Latin or Byzantine rite/matriarchal church, but the maternal lines (and maiden surnames) may "cross over" from the opposite rite (if the wife's rite and sometimes
surname ancestry is different than that of the husband).
I would really like to hear from anyone who has ancestry from Mezzojuso, or is interested in similar Italo-Albanian/Arberesh concerns.
Thank you, Sal Lagattuta at <slagattu@gte.net>
Hi, all:
My name is Salvatore Lagattuta, and I am a member of a small group of
persons on the Internet, who have ancestry from, or are interested in, the comune of Mezzojuso, in the province of Palermo in Sicily.
Mezzojuso has a historical record as a continuously inhabited entity for
well over a millennium, and its name derives from the Saracen Arab "Manzil Jusuf," meaning "the village of Joseph," purportedly named after its native leader Yusuf Ibd Abd Allah, who became a reigning Emir of Sicily. After the Normans completely conquered the Arabs of Sicily in 1090, the town was given by the Norman king Roger II, in 1132, to the Monastery of Saint John
of the Hermits in Palermo.
In 1490, 48 Albanian soldiers and their families (under the command of Giorgio and Basilio Reres, sons of the governor of Calabria, Demitrios
Reres, a relative of the Albanian king Giorgio Castriota "Skanderbeg") were granted permission by the Monastery to settle in Mezzojuso, which had
become increasingly depopulated by the late 1400's. Then, in 1527, the Monastery handed over the village as a fief to the noble lord Giovanni Corvino of Pisa, and thereafter Mezzojuso was held as a feudal land by various nobles until 1832, upon the death of the last lord, Francesco Paolo Corvino Filingeri.
So, the rulers of Mezzojuso were: Saracen Arabs, prior to 1090;
Normans, 1090-1132; Monastery of Saint John of the Hermits, 1132-1527; various nobles (Giovanni Corvino to Francesco Paolo Corvino Filingeri), 1527-1832; local political leaders (prior to Italian nationhood),
1832-1860; politically elected officials (since Italian nationhood), 1860-present.
Mezzojuso is one of about a dozen towns/villages in Sicily that thus has a quite pronounced Italo-Albanian/Arberesh heritage. In the main piazza of Mezzojuso are: on the western perimeter of the piazza, the Castello Vecchio of the former nobles; on the northern perimeter of the piazza, the Latin rite matriarchal church of Maria Santissima Annunziata (between the
Castello Vecchio and the Italo-Albanian/Arberesh matriarchal church), and
the Byzantine rite matriarchal church of San Nicola di Mira (of the Italo-Albanians/Arberesh). Both matriarchal churches are of the same Catholic faith, although of different rites.
By long-standing Mezzojuso tradition, if the husband and the wife are of different rites, then the wife (and any children) will take on the rite of the husband. Some surnames in Mezzojuso, therefore, are more closely aligned with either the Latin rite or the Byzantine rite. This is important, genealogically, because family ancestry can be traced according
to the parish records of the two matriarchal churches, with paternal lines nearly always following directly back in either the Latin or Byzantine rite/matriarchal church, but the maternal lines (and maiden surnames) may "cross over" from the opposite rite (if the wife's rite and sometimes
surname ancestry is different than that of the husband).
I would really like to hear from anyone who has ancestry from Mezzojuso, or is interested in similar Italo-Albanian/Arberesh concerns.
Thank you, Sal Lagattuta at <slagattu@gte.net>
On Saturday, May 24, 1997 at 3:00:00 AM UTC-4, Sal Lagattuta wrote:
Hi, all:
My name is Salvatore Lagattuta, and I am a member of a small group of
persons on the Internet, who have ancestry from, or are interested in, the >> comune of Mezzojuso, in the province of Palermo in Sicily.
Hi !! My name is Rita and my paternal grandmother and her ancestors were from Mezzojuso. Thier names were Sprofero,Carnesi, Schiro and Bonomo.
Any info appreciated!!
Regards Chris Sciales
On Saturday, May 24, 1997 at 3:00:00 AM UTC-4, Sal Lagattuta wrote:
Hi, all:
My name is Salvatore Lagattuta, and I am a member of a small group of persons on the Internet, who have ancestry from, or are interested in, the comune of Mezzojuso, in the province of Palermo in Sicily.
Mezzojuso has a historical record as a continuously inhabited entity for well over a millennium, and its name derives from the Saracen Arab "Manzil Jusuf," meaning "the village of Joseph," purportedly named after its native leader Yusuf Ibd Abd Allah, who became a reigning Emir of Sicily. After
the Normans completely conquered the Arabs of Sicily in 1090, the town was given by the Norman king Roger II, in 1132, to the Monastery of Saint John of the Hermits in Palermo.
In 1490, 48 Albanian soldiers and their families (under the command of Giorgio and Basilio Reres, sons of the governor of Calabria, Demitrios Reres, a relative of the Albanian king Giorgio Castriota "Skanderbeg") were granted permission by the Monastery to settle in Mezzojuso, which had become increasingly depopulated by the late 1400's. Then, in 1527, the Monastery handed over the village as a fief to the noble lord Giovanni Corvino of Pisa, and thereafter Mezzojuso was held as a feudal land by various nobles until 1832, upon the death of the last lord, Francesco Paolo Corvino Filingeri.
So, the rulers of Mezzojuso were: Saracen Arabs, prior to 1090;
Normans, 1090-1132; Monastery of Saint John of the Hermits, 1132-1527; various nobles (Giovanni Corvino to Francesco Paolo Corvino Filingeri), 1527-1832; local political leaders (prior to Italian nationhood), 1832-1860; politically elected officials (since Italian nationhood), 1860-present.
Mezzojuso is one of about a dozen towns/villages in Sicily that thus has a quite pronounced Italo-Albanian/Arberesh heritage. In the main piazza of Mezzojuso are: on the western perimeter of the piazza, the Castello Vecchio of the former nobles; on the northern perimeter of the piazza, the Latin rite matriarchal church of Maria Santissima Annunziata (between the Castello Vecchio and the Italo-Albanian/Arberesh matriarchal church), and the Byzantine rite matriarchal church of San Nicola di Mira (of the Italo-Albanians/Arberesh). Both matriarchal churches are of the same Catholic faith, although of different rites.
By long-standing Mezzojuso tradition, if the husband and the wife are of different rites, then the wife (and any children) will take on the rite of the husband. Some surnames in Mezzojuso, therefore, are more closely aligned with either the Latin rite or the Byzantine rite. This is important, genealogically, because family ancestry can be traced according to the parish records of the two matriarchal churches, with paternal lines nearly always following directly back in either the Latin or Byzantine rite/matriarchal church, but the maternal lines (and maiden surnames) may "cross over" from the opposite rite (if the wife's rite and sometimes surname ancestry is different than that of the husband).
I would really like to hear from anyone who has ancestry from Mezzojuso, or is interested in similar Italo-Albanian/Arberesh concerns.
Thank you, Sal Lagattuta at <slag...@gte.net>
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