Nobile is an Italian hereditary title borne by a noble who ranks similarly or just below a baron, similar to the rank of Baronet in England, Fidalgo in Portugal or Ritter in Germany. Unlike higher Italian titles which are typically referred to in lieu of an individual's name, nobile is used immediately before the given and surnames, usually in the abbreviated form Nob..
The Libro d'Oro, originally published between 1315 and 1797, is the formal directory of nobles in the Republic of Venice. It has been resurrected as the Libro d'Oro della Nobiltà Italiana, a privately published directory of the nobility of Italy. The book lists some of Italy's noble families and their cadet branches.
The nobility of Italy comprised individuals and their families of the Italian Peninsula, and the islands linked with it, recognized by the sovereigns of the Italian city-states since the Middle Ages, and by the kings of Italy after the unification of the region into a single state, the Kingdom of Italy.
The emblem of the Italian Republic was formally adopted by the newly formed Italian Republic on 5 May 1948. Although often referred to as a coat of arms, it is an emblem as it was not designed to conform to traditional heraldic rules. The emblem is used extensively by the Italian government.
The law of heraldic arms, sometimes simply laws of heraldry governs the possession, use or display of arms, called bearing of arms. That use includes the coats of arms, coat armour or armorial bearings. Originally with the sole function of enabling knights to identify each other on the battlefield, they soon acquired wider, more decorative uses. Today they are used by countries, public and private institutions or individuals. The first laws regarding arms were written by Bartolus de Saxoferrato and the officials who administer these matters today are called pursuivants, heralds, or kings of arms. The law of arms is part of the law in countries which regulate heraldry, although not part of common law in England and in countries whose laws derive from English law. In most European countries without monarchies, much like in the United States, there are no laws against assuming arms, with the closest legal authenticity mechanism being a pictorial copyright protection.
The Simonetti family is an Italian noble family with origins in Tuscany. During the 12th century different branches in Florence, Terni, Lucca, Pistoia and Pescia developed. Other famous branches of this family were established in Jesi, Palermo, Milan and Bologna.
Annuario della Nobiltà italiana is a periodical publication dedicated to updating the registration status of Italian families recognised as noble or notable in the Kingdom of Italy and the pre-unitary old italian States.
A heraldic authority is defined as an office or institution which has been established by a reigning monarch or a government to deal with heraldry in the country concerned. It does not include private societies or enterprises which design and/or register coats of arms. Over the centuries, many countries have established heraldic authorities, and several still flourish today.
Duke or Duchess San Donato was a noble title, first created in 1602 by the Spanish King Philip III for the House of Sanseverino. The duchy was traditionally based on estates and territories held in San Donato di Ninea, Calabria. The first creation, however, lasted only 52 years. In 1668, the title was recreated for a wealthy merchant, Antonio Amitrano, who had some years earlier bought the feudal rights over the former dukes' territories. Descendants of the Ametrano family held the duchy, as one several titles, until it became extinct in the 1970s. There have been successive claims over the centuries by distant kinsmen of the first holders to claim the duchy; these remain unverified.
The Corpo della nobiltà italiana, sometimes referred to as CNI, is a private association established in 1957 to protect heraldic and nobility rights of Italian nobles after the republican constitution put an end to official recognition of nobility and noble titles.
Marquis of Neoneli is a title granted in 1774 by Victor Amadeus III of Savoy, king of Sardinia, to Sardinian nobleman Pedro Ripoll. It has passed afterwards to the house Sanjust.
Giovan Battista di Crollalanza was an Italian writer. From 1841 he published works on many topics and in several genres, among them histories, plays and poetry. From the 1870s he wrote only on heraldry.
Fisichella is an Italian noble family, forming part of the Sicilian nobility. Members of the family include multiple judges and prelates, among them a justice of the Supreme Court of the Kingdom of Sicily and an archbishop of the Roman Catholic Church.
Lanza are an Italian noble family that originated in Sicily in the 15th century. Derived from a cadet branch of the Lancia family, barons of Longi, it represents one of the major dynasties of the Sicilian aristocracy.
Baron of Altavilla Salina is a title of Sicilian nobility held by the Adragna family.
Longhi is an Italian surname of ancient origin, initially spelled as Longo, of which Longhi is plural. Some groups gained great power in the Middle Ages and into the modern era, holding dozens of titles of nobility and vast estates in north-central Italy. The surname appears in many dialectal variants, such as Longis, Longoni, Longa, Longhù, Longi, Longu and others. In addition to the Longus, the plural Longi is usually found in Latin texts. However, since in Italian longo means "long", "tall", "ancient" or "long", and is a word of common usage, it is likely that many of the numerous groups scattered throughout Italy had independent origins.
Giuseppe Galluppi, Baron of Pancaldo was an Italian nobleman, historian and essayist.
The Libro d'oro della nobiltà italiana is a private, unofficial publication in Italian containing anagraphic and biographical data of certain Italian noble and notable families published at irregular intervals under the auspices of the Collegio Araldico – Istituto araldico romano until 2010 it was published by Roberto Colonnello Editore, owned by Roberto Colonnello Bertini Frassoni, then hereditary Secretary General of the Association, and since 2014 it has been published by Ettore Gallelli, who formally took it over by registering it with the General Public Office for works protected by copyright, under the supervision of the Italian Ministry of Culture.
The Libro d'oro della nobiltà italiana is a public and official register compiled both during the Regno d'Italia and in the Italian Republic before 1962. It contains the list of families registered by a "provision of Grace" or justice. Each family is treated on one or more pages, which include: country of origin, habitual residence of the family, noble titles and attributes with an indication of the origin and succession of noble titles, royal and governmental regulations, blazons and a part of the documented genealogy.
