A Rebel from Polizzi

   Sicily was under the control of Spain for over 400 years.  When the distinctly Sicilian line of rulers collapsed in 1409 the island came under the rule of the house of Aragon, and when Aragon and Castile merged in 1479, Sicily became part of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, whose capital was Naples. In Naples in 1647, a fisherman named Tommaso Aniello, but usually called Masaniello, led a brief revolt against the excesses of the Spanish rule.   This inspired Giuseppe D'Alessi (sometimes spelled Alesi), to leave his hometown of Polizzi Generosa and travel to Palermo to protest the same injustices. There, on a trumped up charge of conspiring to give Palermo to France, he was beheaded in 1647. (Eerily, Masaniello, was also beheaded in the same year in Naples.)
   There is a Via D'Alessi located in the northern part of Polizzi today, but I have been unable to determine if it was named in his honor. The name D'Alessi or Alesi is rarely found in the vital records of Polizzi today, although it is found among the middle class in the censuses of the the 1600s. There is, however, a relatively large number of individuals with the surname Russo Alesi in Polizzi who can be found as early as the mid-1700s.  But it is not possible to say if there is any connection between the two surnames.

Masaniello

More Tidbits of History

    Like the rest of Sicily, Polizzi Generosa was freed from over 200 years of Saracen rule in the mid 1000s.  Roger the Norman, who rescued Sicily from the rule of the Moslems,  counted the village as a stronghold and built up its fortress.  In 1234, the Emperor Frederick II bestowed the title Generosa upon the town, and it has always kept this addition to its name.
      For a very remote and small town, the city has some unexpected developments.  For example, in 1428 the first public school was opened in Polizzi and in 1572 the Jesuits opened a first an elementary school  and later, a secondary school that taught grammar, rhetoric, philosophy and mathematics.

P.S. on vacation next week.

Some Early History

     The exact origins of Polizzi Generosa are still uncertain.  But from the archaeological excavations that have been undertaken, it is certain that in ancient times the town had been under the control of the Greeks and the Carthaginians.  The earliest remains found in Polizzi and the surrounding area date from the third and fourth centuries B.C. In general, the Greeks were dominant in the eastern half of Sicily, while the Carthaginians ruled in the west.  (Hannibal's father, Hamilcar Barca, was the commander at what is now Erice in the far west of the island and the consequences of a major defeat of the Punic navy off the coast, turned him into a fanatical opponent of Rome. This hatred he passed down to his more famous son.) Of course, later Polizzi was part of the Roman Empire.  Sicily was one of two granaries for Rome, and suffered under many unscrupulous governors. At one time a statue of Isis was uncovered in Polizzi and from this evidence many people believe that the name means "city of Isis."
     The present-day town dates back to Hellenistic times when it was known as Basileopolis, meaning the city of the king.

Marriage Documents, Part 2

    When looking for marriage documents, the actual marriage registration called the "Atto di Martimonio," may not contain nearly as much information as the "Atto di Solenne Promesso" or the Solemn Promise to Marry, which is the first document to be filed when a wedding was planned.  (Note: Although the Solemn Promise is not actual documentation that the marriage did, in fact, take place, there were very few exceptions to the normal process.)  The amount of genealogical information to be found in this document is rather astounding when compared to the practices in other countries or at other times.  Here's what can almost always be found.

• The names, ages, place of birth, and occupations of the intended bride and groom
• The names, occupations, and town of residence of the parents of the groom
• The same information for the parents of the bride
• A dead parent will be indicated by the word "fu" before the name.  This roughly translates as "the late."

   This is the first of two brief postings on the subject of wedding documents.  Marriages in Polizzi Generosa, indeed in all of Italy, were and are accompanied by all sorts of documents:  Not only marriage registrations, but also solemn promises of marriages, and marriage banns, not to mention many additional documents that often had to be filed. Here are just a few of the terms you will find in these documents, or in other documents referring to married people:

• Marito = husband
• Moglie = wife
• sposo/a = spouse
• Celibe = never married male
• Nubile = never married female
• Vedovo/vedova = widower/widow

Interior of Chiesa di Sant'Orsola (the Church of Saint Ursula) in Polizzi Generosa.

What did they do for a living?

    When you start digging into the records of Polizzi Generosa, you will notice the many different occupations in this small town.  Being relatively remote in Sicily, Polizzi had to have its own artisans and craftsmen, as well as agricultural workers.   Here are just a few of the terms you will encounter:

• Calzolaio = shoemaker
• Contadino = peasant
• Villano = peasant
• Casalinga = housewife
• Filatrice = Spinner
• Levatrice = midwife
• Parroco = parish priest
• Sindaco = mayor

Although this particular filatrice worked in Calabria, the scene would have been pretty much the same in Polizzi Generosa.

Surnames from plants and animals

     Another rich source of surnames is the plant and animal life of the Sicilian countryside.  Here are a few examples:

• Palmieri = Palm grower
• Noce = walnut grower
• Amendola = almond grower
• Cipolla = onion grower

and my personal favorite  

• Capone = castrated rooster (Don't tell Scarface!)

 

Captioned: Children buying prickly pears

(Although this old photo is from Polizzi, prickly pears are still eaten in Sicily.)