Origins of the Bonenti surname in Trentino, and homage to cultural historian Fiore Bonenti. By genealogist Lynn Serafinn.
My ‘Christmas Surname Countdown’
This holiday season, I wanted to do something special for my readers. So, I’ve been busy working on 10 different surname histories, from various part of Trentino, which I will be publishing here every day between December 15th and December 24th (Christmas Eve). The articles will start off short and sweet, and get a bit longer by the end. To keep it a surprise, I’m not going to announce which surnames I’ll be posting on which days. That way, it will be kind of like a ‘Surname Christmas Stocking’, full of little gifts for you.
This BONENTI article is number 1 of 10 in this series. If you enjoy it, and you want to keep it to print out or share with family, you can purchase it as a 5-page PDF for just $0.99 USD, using the form below.
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Geographic Origins of the Surname Bonenti
Although found in other parts of Italy (mostly in the north), the surname Bonenti in the province of Trentino appears to be native to the village Bondo, which lies about 6 kilometres southwest of Tione di Trento in Val Giudicarie Interiore. Note that while the parish of Bondo remains independent, the civil municipality (comune) of Bondo was merged with those of Breguzzo, Lardaro, and Roncone to form the new comune of ‘Sella Giudicarie’ in 2016.
The Bonenti date back in Bondo at least to the beginning of the 1500s, as evidenced by several Bonenti family documents in the Trento provincial archives, the earliest of which is dated 1517.[1] P. Remo Stenico has cited the names of eight priests[2] and two notaries[3] bearing the Bonenti surname, all of whom came from Bondo.
Linguistic Origins of the Surname
One historian has included Bonenti amongst the many dozens of patronymic surnames derived from the medieval male personal name ‘Bono’, which comes from the Latin word for ‘good’, i.e. being of good character.[4]
However, I believe Bonenti may actually be more directly derived from the somewhat uncommon male personal name ‘Bonento’ (‘Bonentus’ in Latin), which also means ‘good-natured’. We find, for example, at least three boys baptised Bonento Bonenti in the early Tione register, in 1607[5], 1612,[6] and 1645.[7]
NOTE: The parish archives for Bondo prior to the year 1736 were destroyed in a fire,[8] but many early Bondo records will be found in its mother parish of Tione.
Fiore Bonenti (1928-2013), cultural historian
Born in Bondo in 1928, Fiore Bonenti was a prolific and passionate writer and researcher who authored, illustrated, and co-authored dozens of studies on the cultural history of Bondo and Breguzzo.
His topics included histories of the handicrafts, songs, games, dialect, proverbs, and industries of his native village, as well as a commemorative piece on the centenary of the Famiglia Cooperativo (Family Cooperative) of Bondo.
Shown here is the cover of his 153-page work entitled Mestieri del Passato a Bondo e Breguzzo (Handicrafts of the Past in Bondo and Breguzzo).[9]
Fiore died on 11 March 2013. In his obituary, biographer Mario Antolini-Musòn writes that Bonenti ‘was not a man of letters, much less an intellectual in the common sense of the two terms’ but rather ‘a lover of his mountains and the traditions of his people.’[10]
The Bonenti Today
There were 708 Bonenti baptisms recorded in the archdiocese of Trento between the years 1815-1923.[11] The vast majority were in the parish of Bondo, with others in nearby parishes of Tione, Breguzzo, and Lardaro, and a few expanding further north into the Pinzolo area of Val Rendena.
Today, the highest number of Bonenti families on the Italian peninsula continue to live in the province of Trento, with the highest concentration (over 60 families) currently still living in and around Bondo and Tione.[12]
Lynn Serafinn, genealogist
15 December 2024
COMING UP TOMORROW…
This was article 1 in my special 10-part ‘Christmas Surname Countdown’.
If you liked this article and want to keep it to print or share with family, you can purchase it as a PDF for only $0.99 USD here:
| Buy eBook 'The BONENTI of Bondo' | |
|---|---|
| Buy LETTER-size PDF: | |
| Buy A4-size PDF: | |
| CLICK HERE to see all of Lynn's eBooks in the Digital Shop. | |
Tomorrow will be a brand new surname history. If you want to receive an announcement each time one of my ‘Christmas Surname Countdown’ articles/eBooks is published, be sure to subscribe to this blog in the subscription box below.
If you have any questions, comments or insights to add, please do not hesitate to post them here on the blog, or to write to me via https://trentinogenealogy.com/contact.
Until next time!
Warm wishes,
Lynn Serafinn
15 December 2024
P.S. I am currently taking client bookings for February 2025 and beyond. If you would like to book a time to discuss having me do research for you, I invite you to read my ‘Genealogy Services’ page, and then drop me a line using the Contact form on this site. Then, we can set up a free 30-minute chat to discuss your project.
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(please note that the online version is VERY out of date, as I have been working on it offline for the past 6+ years):
https://trentinogenealogy.com/my-tree/
NOTES
[1] PROVINCIA AUTONOMA DI TRENTO. ‘Compromesso, 24 August 1517, Bondo’. Document of the Bonenti family of Bondo. Archivi Storici del Trentino, https://www.cultura.trentino.it/archivistorici/unita/5744835. Accessed 16 November 2024.
[2] STENICO, P. Remo. 2000. Sacerdoti della Diocesi di Trento dalla sua Esistenza Fino all’Anno 2000. Indice Onomastico, page 63.
[3] STENICO, P. Remo. 1999. Notai Che Operarono Nel Trentino dall’Anno 845. Trento: Biblioteca San Bernardino, page 72.
[4] BERTOLUZZA, Aldo. 1998. Guida ai Cognomi del Trentino. Trento: Società Iniziative Editoriali (S.R.L.), page 48-49.
[5] Bonento Bonenti, son of Antonioli (son of Andrea) and Lucia, born in Bondo on 12 August 1607 [Tione parish records, baptisms, volume 1, no page number].
[6] Bonento Bonenti (son of Giacomo and Maria) born in Bondo on 24 Feb 1612 [Tione parish records, baptisms, volume 2, no page number].
[7] Bonento Bonenti (son of Domenico and Elisabetta) born in Bondo on 15 July 1645 [Tione parish records, baptisms, volume 3, page 54].
[8] CASETTI, Albino (dottore). 1951. Guida Storico – Archivistica del Trento. Trento: Tipografia Editrice Temi (S.R.L.), page 73.
[9] BONENTI, Fiore. 1994. I mestieri del passato a Bondo e Breguzzo a cura di Alberto Mognaschi. Gruppo Culturale Bondo Breguzzo. Tione di Trento: Editrice Rendena.
[10] ANTOLINI-MUSÒN, Maria. 2013. ‘Fiore Bonenti’ (obituary and bibliography). Judicaria, n. 82 (April 2013), page 84-85. Tione: Centro Studi Judicaria. My translation.
[11] NATI IN TRENTINO. Provincia autonomia di Trento. Database of baptisms registered within the parishes of the Archdiocese of Trento between the years 1815-1923. https://www.natitrentino.mondotrentino.net/.
[12] COGNOMIX. Accessed 16 November 2024. https://www.cognomix.it/mappe-dei-cognomi-italiani/BONENTI/TRENTINO-ALTO-ADIGE/TRENTO. Data accurate as of 14 December 2024.