Origins and noble titles of the Lorengo family in Caldes in Val di Sole,
with a brief look at the Lorengo in Castelfondo and Val di Rabbi.
By genealogist Lynn Serafinn.
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INTRODUCTION
Surname study: LORENGO
Variants: Lorenghi; Lorengi; Lorengo de Sulzberg; Lorengo von Sulzberg; Lorengo von Sulzberg zu Thurnfeld.
Lorengo is a ‘patronymic’ surname, meaning it is derived from the personal name of a male ancestor (a patriarch) in antiquity. In this case, it is derived from the male personal name Lorengo, Lodarengo,[1] or Lodoregno.[2] It is a relatively uncommon surname, partially due to the fact that the personal name itself is so uncommon.
The surname ‘Lorengo’ was born in the village of Caldes in Val di Sole no later than the mid-1400s. However, its pre-surname origins – still in Caldes – can be traced back another two centuries.
In this report, we will look at the Caldes origins of this unusual surname, the many noble titles given to the Lorengo of Caldes, and its eventual extinction in that village. We will look at a few persons of note, and their professional achievements. Later, we will take a brief look at a short-lived line of Lorengo that sprang up in Castelfondo, as well as the Lorengo of Val di Rabbi, who still exist to the present day.
PART 1 – CALDES
Caldes origins
Historian Alberto Mosca is of the opinion that that the Lorengo were originally a branch of the noble family of Cagnò-Caldes, citing the name of one ‘Ser Lodorengo’, son of Caroto Caldes. This Caroto was the son of Rodolfo, and Rodolfo’s father was Arnoldo of Cagnò, one of three brothers who reconfirmed the license of Castel Caldes in 1235. Mosca tells us that among Lodorengo’s descendants we find a ‘Ser Taglio, who is referred to as ‘son of the late Lorengo’ in a document dated 1372,[3] as well as a ‘Ser Lorengo, son of the late Ser Bruto’ appearing in a document from 1399.[4] Thus, he makes a fairly convincing argument that Ser Lodorengo is the ultimate patriarch to which the Lorengo of Caldes owe their surname.
In the parish archives of Caldes, we find a notary document which was drafted in 1429, in the house of brothers Pietro and Bartolomeo, son of the late Lorengo of Caldes.[5] Fourteen years later (10 April 1453), in the parish archives for Carciato in Val di Sole, we find a Pietro Lorengo of Caldes (likely the same Pietro in the previous document) cited as one of the giurati of Caldes,[6] showing us that the surname was in use by that year. By the end of that century, we occasionally see records in which the surname is written as ‘Lorengi’.[7]
Episcopal Nobility (1454)
In 1454, the Lorengo family were one of several who were granted nobility by Prince-Bishop Giorgio Hack.[8] [9] Titles awarded by bishops may be referred to as ‘episcopal’ (vescovile) nobility, but they were more commonly referred to as ‘nobili rurali’ (rural nobility) or ‘nobili gentili’ (noble gentry/gentlemen). This was to distinguish them from ‘imperial’ nobility, which was a title awarded by the Holy Roman Emperor.
None of the sources I have consulted tell us specifically which Lorengo man/men had been awarded this noble title, nor the reason for it. Tovazzi tells us that there was an outbreak of plague in Val di Non during the years 1448-1451,[10] so perhaps the family performed some sort of service with regards to regulating the spread of epidemic during the outbreak, as health officials would normally have been appointed in such circumstances. This is just my own speculation, however.
List of Rural Nobility (1529)
After the Guerra Rustica (Rustic War) of 1525,[11] several hundred men were granted a title of rural nobility by Prince-Bishop Bernardo Cles, in gratitude for their loyalty during the conflict. In 1529, a list was compiled of all the rural nobility of Val di Non and Val di Sole; however, this list included those who had inherited the title granted by Prince-Bishop Hack in 1454. Among the Caldes men recorded on that 1529 list, we find a Simone Lorengi and his brother Gillio, a Federico and Domenico Lorengi, and another Simone Lorengi.[12] Unfortunately, their fathers’ names are not mentioned. Also, the list does not specify whether this was a confirmation of the 1454 title, or if the current Prince-Bishop had granted new titles to these members of the Lorengo family.
Lorengo Notaries of Caldes
Ciccolini’s inventory of the parish of Malé also includes many documents drafted by Lorengo notaries, the earliest of which is dated 1557, when a Ser Pietro, notary, son of Federico Lorengo, is cited as one of two sindaci (mayors) of the parish of Ss. Bartolomeo e Rocco in Caldes.[13] Later, we find another Pietro (apparently the grandson of the other), who carried on the family profession at least between the years 1598-1633.[14] P. Remo Stenico tells us of eight Lorengo notaries who were active from the late 1500s through the end of the 1700s.[15] All but one of these (who was from Rabbi) are said to have come from Caldes.
Imperial Nobility – Lorengo von Sulzberg
In 1698, Emperor Leopold I (reigned 1655-1705) awarded imperial nobility to Domenico, Francesco Antonio, Giovanni Battista, and Gerolamo Lorengo of Caldes.[16] This title which was later confirmed (for Domenico and his nephews) by Emperor Carlo IV on 15 April 1715. With this confirmation, the descendants of these lines were entitled to use the predicate ‘de Sulzberg’ (or ‘von Sulzberg’ in German).[17] This was the stemma (coat-of-arms) confirmed in 1715:[18]
Noteworthy Lorengo Priests
The above-mentioned Domenico was a Catholic priest. Son of Federico Lorengo and his wife Cattarina, Domenico earned a degree in both civil and canon law from the University of Padova in 1668. For a while, he worked as legal advisor to the nations of Toscana (Tuscany) and Genova (Genoa). Thereafter, he decided to take up the religious life. During his years as a priest, he served under Prince-Bishop of Trento, Sigismondo Alfonso Thun, and was also a chaplain in the imperial court in Vienna. In May 1695, Domenico was elevated to the rank of Canon of the Cathedral of Santo Stefano (Vienna). He died on 8 June 1717.[19] There is a sculpted and painted stemma of Domenico in the Palazzo del Bo in Padova, with the year of his graduation (1668).[20] [21]
Mosca also tells us of Giovanni Battista Lorengo, who became a Doctor of Theology and Philosophy in 1717, and served as Canon of the Cathedral of San Vigilio in Trento, as well as the parroco for the parish of Mezzocorona (1727-1731).[22] He died in 1731.[23]
Knights of the Holy Roman Empire – Lorengo von Sulzberg zu Thurnfeld
Another Giovanni Battista Lorengo, who was a Palatine Advisor and Captain of Termeno in 1723,[24] was elevated to the rank of Knight of the Holy Roman Empire by Emperor Carlo VI on 16 July 1729.[25]
Along with this title, Giovanni Battista was granted an embellishment of the previous Lorengo stemma, as well as the additional predicate ‘de Thurnfeld’ (‘zu Thurnfeld’ in German). This is a depiction of the embellished stemma of 1723:[26]
Lorengo Pharmacy in Caldes
Yet another Giovanni Battista, who lived at the end of the eighteenth century, earned his doctorate in Pharmacy in 1785, after having served his internship at a pharmacy in Passau. He established a pharmacy in the historic Lorengo house in Piazza S. Bartolomeo, now Pallaver-Rosani.[27]
Extinction of the Surname in Caldes
The Lorengo surname went extinct in Caldes in the 19th century.
The last Lorengo birth in that parish was for a Francesca Vittoria Teresa (daughter of the noble Luigi Lorengo and his wife, the noble Francesca Tavonati of Denno), on 29 July 1802.[28] Known mainly as ‘Teresa’, she married the noble Signor Felice Massimiliano Luigi Vecchieti of Malé on 6 July 1826. [29] Despite the fact both lived long lives,[30] the couple seems to have had only one child – Elisabetta Francesca Maria Vecchieti, who was born in Malé on 30 May 1827.[31] Tragically, the little girl died at the age of 6 from a head trauma sustained when she fell under the wheel of a wagon that went out of control when its horse had become startled.[32]
The last Lorengo death in Caldes was for Illuminata Lorengo, 39 years old, the unmarried daughter of Giovanni Lorengo and Brigida Antonietti (both deceased), who died from septicaemia/blood poisoning on 30 July 1876.[33]
Although I have not yet investigated all the later Lorengo of Caldes, as they lived into the 19th century, I would presume there are living descendants via their female lines. In other words, even though the surname itself has disappeared from its village of origin, I am fairly confident the Lorengo ‘genes’ will still be found there amongst people bearing other surnames.
PART 2 – CASTELFONDO AND VAL DI RABBI
The Short-Lived Line in Castelfondo
In the 1620s, we find a Domenico Lorengo of Caldes living in Dovena in the parish of Castelfondo. I have looked exhaustively for Domenico’s baptismal record, but I have not been able to find it, so I do not yet know how he ties into the other Caldes lines. His death record, dated 07 May 1668, says merely that he was a ‘septuagenarian’,[34] so based on this and the births of his children, I have theorised him to have been born around 1595-1597.
In Dovena, Domenico and his wife Cattarina had at least one daughter and three sons: Bartolomeo, Romedio, and Antonio. All of these sons grew up and had families of their own. The male lines appear to have died out in Castelfondo after a few generations, as we do not see the surname appearing in the index of volume 3 of the baptismal register, which begins in 1724.
Although the surname died out quickly in Castelfondo, there are definitely still living descendants of Domenico via his female descendants. One of my clients, for example, is descended from Domenico’s granddaughter, Cattarina, born in Dovena 15 April 1666.[35]
The Lorengo of Val di Rabbi
The Lorengo surname appears in the parish of San Bernardo di Rabbi right from the beginning of the parish registers in the 1560s. The earliest Lorengo birth there is for a Maria (daughter of Pietro Lorengo of Penasa and his wife, Maria), born 13 October 1566.[36] Although I presume the Lorengo of Rabbi have some connection to the Lorengo of Caldes, I haven’t yet found an explanation for how (or if) the two lines might be connected. Sadly, a Y-DNA comparison cannot help us find a connection, as the male line in Caldes is now extinct. It is worth noting, however, that there were many marriages between Caldes and Rabbi residents, even in the earliest records.
Throughout out the first volume of Rabbi baptismal records, we also find a handful of births under the surname ‘Pederbetta’ or ‘Petribetta’, whom Mosca says were actually a branch of Lorengo from Caldes.[37]
Around the late 1700s, we find a branch of the Lorengo of Rabbi using the soprannome Zanon; occasionally, some of the records are entered under that soprannome.[38]
In his book of notaries, P. Remo Stenico mentions a Rabbi notary named Francesco Lorengo, whose name appears in a document from 1794. [39]
Moving forward in time, there are 137 Lorengo births on the Nati in Trentino website, which spans the years 1815-1923.[40] All of these are from Val di Rabbi. Note that, between 1844-1851, we find a family of an Andrea Lorengo and Maddalena Slucca living in the parish of Malé, but Andrea was also from Rabbi.
The Lorengo of Rabbi are the only line that continues to the present day. Of course, some of these have migrated to other places in modern times.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
At the beginning of this report, I said that Lorengo is a relatively uncommon surname in Trentino. While this is partially due to the fact that the personal name from which it was derived (Lodorengo) was uncommon even in its own era, it became even less common when it ultimately died out in its native parish of Caldes.
When historians tell us that a particular family ‘went extinct’ in such-and-such year, they are generally referring only to the male lines that carried that surname, and/or to one particular noble line. As a genealogist, however, I see through a different lens: if there are female lines who carried the ‘genes’ forward in time, then the family is not truly ‘extinct’, even if the surname might be.
For this reason, I will often write about surnames that might not initially seem to have an ancestral link to many of my readers, but that might end up proving to be relevant the further back they research their ancestry. For example, earlier I mentioned that a client of mine is descended from one of the female lines of the short-lived Lorengo line in Castelfondo. This was only discovered after several years of researching his family, when we chanced upon the connection by digging deeper and wider into some of the female lines we hadn’t yet fully explored.
In the same way, I invite you not to discount the possibility that you might have a connection – even if very distant – to the Lorengo surname. And, of course, for those of you with Rabbi ancestors, the Lorengo surname has been rooted there for half a millennium or more, which means you have a very good chance of having at least one Lorengo line in your tree.
I hope you have found this short surname study of the Lorengo of Trentino to be interesting and (possibly) useful in your own family history research. 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.
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Until next time!
Warm wishes,
Lynn Serafinn
25 September 2024
P.S. I am currently taking client bookings for January 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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NOTES
[1] BERTOLUZZA, Aldo. 1998. Guida ai Cognomi del Trentino. Trento: Società Iniziative Editoriali (S.R.L.), page 198.
[2] MOSCA, Alberto. 2015. Caldes: Storia di Una Nobile Comunità. Pergine Valsugana (Trentino, Italy): Nitida Immagine Editrice, page 258.
[3] MOSCA, Alberto. 2015. Caldes: Storia di Una Nobile Comunità. Pergine Valsugana (Trentino, Italy): Nitida Immagine Editrice, page 149 and 258.
[4] MOSCA, Alberto. 2015. Caldes: Storia di Una Nobile Comunità. Pergine Valsugana (Trentino, Italy): Nitida Immagine Editrice, page 258.
[5] CICCOLINI, Giovanni. 1939. Inventari e Regesti degli Archivi Parrocchiali della Val di Sole. Volume 2: La Pieve di Malé. Trento: Libreria Moderna Editrice A. Ardesi, page 255, pergamena number 263.
[6] CICCOLINI, Giovanni. 1939. Inventari e Regesti degli Archivi Parrocchiali della Val di Sole. Volume 2: La Pieve di Malé. Trento: Libreria Moderna Editrice A. Ardesi, page 130, pergamena number 90.
[7] CICCOLINI, Giovanni. 1939. Inventari e Regesti degli Archivi Parrocchiali della Val di Sole. Volume 2: La Pieve di Malé. Trento: Libreria Moderna Editrice A. Ardesi, page 138, pergamena number 96. Mentions a ‘Marco, son of the late Odorico Lorengi’.
[8] TABARELLI DE FATIS, Gianmaria; BORRELLI, Luciano. 2005. Stemmi e Notizie di Famiglie Trentine. Trento: Società di Studi Trentini di Scienze Storiche, page 172.
[9] MOSCA, Alberto. 2015. Caldes: Storia di Una Nobile Comunità. Pergine Valsugana (Trentino, Italy): Nitida Immagine Editrice, page 258.
[10] TOVAZZI, P. Giangrisostomo. 1986. Malographia Tridentina: cronica dei fatti calamitosi avvenuti nel Trentino e regioni adiacenti dai primi anni d.C al 1803. Originally published in 1776. 1986 version coordinated by Gino Tomasi, and revised P. Remo Stenico. Trento: Lions Club Trento, page 52.
[11] The ‘Guerra Rustica’ was a series of rebellions between the ‘contadini’ (subsistence farmers/peasant class) and the office of the Prince-Bishop.
[12] GUELFI, Adriano Camaiani. 1964. Famiglie nobili del Trentino. Genova: Studio Araldico di Genova, page 159.
[13] CICCOLINI, Giovanni. 1939. Inventari e Regesti degli Archivi Parrocchiali della Val di Sole. Volume 2: La Pieve di Malé. Trento: Libreria Moderna Editrice A. Ardesi, page 233, pergamena number 284.
[14] He is cited as a notary when his daughter Cattarina is born on 4 Feb 1598 (Malé parish records, baptisms, volume 2, page 28), and is also cited in documents through 1633 by Stenico (STENICO, P. Remo. 1999. Notai Che Operarono Nel Trentino dall’Anno 845. Trento: Biblioteca San Bernardino, page 211).
[15] STENICO, P. Remo. 1999. Notai Che Operarono Nel Trentino dall’Anno 845. Trento: Biblioteca San Bernardino, page 211.
[16] MOSCA, Alberto. 2015. Caldes: Storia di Una Nobile Comunità. Pergine Valsugana (Trentino, Italy): Nitida Immagine Editrice, page 258.
[17] TABARELLI DE FATIS, Gianmaria; BORRELLI, Luciano. 2005. Stemmi e Notizie di Famiglie Trentine. Trento: Società di Studi Trentini di Scienze Storiche, page 172.
[18] TIROLER LANDESMUSEEN. Tyrolean Coats of Arms. ‘Lorengo’. Accessed 23 September 2024 from https://wappen.tiroler-landesmuseen.at/index34a.php?wappen_id=18917&drawer=&tr=1#next.
[19] All biographical information on Domenico Lorengo is taken from MOSCA, Alberto. 2015. Caldes: Storia di Una Nobile Comunità. Pergine Valsugana (Trentino, Italy): Nitida Immagine Editrice, page 259.
[20] TABARELLI DE FATIS, Gianmaria; BORRELLI, Luciano. 2005. Stemmi e Notizie di Famiglie Trentine. Trento: Società di Studi Trentini di Scienze Storiche, page 172.
[21] MOSCA, Alberto. 2015. Caldes: Storia di Una Nobile Comunità. Pergine Valsugana (Trentino, Italy): Nitida Immagine Editrice, page 259.
[22] WEBER, Simone (Mons.). 1992 (reprint). Le Chiese delle Val di Non Nella Storia e Nell’Arte. Volume III: I Decanati di Taio, Denno e Mezzolombardo. Mori (Trento): La Grafica Anastatica, page 189.
[23] MOSCA, Alberto. 2015. Caldes: Storia di Una Nobile Comunità. Pergine Valsugana (Trentino, Italy): Nitida Immagine Editrice, page 259.
[24] MOSCA, Alberto. 2015. Caldes: Storia di Una Nobile Comunità. Pergine Valsugana (Trentino, Italy): Nitida Immagine Editrice, page 259.
[25] TABARELLI DE FATIS, Gianmaria; BORRELLI, Luciano. 2005. Stemmi e Notizie di Famiglie Trentine. Trento: Società di Studi Trentini di Scienze Storiche, page 172.
[26] TABARELLI DE FATIS, Gianmaria; BORRELLI, Luciano. 2005. Stemmi e Notizie di Famiglie Trentine. Trento: Società di Studi Trentini di Scienze Storiche, page 356.
[27] Mosca (page 259) tells us his diploma is still in the Caldes parish archives.
[28] Caldes parish records, baptisms, volume 3, page 27.
[29] Caldes parish records, marriages, volume 2, page 3.
[30] Felice died at age 72 on 27 November 1865 (Malé parish records, deaths, volume 3, page 120); the widowed Teresa died in Malé at the age of 80 on 31 July 1882 (Malé parish records, deaths, volume 3, page 177).
[31] Malé parish records, baptisms, volume 8, page 28.
[32] The little Vecchieti girl died 29 October 1833. Malé parish records, deaths, volume 3, page 28.
[33] Caldes parish records, deaths, volume 3, page 24.
[34] Castelfondo parish records, deaths, volume 1, page 100.
[35] Castelfondo parish records, baptisms, volume 2, page 63-64.
[36] San Bernardo di Rabbi parish records, baptisms, volume 1, page 2.
[37] I have found only a few of these records; none of the ones I found mentioned Lorengo, but they do mention Caldes. For Mosca’s explanation, see MOSCA, Alberto. 2015. Caldes: Storia di Una Nobile Comunità. Pergine Valsugana (Trentino, Italy): Nitida Immagine Editrice, page 258.
[38] See priest’s notation at the bottom of the ‘L’ section in the index of volume 2 of the baptismal register for San Bernardo di Rabbi.
[39] STENICO, P. Remo. 1999. Notai Che Operarono Nel Trentino dall’Anno 845. Trento: Biblioteca San Bernardino, page 211.
[40] 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/.