Origins of the SILVESTRI of Terzolas, Val di Cembra, and Serso (Pergine Valsugana). By genealogist Lynn Serafinn.
My ‘Christmas Surname Countdown’
My Christmas gift to you this year is to publish 10 new surname studies, one each day between December 15th and December 24th.
This article is number 9 of that 10-part series. If you enjoy it, and you want to keep it to print out or share with family, you can purchase it as a 9-page PDF for $1.50 USD, using the form below.
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Linguistic Origins of the Surname Silvestri
Linguistic historian Aldo Bertoluzza tells us that the surname came from a soprannome derived from the adjective ‘silvestro’, meaning ‘living in the woods or forests’ (cognate with our English word ‘sylvan’). He adds that the term can also refer to a crude, uncultured behaviour.
I believe, however, that the surname is actually a patronymic derived from the male personal name ‘Silvestro’, likely given in honour of Saint Silvestro, i.e., Pope Sylvester I (depicted in the image at the top of this article), who led the Christian Church from 31 January 314 AD, until his death on 31 December 335 AD.[1] As his papacy coincided with the reign of Emperor Constantine (the first emperor to convert to Christianity), he was the first pope to serve after the era of Christian persecutions.[2] He is an extremely popular saint in Trentino and Alto Adige (South Tyrol), with numerous churches named in his honour. Historian Alberto Folgheraiter tells us that in Alto Adige, San Silvestro is considered a protector against thieves, and it is not uncommon to find his image hanging above the front door of homes.[3]
If Silvestri is indeed a patronymic surname, it would imply there was a patriarch named Silvestro sometime in the distant past, whose descendants were called ‘Silvestri’, which is a Latin genitive form of the name Silvestro, carrying the meaning ‘of Silvestro’. As with many other patronymics, you will find the surname appearing in many places, many with no ancestral connection to the others.
There are also other Trentino surnames also derived from this root, such as De Silvestro (Desilvestro)[4] and Silvestrini,[5] but they have different ancestral histories.
Silvestri is an extremely common Italian surname, with nearly 11,000 Silvestri families estimated to be living in Italy today.[6] The province of Trentino is home to only about 1% of these families.
Where You Will Find Silvestri in Trentino
Although the surname today is found in various parts of the province (including the cities of Trento and Rovereto), it is historically associated primarily with the comune of Terzolas in Val di Sole (a curate of the parish of Malé).
Additionally, we also find many Silvestri lines in Val di Cembra. One now-extinct line, with its ancient roots in Sevignano, settled in Verla di Giovo, but there are still Silvestri in other parts of that valley.
Another more recent Silvestri line can be found in Serso in Pergine Valsugana.
In this article, we will briefly look at these three Silvestri lines, none of which appear to be ancestrally connected.
The Silvestri of Terzolas
Historians Tiziana Ciccolini and Udalrico Fantelli refer to the Silvestri as one of the ‘indigenous’ non-noble families of Terzolas, where we know they were living at least as far back as the early 1400s.[7] The earliest record I have found mentioning a Silvestri is dated 25 May 1454, where we see reference to ‘the heirs of the late Antonio Silvestri’, who owned a plot of arable land in Terzolas.[8] During the 1500s, we find other parchments where Silvestri are indicated as landowners in both Terzolas[9] and Val di Rabbi.[10]
There were at least three Silvestri notaries from Terzolas practicing their profession in the 18th century,[11] and at least three Silvestri priests from Terzolas in the 19th and early 20th century.[12]
There were 137 Silvestri baptisms recorded in Terzolas in the years 1815-1923.[13] Terzolas has the second highest number of Silvestri in the province of Trentino today, after the city of Trento.[14]
Father Pietro Silvestri of Terzolas – Local Historian and Genealogist
Born in Terzolas, Father Pietro Francesco Silvestri (born 2 October 1837; died 22 September 1906),[15] was the son of Giovanni Silvestri and Domenica Greiffenberg.[16] Ordained as a priest on 10 February 1863, he first worked in the parishes of Livo and Malé, until he was appointed curate (equivalent to a pastor) of the church in Terzolas on 6 September 1877.[17]
His specific contributions to local historians and genealogists make him worthy of special mention. In 1881, he constructed an index for the marriage records of Terzolas between the years 1603 and the early 1800s. These are organised alphabetically, according to surname, with ‘foreign’ surnames (i.e., grooms who came from outside the parish) in separate listings under the first letter of the surname.[18] The index has the year of the marriage, and the names of the bride and groom. Although appearing in the Terzolas marriage index, all marriages on the list that took place before 1720 are actually to be found amongst the parish registers of its mother parish of Malé.
Between the years 1878-1900, Father Pietro Silvestri also constructed a Registro Contenente le Genealogie delle principali famiglie di Terzolas (Register Containing the Genealogies of the Main Families of Terzolas), which included the Silvestri.[19] This work is conserved in the parish archives, but I have not yet found any published version of these genealogies.
The priest who recorded his death says, ‘He was and exemplary priest.’ Today, there is even a street in Terzolas called ‘Via don Pietro Silvestri’ (see near the bottom right corner in the map below).
Other Descendants of Giovanni Silvestri and Domenica Greiffenberg
Father Pietro was not the only person worthy of mention to come from this family.
His brother Giuseppe Mattia Luigi (born 8 March 1841; died 1880) was a Franciscan missionary in Albania.[20]
Another brother, Giovanni Luigi Nicolò (born 25 September 1833;[21] died 1914)[22] was a lawyer, patriot, and a supporter of Società degli Alpinisti Tridentini (SAT) and National League.
This Giovanni married Francesca Crescini of Pergine on 29 July 1865,[23] and shifted from Terzolas to Malé around 1870. Their son Ugone Maria Cornelio Giuseppe Giovanni Silvestri (known as Ugo), born in Malé on 8 September 1871,[24] was a diplomat, an attaché in China, vice-consul in New York, and a Commander of the Crown of Italy and of the Mauriziano Order.
Ugo Silvestri died in 1931.[25] His biography (see photo) was written by Bruno Silvestri in 1996.
The Silvestri of Verla di Giovo
The Silvestri of Verla in the parish of Giovo (Val di Cembra) seem to date back at least to the first half of the 1500s, when we find a notary called ‘Silvestro, son of the late Pietro of Sevignano (about 14 kilometres/9 miles east of Verla),’ cited as a regolano of Giovo in either 1519 or 1524.[26] Historian P. Remo Stenico explains that ‘Silvestro’ is actually a Silvestri. It is possible the Silvestri of Verla had their roots in Sevignano, but I have not yet explored this theory.
A regolano was an elected official, who served as the head of the administration for the comune. In Giovo, these elections took place annually.[27] Over the next two centuries, we find at least four more Silvestri men cited as having been elected regolani of Giovo – Giangiacomo in 1599; Silvestro in 1643; another Silvestro in 1680; Andrea in 1747.[28]
In the latter half of the 1500s, we find three sons of a Guglielmo Silvestri of Verla – Odorico, Silvestro, and Virgilio – who were all notaries. In one document drafted by Virgilio, it says that either he or his father was the nephew of another Silvestro (the wording is somewhat vague), which may be referring back to the Silvestro who was a regolano in 1519 or 1524.[29] The protocols of Odorico from 1566 are preserved in the parish archives of Giovo.[30]
Stenico tells us of a priest named Giovanni Domenico Silvestri, who was the son of Andrea Silvestri (of Verla) and Elena Indermaurer of Cortaccia (South Tyrol). Born in Verla on 16 December 1635, he served as cooperatore at Verla in the church of San Michele. He was later curate of Pressano (a frazione of the comune of Lavis) from 1666-1671, and then primissario at Pressano, where he died on 28 January 1714.[31]
In 1747 and 1756, we find the Wills of Andrea Antonio Silvestri and his wife Domenica Bampi, outlining a ‘beneficio’ in their names (generally a gift to the parish of some kind), which was actively being administered at least until the year 1926.[32]
Although I have not researched the Verla line extensively, the surname appears to have died out in that parish sometime in the second half of the 1700s, either via extinction or migration.
However, there are still many Silvestri scattered throughout Val di Cembra, whom I imagine may have an ancestral connection to the Verla line. If so, their presence there goes back at least 500 years.
The Silvestri of Serso in Pergine Valsugana
The last of the Silvestri lines we will discuss are those from Serso in Pergine Valsugana.
Priest-historian Father Tommaso Bottea tells us that this line also has its roots in Val di Cembra, specifically in the village of Lases.[33] Despite having come from Val di Cembra, this line does not appear to have any connection to the Silvestri in that valley, as the original surname for this family was not Silvestri, but BRUGNA.[34]
In 1563, an Antonio, son of the late Simone Brugna, moved from Lases to Serso in the parish of Pergine Valsugana. Sometime before 1590, Antonio’s son Silvestro Brugna, married a woman named Dorotea. They and their children retained the surname Brugna until the middle of the next century. Finally, among the children of Silvestro’s son Antonio, when we start see the surname ‘Silvestri’ showing up in the parish register. For example, this baptismal record, dated 3 (?) June 1655, is for a ‘Stefano, son of [the younger] Antonio de Silvestri (it says ‘Salvestri’), called “Brugna”, and his wife Orsola.’[35] You might interpret this as meaning ‘Antonio, son of Silvestro’, but it is actually entered in the baptismal index as ‘Silvestri’, not Brugna.
It is apparent that the Silvestri of Serso were named after Silvestro Brugna, son of Antonio, meaning that all Silvestri of Serso are genetically related via that patriarch. There is another Silvestri family – from Savignano in Val di Cembra – who were living in Pergine in the mid-1660s, but as Father Bottea does not mention them in his family trees, I presume they did not endure.
Around the turn of the 20th century, brothers Angelo, Giuseppe and Agostino Silvestri of Serso emigrated to the United States, although Agostino eventually returned to his native home. Their nephew, Giuseppe Silvestri (born 1926), son of their brother Alessandro, earned his degree as a pharmacist, with a thesis on the use of ‘grasso di gatto’ (‘cat fat’) as an antibiotic in traditional folk medicine.[36]
There were 41 Silvestri births registered in Serso between 1815-1923,[37] and an estimated 8 people with this surname living in the comune of Pergine Valsugana today.[38]
Conclusion – The Silvestri in Trentino Today
As mentioned at the beginning of this article, Silvestri is a highly common surname in Italy, with the Silvestri of Trentino comprising only about 1% of the total. Today, owing to a trend towards urbanisation, the highest number of Silvestri individuals in the province (estimated 36) are living in the city of Trento, with others living in and around more built-up areas like Rovereto, Arco, and Riva del Garda.[39]
However, if we tally together the Silvestri still living in Terzolas and its neighbouring villages of Croviana, Malé and Dimaro Folgarida, we find nearly as many (about 34) as there are in the city of Trento.
An additional 26 Silvestri individuals are said to be living in Val di Cembra (Segonzano, Albiano and Lona-Lases). So, although the ancient line living in Verla di Giovo may have died out, the surname itself is still very much present in its ancestral valley.
And although there are reportedly only about 8 Silvestri currently living in the comune of Pergine Valsugana (where Serso is located), if we expand our view to include other places in Valsugana (such as Grigno and Castel Ivano), we find there are around 33 Silvestri living in this area, presumably all descended from the original ‘Brugna’ patriarch of Val di Cembra, who first took on Silvestri as a surname.
Taken together, we can see about 93 of the estimated 177 Silvestri of Trentino – roughly 53% – are currently living in or near their rural ancestral villages we discussed in this article.
Personally, I find that to be remarkable statistic in this modern era, and a testament to their endurance through the centuries.
Lynn Serafinn, genealogist
23 December 2024
COMING UP TOMORROW…
This surname history was article 9 in my special 10-part ‘Christmas Surname Countdown’.
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Warm wishes,
Lynn Serafinn
23 December 2024
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NOTES
[1] WIKIPEDIA. ‘Pope Sylvester I’. Accessed 11 December 2024 from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Sylvester_I
[2] SANTI BEATI. ‘San Silvestro I’. Accessed 11 December 2024 from https://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/30600.
[3] FOLGHERAITER, Alberto. 2010. ‘San Silvestro, il santo degli eremiti e dei paesi sperduti’. L’Adige (Cronica, 31 December 2010). Accessed 11 December 2024 from https://www.ladige.it/cronaca/2010/12/31/san-silvestro-il-santo-degli-eremiti-e-dei-paesi-sperduti-1.2814055.
[4] De Silvestro is found mostly in Moena in Val di Fassa (eastern Trentino).
[5] I do not know the origin of Silvestrini, and I have only found one record for a Silvestrini (in Ala) on Nati in Trentino. A handful live in the city of Trento today. It is much more common in other provinces, such as Marche and Veneto.
[6] COGNOMIX. Mappe dei cognomi italiani. ‘Silvestri’. https://www.cognomix.it/mappe-dei-cognomi-italiani/SILVESTRI. Data accurate as of 11 December 2024.
[7] CICCOLINI, Tiziana; FANTELLI, Udalrico. 2013. Memorie di Terzolas. Cles: Centro Studi per la Val di Sole, page 89.
[8] 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. Pergamena 90, page 131-134 (Silvestri mentioned on page 132).
[9] 18 May 1587 (Terzolas). Cristoforo, son of the late Paolo Silvestri (says ‘Salvester’) witness at land use agreement where donna Clara, widow of Pietro Silvestri, and her son Domenico grant the use of various plots of land they own in Terzolas to the church of Santa Maria in Malé. 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. Pergamena 156; page 176-177.
[10] 7 January 1531, Gian Cristoforo, son of ser Pietro Silvestri of Terzolas sells a plot of land in Val di Rabbi to the sindaci (mayors) of the church of San Bernardo di Rabbi. 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. Pergamena 6; 29, page 63.
[11] STENICO, P. Remo. 1999. Notai Che Operarono Nel Trentino dall’Anno 845. Trento: Biblioteca San Bernardino, page 313.
[12] STENICO, P. Remo. 2000. Sacerdoti della Diocesi di Trento dalla sua Esistenza Fino all’Anno 2000. Indice Onomastico, page 396.
[13] 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/.
[14] COGNOMI IN TRENTINO-ALTO ADIGE. ‘Silvestri’. https://italia.indettaglio.it/ita/cognomi/cognomi_trentinoaltoadige.html. Data accurate as of 11 December 2024.
[15] STENICO, P. Remo. 2000. Sacerdoti della Diocesi di Trento dalla sua Esistenza Fino all’Anno 2000. Indice Onomastico, page 396.
[16] Terzolas parish records, baptisms, volume 3, page 31.
[17] This biographical information is taken from his death record in the Terzolas register. [Terzolas parish records, deaths, volume 4, page 53].
[18] Based on my own research using the Terzolas parish registers. The marriage index is stuck somewhat randomly in the middle of volume 2 of the death records.
[19] From CICCOLINI, Tiziana; FANTELLI, Udalrico. 2013. Memorie di Terzolas. Cles: Centro Studi per la Val di Sole, page 280.
[20] Year of death and biographical information from BERTOLUZZA, Aldo. 1998. Guida ai Cognomi del Trentino. Trento: Società Iniziative Editoriali (S.R.L.), page 326.
[21] Terzolas parish records, baptisms, volume 3, page 24.
[22] Year of death and biographical info from BERTOLUZZA, Aldo. 1998. Guida ai Cognomi del Trentino. Trento: Società Iniziative Editoriali (S.R.L.), page 326.
[23] Pergine parish records, marriages volume 13, page 32.
[24] Malé parish records, baptisms, volume 9, page 85.
[25] Year of death and biographical info from BERTOLUZZA, Aldo. 1998. Guida ai Cognomi del Trentino. Trento: Società Iniziative Editoriali (S.R.L.), page 326.
[26] STENICO, P. Remo. 1985. Giovo: Comune e Pieve, Verla Capoluogo. Trento: Belvedere S. Francesco; Edizioni Biblioteca PP. Francescani, page 60.
[27] STENICO, P. Remo. 1985. Giovo: Comune e Pieve, Verla Capoluogo. Trento: Belvedere S. Francesco; Edizioni Biblioteca PP. Francescani, page 58.
[28] STENICO, P. Remo. 1985. Giovo: Comune e Pieve, Verla Capoluogo. Trento: Belvedere S. Francesco; Edizioni Biblioteca PP. Francescani, page 61-63.
[29] STENICO, P. Remo. 1999. Notai Che Operarono Nel Trentino dall’Anno 845. Trento: Biblioteca San Bernardino, page 313.
[30] CASETTI, Albino (dottore). 1951. Guida Storico – Archivistica del Trento. Trento: Tipografia Editrice Temi (S.R.L.), page 346.
[31] STENICO, P. Remo. 1985. Giovo: Comune e Pieve, Verla Capoluogo. Trento: Belvedere S. Francesco; Edizioni Biblioteca PP. Francescani, page 484.
[32] PROVINCIA AUTONOMA DI TRENTO. ‘Beneficio Silvestri Bampi. Resoconti e varie’, 1747-1756; 1831-1926. Will of the spouses Andrea Antonio Silvestri and Domenica Bampi (1747 two copies), codicil of Domenica Bampi (1756), correspondence and documents relating to the administration of the benefit (1831-1926). Archivi Storici del Trentino, https://www.cultura.trentino.it/archivistorici/unita/478048. Accessed 11 December 2024.
[33] BEBER, Lino; ZAMPEDRI, Marzio. 2010. Le Genealogie Perginesi Rivisitate. Storia delle famiglie e documentazione fotografica. Pergine (TN): Parrocchia di Pergine Valsugana, Archivio decanale. The Silvestri tree made by Father Bottea is on page 167, and the authors’ text is on page 732.
[34] Father Bottea says it might also be ‘Brugni’, but all the records I have seen so far say ‘Brugna’.
[35] Pergine parish records, baptisms, volume 3, page 29.
[36] BEBER, Lino; ZAMPEDRI, Marzio. 2010. Le Genealogie Perginesi Rivisitate. Storia delle famiglie e documentazione fotografica. Pergine (TN): Parrocchia di Pergine Valsugana, Archivio decanale, page 732.
[37] 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/.
[38] COGNOMI IN TRENTINO-ALTO ADIGE. ‘Silvestri’. https://italia.indettaglio.it/ita/cognomi/cognomi_trentinoaltoadige.html. Data accurate as of 11 December 2024.
[39] All statistics for this section are from COGNOMI IN TRENTINO-ALTO ADIGE. ‘Silvestri’. https://italia.indettaglio.it/ita/cognomi/cognomi_trentinoaltoadige.html. Data accurate as of 11 December 2024.