Historical overview of the origins of the ODORIZZI family of Sanzenone (Tassullo). By genealogist Lynn Serafinn.
Photo: View of Castel Valer overlooking the parish of Tassullo.
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Variants: Odorici ; Dorigat; Dorigati
Odorizzi is one of several patronymic surnames derived from the man’s personal name Odorico (also written as ‘Odorigo’ and ‘Udalrico’), which was popular in the medieval era. Linguistic historian Aldo Bertoluzza says the personal name comes from the old Germanic name Od-Rik.[1] A common short form/nickname of Odorico is ‘Dorigo’.
The Odorizzi family have their ancient origins in the village of Sanzenone, in the parish of Tassullo, in Val di Non. Various researchers have concurred that the Odorizzi were originally a branch of the medieval Lords of Rallo (another village in Tassullo), who owned the fiefdom for Sanzenone for over two centuries (1163-1385).[2] Their ancestry has been traced back to Lord Giordano of Rallo, who was born around 1110.[3] Author Tullio Corradini tells us that this Giordano acted as a representative of the Counts of Appiano (for whom he served as a vassal) at the episcopal court at Castel Firmian in 1163.[4]
We know that Giordano had a son named Odorico. Moving forward about two centuries, we come Odorico’s great-great-great-grandson, ‘Sicherio, Notary of Sanzenone’. Active in his profession at least by the year 1356,[5] Sicherio is cited as being the son of Pietro (de Rallo) and the Vassal of Sandero (Alessandro) de Rallo, apparently Sicherio’s grandfather. Paolo Odorizzi cites a record where Sicherio is called, ‘Lord Odorico de Rallo, notary Sicherio, heir to land in San Giorgio’, which seems to indicate he and/or his line was also known as ‘Odorico’. Whether via Sicherio himself or via the name of his 3X great-grandfather, the name Odorico became the foundation of the surname ‘Odorizzi’ that would emerge in later generations, as well as a soprannome ‘Dorigat’ / ‘Dorigati’, which endured even into the 20th century.
Sicherio had at least one son we know of – Antonio. Antonio’s son Odorico would become the main patriarch of the Odorizzi of Sanzenone. His other son, Giovanni, moved to Mechel near Cles, and from his descendants we have the Odorizzi of Cles and Tuenno. Among those of Cles, we find several Odorizzi notaries in the 1500s. Another line of Sicherio’s descendants would eventually become the Zenoniani family, taking their surname from their village of origin.[6]
Surnames were not yet in use in the medieval era, and the surname Odorizzi did not become a fixed entity until the 1600s. Even into the early 1600s, we find at least one branch of the family recorded under the name ‘Dorigati’ instead of Odorizzi the parish register of Tassullo, as seen in this 1618 baptismal record: [7]
Apparently the Odorizzi Dorigat family of Sanzenone owned some land that included a small lake called ‘Lago dei Dorigati’ (Lake of the Dorigati). Part of this land was sold to the grandfather of historian Paolo Odorizzi (Primo Odorizzi Dorigat), by the municipality of Cles in 1905.[8]
NOTE: There also is a Trentino surname Dorigati/Dorigatti, which shares the same linguistic root but is NOT historically related to the Odorizzi.
An excellent collection of research resources on the Odorizzi has complied by historian Paolo Inama on his website Dermulo dot it (https://www.dermulo.it/). Some of the materials of greatest interest to genealogists include:
- ODORIZZI, Paolo. Genealogical Table of the Odorizzi. https://www.dermulo.it/DermuloStory/PaoloOdorizzi/Genealogia%20Odorizzi.xlsx
- ODORIZZI, Paolo. La Val di Non e i Suoi Misteri (vol 4). 2024. Il feudalismo in Val di Non dal punto di vista dei casati che hanno posseduto il feudo di Sanzenone (1317-1918). PDF download available from https://www.dermulo.it/DermuloStory/PaoloOdorizzi/LA%20VAL%20DI%20NON%20E%20I%20SUOI%20MISTERI%20VOLUME%20IV%20Luglio%202024.pdf
- CORRADINI, Tullio. Family Tree of the Odorizzi of the Quattro Ville. https://www.dermulo.it/DermuloStory/CorradiniTullio/ALB.DEGLI%20ODORIZZI%20QUATTRO%20VILLE.pdf
- CORRADINI, Tullio. 2017. 800 Anni di Storia delle Famiglie Corradini di Rallo. Although this focuses mainly on the Corradini family, it has some information about the early Lords of Rallo which is relevant to the Odorizzi ancestry. https://www.dermulo.it/DermuloStory/CorradiniTullio/CorradiniRallo.pdf
I hope you found this brief overview of the origins of the Odorizzi of Sanzenone to be interesting and helpful to your 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!
Lynn Serafinn
6 November 2025
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NOTES
[1] BERTOLUZZA, Aldo. Guida ai Cognomi del Trentino, page 295. He points out that (historically unrelated) surnames such as Rigotti, Rigatti, Righi, etc., all come from the same linguistic root.
[2] ODORIZZI, Paolo. La Val di Non e i Suoi Misteri (vol 4). 2024. Il feudalismo in Val di Non dal punto di vista dei casati che hanno posseduto il feudo di Sanzenone (1317-1918). PDF download available from https://www.dermulo.it/DermuloStory/PaoloOdorizzi/LA%20VAL%20DI%20NON%20E%20I%20SUOI%20MISTERI%20VOLUME%20IV%20Luglio%202024.pdf
[3] ODORIZZI, Paolo. Genealogical Table of the Odorizzi. https://www.dermulo.it/DermuloStory/PaoloOdorizzi/Genealogia%20Odorizzi.xlsx
[4] CORRADINI, Tullio. 2017. 800 Anni di Storia delle Famiglie Corradini di Rallo, page 3. Corradini further speculates that the Lords of Rallo may have been descended from Longobard (Lombard) conquerors, but offers no sources for this suggestion. Castel Firmian is near Mezzocorona.
[5] STENICO, P. Remo. 1999. Notai Che Operarono Nel Trentino dall’Anno 845. Trento: Biblioteca San Bernardino, page 311.
[6] ODORIZZI, Paolo. Genealogical Table of the Odorizzi. https://www.dermulo.it/DermuloStory/PaoloOdorizzi/Genealogia%20Odorizzi.xlsx
[7] Tassullo parish records, baptisms, volume 1, no page number. I know the date looks like 1616, but it appears between two other 1618 records.
[8] ODORIZZI, Paolo. La Val di Non e i Suoi Misteri (vol 4). 2024. Il feudalismo in Val di Non dal punto di vista dei casati che hanno posseduto il feudo di Sanzenone (1317-1918), page 33.