How a branch of the Dalfior family of Bivedo in the 1500s became the Troggio family in neighbouring Larido. 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 8 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 14-page PDF for $2.50 USD, using the form below.
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Introduction: Two Surnames, One Origin
My original intention for this article was to focus solely on the surname TROGGIO. This was partially because a someone had asked me if I could write about the Troggio, as that was one of her ancestral surnames. But it is also the surname of my great-great-grandmother, Maria Troggio, who was born in 1825.[1]
As I have been researching my Trentino family for many years, I knew I already had a lot of information about the Troggio, as I had traced my own Troggio line back to the early 1500s.
That said, I had traced the Troggio back to before they were actually called Troggio. The Troggio were actually a branch of an early family, who eventually changed their surname after they moved to the frazione that was practically on the doorstep of their original home. The family they came from was called (at least in its present form) DALFIOR.
The two surnames are distinguishable by the frazione (hamlet) from which each one is associated: The Dalfior from BIVEDO, and the Troggio from LARIDO. These two villages are right next to each other, within the greater parish of Santa Croce del Bleggio, Val Giudicarie Esteriori.
Based on my own research, the ‘Fiore’ family (later ‘Dalfior’) of Bivedo split into two branches when one family shifted to Larido around the mid-1500s. At first, the two branches used soprannomi to distinguish one from the other:
- The original line in BIVEDO utilised ‘Dusi’ as its soprannome throughout the second half of the 1500s, but they soon dropped it, adapting the original ‘Fiore’ to the surname ‘Dalfior’.
- The branch that moved to LARIDO adopted ‘Trogio’ and ‘Trozo’ as a soprannome, often alongside the surname ‘Fiore’ / ‘dalla Fiore’. Occasionally towards the end of the 1500s, we do see it on its own. But by the second half of the 1600s, they dropped ‘Fiore’ altogether, adopting ‘Troggio’ as their permanent surname.
Thus, if I wanted to write an article on the origins of the Troggio, there was no way I could separate them from the history of the Dalfior, from which they originally came. For this reason, I will be looking at both of these surnames in this article. After all, if you have Troggio ancestors, you will ultimately find you have Dalfior ancestors as well.
As we move through this article, please note that all translations are my own, mostly from the original Latin.
Bleggio: Geographic Location and Place Names
Our surname story takes place in two frazioni in the parish of Santa Croce del Bleggio in Val Giudicarie (Esteriori): BIVEDO and LARIDO. As the place names in this area are sometimes confusing for people when they first start their genealogical research, below are a few maps to help familiarise you with the layout.
MAP 1: The Valleys of Trentino
First, is an overview of the province of Trentino itself, divided into 22 valleys.[2] Val Giudicarie is divided into two halves: Giudicarie Interiore and Giudicarie Esteriori. These two halves are separated by a strip of low mountains, including Monte San Martino. I have highlighted Giudicarie Esteriori (valley number 8) in yellow because this is where our two frazioni are located.
MAP 2: Giudicarie Esteriore
Next, we have a map of the civil comune in Giudicarie Esteriori as they existed in 2003.[3] Note that there are two places called ‘Bleggio’ – Bleggio Superiore and Bleggio Inferiore. I have highlighted ‘Bleggio Superiore’ in blue, as that is where the frazioni of Bivedo and Larido are located.
Note also that, due to decline in rural populations, Bleggio Inferiore (which is in two parts) and Lomaso no longer exists as civil municipalities, as they were merged into the new municipality of Comano Terme in 2010. The main parish church of Santa Croce del Bleggio is actually located within the civil jurisdiction of Comano Terme. But the Pieve di Bleggio (originally ‘Blez’, ‘Bleze’, ‘Blezio’, etc.) has existed since the 1100s, and I have never, ever heard a local say they are going to ‘Comano Terme’ (which is famous spa town) when they actually mean they’re going to Bleggio.
MAP 3: Bivedo, Larido, Marazzone, Cavaione (Quadra)
Finally, we have a Google map showing the frazioni of Bivedo and Larido, and the surrounding hamlets. Note how Google actually ‘clumps’ Bivedo, Larido and the frazione of Marazzone into one entity. In fact, these three, along with the frazione of Cavaione which is just below them, are locally known as ‘Quadra’, which indicates an administrative subdivision (not related to the word for ‘four’, apparently).[4]
Towards the right of the map, you see the ‘Pieve di S. Croce del Bleggio’, i.e., the main parish church of Santa Croce del Bleggio. If you wish to see a tour of this beautiful, ancient church, you might enjoy this YouTube video I made in 2014.
Dotted around the map are many of the other frazioni within the parish: Balbido, Rango, Cavrasto, Marcè, Madice, Gallio, Bono, Sesto, Vergonzo and Duvredo are also shown (my father came from Duvredo), with Comighello peeking out at the extreme right.[5]
As the parish is so large and sprawling, several of these frazioni have curate churches of their own. Some of these curate churches are notable places in their own right. Some of these also have their own cemeteries to serve the local community.
Most relevant to our present discussion is lovely curate church called Sant’Antonio Abate in Bivedo. Around that church is also a cemetery, serving all the residents of Quadra, not just Bivedo.
Linguistic Roots of the Surnames Dalfior and Troggio
I find it interesting that both of these surnames are toponymic, i.e., surnames that are derived from places. Sometimes a toponymic refers to a specific place (the surname Bressani, for example, refers to the province of Brescia). But other toponymics are simply descriptives for the locality in which the family lived. That is the case with these two surnames.
DALFIOR
Variants: Floris; Dal Flor; Dal Fior; Dalla Fiore; etc.
‘Dalfior’ is a combination of two words ‘dal’ (‘of the’, ‘from the’) and ‘fiore’ (flower/flowers). Thus, it has the meaning ‘of/by/from the [place where there are] flowers’, inferring that the Bivedo family may have lived near a place where there were many flowers. As this is a fairly general descriptor, variants of this surname (often unrelated) are found in other places besides Bleggio.
TROGGIO
Variants: Trogio; il Trogio; Trogi; Trozo
‘Troggio’ is one of a handful of toponymic surnames derived from the dialect word ‘troz’ or ‘trozo’, which means ‘footpath’.[6] Thus, we might deduce that when the Dalfior moved to Larido, they were no longer ‘from the place where there are flowers, but rather somewhere near a main footpath. Perhaps that is why they adopted the name ‘Trozo’ (later Troggio).
The Early Dalfior in Bivedo
The parish registers for Santa Croce del Bleggio date back to 1565, with a handful of baptismal records from the 1550s. One of the earliest records for a Dalfior I have found is this 1568 baptismal record for a Bartolomeo, where the surname is entered as ‘Floris’:[7]
12 JUNE 1568. Baptism of Bartolomeo, son of Giovanni, son of the late Antonio FLORIS of Bivedo. Note that the mother’s name is not given.
On 21 September of the same year, we find the baptism of a Bernardo, where his father is referred to as ‘Bartolomeo DUSI’ of Bivedo.[8]
While it is certainly not evident from this record alone, if we follow the line of births for this family, we eventually see that ‘Dusi’ (barely legible here) is a soprannome used by this branch of the ‘Floris’ family in Bivedo.
Earliest References to the ‘Trogio’
The earliest document in which I have found the soprannome ‘Trogio’ is in this baptismal record dated 4 March 1571 for a Marchiora, daughter of Bartolomeo Dalfior (‘dalla Fior’) of Bivedo. At the end of the record, we see the godmother is Margherita, wife of Bartolomeo ‘called il Trogio’ of Larido (‘Lari’).[9]
Based on this record alone, we have no indication that the Dalfior of Bivedo and the Troggio of Larido are anything more than just good friends. But in later records, the blood connection between the families becomes somewhat clearer. In 1594, we find the marriage record for an ‘Antonio, son of the late Bartolomeo Floris (Fiore) of Larido’ marrying Elisabetta Farina of Balbido.[10] Well, from all accounts, the Fiore did not live in Larido, so this is a bit confusing until we look further ahead to the following year. There, on 29 May 1595, we find the baptism of the first child of this same couple – a baby girl named Margherita – who is referred to as ‘daughter of Antonio called ‘Trozo’ of Larido.[11]
29 MAY 1595. Margherita, daughter of Antonio called ‘Trozo’ of Larido and his wife Elisabetta, was baptised by me, P. Francesco Tallamena, chaplain. The godfather was Bernardo della Fior (i.e., Dalfior) of Bivedo, and the godmother was Antonia Tosi (i.e., Crosina) of Balbido.
From this, we can now see that ‘Antonio son of Bartolomeo Floris of Larido’ who married Elisabetta Farina in 1594 is the same person as ‘Antonio called Trozo of Larido’ who was father of Margherita 1595. Thus, we also know that his father ‘Bartolomeo Fiore’ is surely the same person as ‘Bartolomeo Trogio’ whose wife Margherita was a godmother in 1571, and that the ‘Margherita Trozo’ born in 1595 was most likely named after Antonio’s mother. Note that the godfather Bernardo was a Dalfior of Bivedo (he was, in fact, the son of yet another Bartolomeo).[12]
In the 1580s, the soprannome ‘Dusi’ for the original Bivedo line had not yet been phased died out. In this marriage record from 1588,[13] for example, we find a ‘Dusi’ of Bivedo alongside a ‘Troggio’ of Larido listed among the witnesses:
11 JANUARY 1588. Having announced the banns three times in the church, in the presence of the public during Mass in accordance with the decree of the Holy Council of Trento […] Antonio, son of Filippo Frieri of Marazzone, and donna Brida (Brigida), daughter of Magister Giovanni Jori of Bivedo, without impediment, were married in In the church of S. Antonio, Bivedo by me, don Alberto [Farina], curate,[14] in the presence of delegated witnesses Giovanni Dusi of Bivedo, and Domenico Squarcino and Bartolomeo called ‘il Trogio’ of Lari[do].
The Evolution into their Present-Day Surnames
Although the Larido family’s surname is still ‘in flux’ at the beginning of the 1600s,’[15] we do start to see the beginnings of its evolution into a permanent surname. Take, for example, the baptismal record of Antonio and Elisabetta’s son Domenico:
18 APRIL 1606. Domenico, son of Antonio Troggio of Larido and his legitimate wife Elisabetta, was baptised by me, Bartolomeo Cles, priest in the village of Fiavé. The godfather was Pietro Pedri of Bivedo, and the godmother was Cattarina, wife of Bartolomeo Brunelli of Rango.[16]
The connection to ‘Floris’ did not die out entirely from this point, however. Although Giovanni (another son of Antonio and Elisabetta) was actually recorded as ‘Trogio’ in his 1599 baptismal record,[17] we find ‘della Fiore’ in the baptismal records of several of his children.
As late as 1658, we find him referred to as ‘Ser Giovanni “Floris” called Troggio of Larido’ in a legal parchment, in which he is renting some land (a vineyard and ploughing land) in Tignerone from the sindaci (mayors) of the church of Sant’Antonio Abate in Bivedo.[18]
However, by that point, ‘Floris’ / ‘della Fiore’ is hardly ever used in documents anymore, and the Larido family will be known simply as ‘Troggio’ in the generations to follow.
Similarly, by the middle of the 1600s, we see no more ‘Dusi’ in Bivedo, as their surname eventually evolves from ‘Floris’ into the present-day surname of ‘Dalfior’.
My Thoughts on How the Two Families Were Connected
Most likely born sometime between 1525-1535, Bartolomeo ‘Trozo’ of Larido (father of Antonio) was roughly contemporary with Bartolomeo ‘Dusi’ Dalfior of Bivedo (father of Marchiora).
We know from baptismal records of the children of Bartolomeo ‘Dusi’ Dalfior, that his father’s name was Antonio,[19] and that he also had a son named Antonio.[20] Moreover, Bartolomeo of the Dusi line had a brother named Giovanni, who also named two of his sons Antonio and Bartolomeo. Given this tendency to repeat these personal names throughout the generations, and that so many people with the same name were living at the same time, we can understand why the two branches may have felt the need to adopt different soprannomi (and eventually different surnames) to distinguish one from the other.
Given the commonality in personal names, and the fact that we frequently find members from one line appearing as godparents of children in the other, I suspect the two lines still had a close blood relationship up to the late 1500s.
My personal thought is that Bartolomeo ‘Trozo’ of Larido might have been a first cousin of Bartolomeo ‘Dusi’ Dalfior of Bivedo, but there really is no documentation to support this.
Perhaps a Y-DNA comparison between a male descendant from each family (the Dalfior of Bivedo and the Troggio of Larido) could help pinpoint the point at which the two lines diverged.
The Dalfior and Troggio in Later Centuries
Remarkably, both the Dalfior of Bivedo and the Troggio of Larido continue live in these frazioni today. I am of the impression that few of them know that they were once a single family.
A total of 107 Dalfior/Dal Fior baptisms between the years 1815-1923 are recorded on the Nati in Trentino website, all of these in Bleggio Superiore.[21] The same database has 87 Troggio/Trogio/Trogi baptisms between the years 1815-1923. All but 11 of these are in Bleggio Superiore. However, many of those from 1874 onwards are duplicates, as they were recorded both in the mother parish of Santa Croce del Bleggio, as well as in the newly elevated parish of Quadra based at the church of Sant’Antonio in Bivedo.
The 11 Troggio births that were outside Bleggio are from a new branch in Ragoli, in Giudicarie Interiore, which started 1845 when Francesco Giovanni Troggio of Larido moved there with his new bride, Francesca Luigia Benini of Bivedo. Their son Fiorindo Francesco Troggio (born 21 October 1854) married and had at least 5 children (one stillborn) in Ragoli. I do not know if this line is still flourishing, as the last birth listed on Nati in Trentino is dated 1905.
The military database at the Archivio di Stato of Trento lists 6 Dalfior (all of Bivedo) and 2 Troggio (one Larido, one from Ragoli) who fought in World War 1 or World War 2.[22]
In the Quadra cemetery in Bleggio, there is a memorial plaque dated 1921, commemorating those from the four villages in Quadra who died or went missing during World War 1. Among those from Larido, we find 27-year-old Quirino Troggio, who went missing (and presumed dead) in Russia in 1914 (his death is also recorded in the book Ricordando, by Luigi Bailo).
In 1931, the church of Sant’Antonio Abate in Bivedo had a major restoration. On the commemorative plaque in the church, we find among the notable benefactors who contributed to the restoration an Angelo Dalfior (of Bivedo), and ‘the Christian people of Quadra’.
At least one Troggio family migrated to Pennsylvania in the US after World War 1.
ABOVE: Plaque in the church of Sant’Antonio Abate in Bivedo (now, parish of Quadra), commemorating its restoration in 1931. PHOTO ATTRIBUTION: Syrio, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
TRANSCRIPTION: Erected in 1535, expanded in 1840 and in 1860, restored in 1931; the same year it was painted by Carlo Donati, born in Verona, from the village of Bivedo, under the direction of parroco, Eliseo Busatti of Stenico. Notable benefactors (who contributed money towards the 1931 restoration): The community of Bleggio, Tommaso Benini, Cassa Rurali, Giuseppe Luchesa, Angelo Rocca, Angelo Dalfior, Florido Iori, Celestino Berasi, and the Christian people of Quadra.
COMING UP TOMORROW…
This surname history was article 8 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 $2.50 USD here:
| Buy eBook 'The DALFIOR and TROGGIO of Bleggio: Two Surnames, One Origin.' | |
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| Buy LETTER-size PDF: | |
| Buy A4-size PDF: | |
| CLICK HERE to see all of Lynn's eBooks in the Digital Shop. | |
There are just TWO more surnames to go in this special Christmas series. TOMORROW is the penultimate one! 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.
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Until next time!
Warm wishes,
Lynn Serafinn
22 December 2024
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NOTES
[1] Maria Troggio was born in Larido on 23 February 1825, the daughter of Giovanni Troggio of Larido and Maria Caliari of Cavrasto [Santa Croce del Bleggio parish records, baptisms, volume 7, page 146].
[2] ANZILOTTI, Giulia Mastrelli. 2003. Toponomastica Trentina: i nomi delle località abitate. Trento: Provincia autonomia di Trento, Servizio Benni librari e archistici, page 10. The highlighting is my own.
[3] ANZILOTTI, Giulia Mastrelli. 2003. Toponomastica Trentina: i nomi delle località abitate. Trento: Provincia autonomia di Trento, Servizio Benni librari e archistici, page 165.
[4] CALDERA, Livo M. 1989. La Pieve del Bleggio Nella Storia e Nell’Arte. Trento: Arca S.r.l., page 21.
[5] Not shown in this map are Villa, Tignerone, Cillà, Cares, Biè, and several smaller localities that are also part of the parish.
[6] BERTOLUZZA, Aldo. 1998. Guida ai Cognomi del Trentino. Trento: Società Iniziative Editoriali (S.R.L.), page 364.
[7] Santa Croce del Bleggio parish records, baptisms, volume 1, page 34. My translation.
[8] Santa Croce del Bleggio parish records, baptisms, volume 1, page 35.
[9] Santa Croce del Bleggio parish records, baptisms, volume 1, page 53. ‘Lari’ was a common abbreviated form for the frazione of Larido.
[10] Antonio married Elisabetta Farina of Balbido, daughter of Hetore, on 28 April 1594. [Santa Croce del Bleggio parish records, marriages, volume 1, page 79-80].
[11] Santa Croce del Bleggio parish records, baptisms, volume 1, page 34.
[12] Bernardo Dalfior of Bivedo was born 21 September 1568. His surname is entered as ‘Dusi’ in his baptismal record [Santa Croce del Bleggio parish records, baptisms, volume 1, page 35].
[13] Santa Croce del Bleggio parish records, marriages, volume 1, page 48-49.
[14] SIDE NOTE: The priest don Alberto Farina was later the pievano (pastor) of the parish of Bleggio, after the death of the current pievano, don Adamo Farina (who was also his uncle). Adamo Farina’s tomb is in the underground crypt of the present-day parish church.
[15]For example, we see the baptismal record dated 26 March 1602 of Maria, daughter of, ‘Antonio della Fiore of Bivedo, living in Larido [Santa Croce del Bleggio parish records, baptisms, volume 1, page 238/305].
[16] Santa Croce del Bleggio parish records, baptisms, volume 1, page 111/190.
[17] Giovanni was born in Larido on 17 December 1599. Santa Croce del Bleggio parish records, baptisms, volume 1, page 96/176.
[18] PROVINCIA AUTONOMA DI TRENTO. ‘Costituzione di censo, 11 July 1658, Bleggio’. Ser Giovanni “Floris” called Troggio from Larido agrees to pay the sindaci (mayors) of the church of Sant’Antonio Abate in Bivedo an annual census assured on a vineyard and hoeing land located in the territory of Tignerone. Archivi Storici del Trentino, https://www.cultura.trentino.it/archivistorici/unita/434136. Accessed 18 November 2024.
[19] The name of Antonio della Flor (paternal grandfather) is cited in several of his grandchildren’s baptismal records. [For example: Santa Croce del Bleggio parish records, baptisms, volume 1, page 30 and 34].
[20] Antonio ‘dalla Flore’ was born 16 April 1570 [Santa Croce del Bleggio parish records, baptisms, volume 1, page 50].
[21] 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/.
[22] ARCHIVIO DI STATO DI TRENTO. ‘Ruoli Matriculari 1867-1913’. Database men born in Trentino between the years 1867-1913 who served in the military (either for Austro-Hungarian Empire or Italy). https://archiviodistatotrento.cultura.gov.it/Ruoli_matricolari/ .