Notarbartolo is one of the main

aristocratic Aristocracy (; ) is a form of government that places power in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats. Across Europe, the aristocracy exercised immense economic, political, and social influence. In Western Christian co ...

families of the

Sicilian nobility The Sicilian nobility was a privileged hereditary class in the Kingdom of Sicily, the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies and the Kingdom of Italy, whose origins may be traced to the 11th century AD. History The Romans, Byzantines and Saracens exported d ...

. Originated in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, it gave to the island numerous personalities who have made a significant contribution to its social, political, intellectual and artistic life. The different branches of the family collected, over the centuries, numerous fiefdoms and noble titles.

History

The name of the family derives from Bartolo of Andernach, a descendant of Gerlach of the House of Wangenii of Château de Wangenbourg, since the 5th century lords of "Andermacco in

Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...

" (

Andernach Andernach () is a town in the district of Mayen-Koblenz, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, of about 30,000 inhabitants. It is situated towards the end of the ''Neuwied basin'' on the left bank of the Rhine between the former tiny fishing village ...

, castle on the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

). Bartolo descended into Italy in 951 a.D. as "signifer" (assistant) of the Holy Roman Emperor

Otto I Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), known as Otto the Great ( ) or Otto of Saxony ( ), was East Francia, East Frankish (Kingdom of Germany, German) king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the eldest son o ...

. Returning to Germany to face the threat of the

Magyars Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are an ethnic group native to Hungary (), who share a common culture, language and history. They also have a notable presence in former parts of the Kingdom of Hungary. The Hungarian language belongs to the ...

- which he defeated at the

Battle of Lechfeld The Battle of Lechfeld also known as the Second Battle of Lechfeld was a series of military engagements over the course of three days from 10–12 August 955 in which the Kingdom of Germany, led by King Otto I the Great, annihilated the Hungaria ...

in 955 - the Emperor appointed Bartolo as governor ("gubernator") of

Pisa Pisa ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for the Leaning Tow ...

. At his death, Bartolo was succeeded by his son Lucchino, called by the local population Lucchin di Noterbartolo, "Lucchino (son) of Notarius Bartolo". His descendants lived in Pisa, Siena, Perugia and other cities of medieval Italy, where they were known as knights and men of letters, intermarrying with numerous illustrious families. As a consequence of the war between the

Guelphs and Ghibellines The Guelphs and Ghibellines ( , ; ) were Political faction, factions supporting the Pope (Guelphs) and the Holy Roman Emperor (Ghibellines) in the Italian city-states of Central Italy and Northern Italy during the Middle Ages. During the 12th ...

, a descendant belonging to the latter faction, Pietro Notarbartolo Farfaglia, moved in the late 13th century to

Catania Catania (, , , Sicilian and ) is the second-largest municipality on Sicily, after Palermo, both by area and by population. Despite being the second city of the island, Catania is the center of the most densely populated Sicilian conurbation, wh ...

. Pietro,

Royal Secretary Royal Secretary is a position at the court of a monarch generally responsible for communicating the sovereign's wishes to the other members of government. At times and places it may have a number of other duties. In most cases the royal secretary is ...

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ; ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces of Spain, ...

ese King

Frederick III of Sicily Frederick III (also Frederick II, ', ', '); 13 December 1272 – 25 June 1337) was the regent of the Kingdom of Sicily from 1291 until 1295 and subsequently King of Sicily from 1295 until his death. He was the third son of Peter III of Ara ...

, obtained by the latter ''in feudum'' the control of the city of Polizzi. In Sicily, the family flourished - at first in Polizzi and, later on, especially in

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

- gaining numerous fiefdoms and titles and later subdividing in the 16th century in the two main branches of the Princes of Sciara and of the Dukes of Villarosa. Members of both the branches, as well as of the branch of the Princes of Furnari, were

Peers of the Realm A peer of the realm is a member of the highest aristocratic social order outside the ruling dynasty of the kingdom. Notable examples are: * a member of the peerages in the United Kingdom, who is a hereditary peer or a life peer * a member of the ...

. Throughout the centuries, the House of Notarbartolo established tight familiar and economic relationships with many of the most influential Italian families. Just to mention a few, the family intermarried with the Houses of Alliata, Filangeri, Gravina, Grimaldi, Lancia, Moncada,

Obizzi The House of Obizzi, which claimed descent from the Frankish Counts of Burgundy, was a prominent Italian noble family of Padua, who amassed great political power and wealth as feudatories of the Este, and is noted as early as the eleventh century. ...

Paternò Paternò () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Catania, in the Italy, Italian region of Sicily. With a population (2016) of 48,009, it is the third municipality of the province after Catania and Acireale. Geography Pa ...

Piccolomini The House of Piccolomini (pronounced ) is the name of an Italian noble family, Patricians of Siena, who were prominent from the beginning of the 13th century until the 18th century. The family achieved the recognized titles of Pope of the Catho ...

, Spucches, Stagno, Tomasi di Lampedusa, Valguarnera, Ventimiglia. A distinguished representative of the family was the Marquis

Emanuele Notarbartolo Emanuele Notarbartolo, Marquis of San Giovanni (; Palermo, 23 February 1834 – Termini Imerese, 1 February 1893) was an Italian banker and politician. He is widely considered as the Sicilian Mafia's first eminent List of victims of the Sicilian ...

(1834 - 1893), mayor of Palermo and Director General of the

Banco di Sicilia Banco di Sicilia was an Italian bank based in Palermo, Sicily. It was a subsidiary of UniCredit but absorbed into the parent company in 2010. History It was founded as ''Banco Regio dei Reali Domini al di là del Faro'' in 1849 and was renamed in ...

, widely considered as Mafia's first eminent victim in 1893. One of the most important streets of Palermo is dedicated to him, as well as the Notarbartolo Railway Station. The branch of the Princes of Sciara had as family residence in Palermo the palace of la Zisa, later expropriated by the Italian state in 1955 and appointed

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

(

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

) in July 2015. Both the main branches of the family of the Princes of Sciara and of the Dukes of Villarosa are still proceeding nowadays.

Prominent members

*Bartolo (d. 979), Secretary of Holy Roman Emperor

, governor of

* Frederico, priest (d. 1218), was

Prince-Bishop of Trento The Prince-Bishopric of Trent (; ) was an ecclesiastical principality roughly corresponding to the present-day Northern Italian autonomous province of Trentino. It was created in 1027 and existed until 1803, when it was secularised and absorbe ...

from August 9, 1207 until his death. * Guido Notarbartolo (d. 1269), commander of the

Ghibellines The Guelphs and Ghibellines ( , ; ) were factions supporting the Pope (Guelphs) and the Holy Roman Emperor (Ghibellines) in the Italian city-states of Central Italy and Northern Italy during the Middle Ages. During the 12th and 13th centurie ...

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

* Ludovico Notarbartolo (d. 1320),

Ghibelline The Guelphs and Ghibellines ( , ; ) were factions supporting the Pope (Guelphs) and the Holy Roman Emperor (Ghibellines) in the Italian city-states of Central Italy and Northern Italy during the Middle Ages. During the 12th and 13th centu ...

commander, Admiral of the King of Naples

Robert of Anjou Robert of Anjou (), known as Robert the Wise (; 1276 – 20 January 1343), was King of Naples, titular King of Jerusalem and Count of Provence and Forcalquier from 1309 to 1343, the central figure of Italian politics of his time. He was the thir ...

* Pietro Notarbartolo (1270 - 1335), Royal Secretary of

and governor of Polizzi * Giovanni Notarbartolo (d. 1437),

Bishop of Patti The Diocese of Patti () is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church located on the north shore of the island of Sicily. It is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Messina-Lipari-Santa Lucia del Mela.SMOM The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta, and commonly known as the Order of Malta or the Knights of Malta, is a Catholic lay religious ...

, governor of Palermo's

Monte di Pietà A mount of piety is an institutional pawnbroker run as a charitable organization, charity in Europe from Renaissance times until today. Similar institutions were established in the colonies of Catholic countries; the Mexican Nacional Monte de Pie ...

, senator * Francesco Paolo Notarbartolo (1777 - 1823), 4th Prince of Sciara, representing Ferdinand I,

King of the Two Sicilies The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in Southern Italy was ruled by monarchs from its establishment in 1816 to its incorporation into the Kingdom of Italy in 1861. History Joachim Murat was the first king to rule a kingdom called "Two Sicilies" by th ...

, at the

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon, Napol ...

(1834 - 1893), mayor of Palermo and Director General of the

, Mafia's first eminent victim in 1893 * Marco Notarbartolo di Sciara (1902 - 1985), navy officer, aide-de-camp of

Victor Emmanuel III of Italy Victor Emmanuel III (; 11 November 1869 – 28 December 1947) was King of Italy from 29 July 1900 until his abdication on 9 May 1946. A member of the House of Savoy, he also reigned as Emperor of Ethiopia from 1936 to 1941 and King of the Albania ...

and founder of

Centro Velico Caprera Centro Velico Caprera (CVC) is one of the oldest Italian sailing schools and also one of the largest of the Mediterranean Sea. Since its foundation in 1967 it has been attended by over 100,000 students. The legal head office is located at La Mad ...

* Giuseppe Notarbartolo di Sciara (b. 1948), marine biologist and conservationist

Coat of arms

The emblem of the family was confirmed to admiral Ludovico Notarbartolo by King

with act dated 14 July 1314. The coat of arms depicts a golden prancing lion on a blue background, crowned and surrounded by seven stars, representing the seven naval victories that members of the Notarbartolo family contributed to obtain during the war against the

Sources

*A. Mango di Casalgerardo,'' Il nobiliario di Sicilia'', Palermo, 1915 (it.) * F. San Martino de Spucches,'' La storia dei feudi e dei titoli nobiliari di Sicilia'', Palermo, 1924 (it.) * M. Ganci,'' I grandi titoli del Regno di Sicilia'', Palermo - Syracuse, 1988 (it.) * V. Palizzolo Gravina,'' Dizionario storico-araldico della Sicilia'', II. Ed., Palermo, 1991 (it.) * A. Bisceglia, ''Signori, patrizi e cavalieri nell'età moderna'', Laterza, Rome - Bari, 1992 (it.) * L. Mendola, ''Sicilian Genealogy and Heraldry,'' Trinacria Editions LLC, New York, 2014. * M. Papalia, ''La Casa Notarbartolo - Storie e Tavole Genealogiche,'' Antipodes, Palermo, 2016 (it.)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Notarbartolo Italian noble families Sicilian noble families