The Castrilli
Family - The Castrilli Name
Letter From the
Mayor of Carpinone
Early History of the
Castrilli Name
An Overview of the
History of Carpinone
There
are competing views about the origins of the family name Castrilli. It has often been associated with the Castro family, a
distinguished Castilian family that came to Italy in the XVIIth century.
More likely, the family is French in origin.
Heraldry research shows that a noble family by the name of
Castrilli came to the Kingdom of Naples as part of the entourage of
Teodoro Mastrello who was in the service of Charles I of Anjou.
Once
in Naples, the family enjoyed the protection of the Anjou kings and
apparently was part of the king’s council. It was granted feudal lands
and appears in the Libro d’Oro della Nobilta’ del Regno, the
registry of nobility at the time. A
number of the early members of the family, Gabriele, Matteo and Giovan
Battista, were military men fighting in the Crusades.
Giovan Battista, in particular, was decorated as “Cavaliere Gran
Croce dell’Ordine Geruselmita”, Knight of the Great Cross of the Order
of Jerusalem.
Other
Castrilli’s were involved in government.
Felice was a counsellor to King Albert; Antonio was counsellor to
Queen Giovanna II and Gabriele was counsellor to King Ferrante of Aragon.
Giovan Tomaso and Pietrantonio were Presidents of the Chamber of Santa
Chiara. The family received
the title of Dukes of Marigliano in 1644.
On December 21, 1649, Pietro Antonio was granted the title of
Marquis in Madrid. On
November 17, 1654, Orazio was given the title of Count of Roccaranola.
With the titles came substantive feudal territories. At the end of the
XVIIIth century and the beginning of the XIXth century, Marzio Castrilli
was first a Marquis and then Duke of Gallo and was ambassador for King
Ferdinand of Aragon to the courts of Turin and Vienna.
On
a final note, it is interesting to point out that there is a town by the
name of Montecastrilli in Umbria, Italy, not far from Assisi.
According to local authorities, the town is of Etruscan origin.
An ancient gate attributed to the Etruscans still stands on the
outskirts of the town, Montecastrilli
was subsequently the site of Roman encampments. How
the town got its name is unclear. And
the local telephone book lists no Castrilli’s as residents.
Still, the name is interesting.