The House of Castellini Baldissera are an Italian family originating from

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

and

Brescia Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo. ...

Notable Members

The Castellini Baldissera family's ancestral seat is the 18th century Villa Castellini, on Lago Maggiore as well as the 14th century Casa Atellani in Milan. They also own a number of castles and villas in

Emilia Romagna egl, Emigliàn (man) egl, Emiglièna (woman) rgn, Rumagnòl (man) rgn, Rumagnòla (woman) it, Emiliano (man) it, Emiliana (woman) or it, Romagnolo (man) it, Romagnola (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title ...

and Brianza. The family is still active in banking, real estate and textile production within Italy and the rest of Europe and are also known for having co-owned Banca

Barclays Barclays () is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services. Barclays traces ...

Castellini in Milan for several years. Both the Castellini and Baldissera families have a long military tradition with the

Royal Italian Army The Royal Italian Army ( it, Regio Esercito, , Royal Army) was the land force of the Kingdom of Italy, established with the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy. During the 19th century Italy started to unify into one country, and in 1861 Manfre ...

and

Imperial Austrian Army The Imperial-Royal or Imperial Austrian Army (german: Kaiserlich-königliche Armee, abbreviation "K.K. Armee") was strictly speaking, the armed force of the Holy Roman Empire under its last monarch, the Habsburg Emperor Francis II, although in re ...

; most members have occupied senior positions in both.

Antonio Baldissera Antonio Baldissera (Padua, 27 May 1838 – Florence, 8 January 1917) was an Italian general, active in the Ethiopian Empire (Abyssinia) and in Italian Eritrea during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Biography Baldissera was born at Padu ...

, served as the Governor of

Italian Eritrea Italian Eritrea ( it, Colonia Eritrea, "Colony of Eritrea") was a colony of the Kingdom of Italy in the territory of present-day Eritrea. The first Italian establishment in the area was the purchase of Assab by the Rubattino Shipping Company in ...

, a role which has caused the family to be the subject of much controversy. Antonio Baldissera's statue in Rome was recently vandalised by protestors as a response to the

murder of George Floyd On , George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, was murdered in the U.S. city of Minneapolis by Derek Chauvin, a 44-year-old white police officer. Floyd had been arrested on suspicion of using a counterfeit $20 bill. Chauvin knelt on Floyd's n ...

. The Baldissera family were also extremely close with the Austrian Imperial family, with the young Antonio Baldissera having been directly recommended for service by Maria Anna of Savoy, Empress consort of Austria. Ettore Conti of Verampio, another relative, was an Italian aristocrat and energy magnate who developed a close relationship with

Victor Emanuel III Victor Emmanuel III (Vittorio Emanuele Ferdinando Maria Gennaro di Savoia; 11 November 1869 – 28 December 1947) was King of Italy from 29 July 1900 until his abdication on 9 May 1946. He also reigned as Emperor of Ethiopia (1936–1941) and K ...

. Conti ran a number of Italy's initiative to build the nations modern energy industry. Conti served as a Senator in both the Kingdom and Republic of Italy as well as having been a founding member of AGIP and

Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These invention ...

Piero Portaluppi Piero Portaluppi (19 March 1888 – 6 July 1967) was an Italian architect. Biography Pietro (known as Piero) Portaluppi was born in Milan, son of the engineer Luisa Gadda e Oreste Portaluppi. He graduated in 1905 from the Istituto Tecnic ...

an architect and real estate mogul married into the family. He designed a great number of villas and palazzos in and around Milan. Portaluppi was also responsible for the restoration of the

Duomo di Milano Milan Cathedral ( it, Duomo di Milano ; lmo, Domm de Milan ), or Metropolitan Cathedral-Basilica of the Nativity of Saint Mary ( it, Basilica cattedrale metropolitana di Santa Maria Nascente, links=no), is the cathedral church of Milan, Lombard ...

after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. * Ettore Conti, Count of Verampio (1871-1972), a renowned Italian industrialist. *

(1838-1917), Italian general and Governor of Italian Eritrea. * Nicostrato Castellini (1829-1866), founding father of the Kingdom of Italy, served as a Major alongside

Giuseppe Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as ''Gioxeppe Gaibado''. In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as ''Jousé'' or ''Josep''. 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, patr ...

. * Bartolomeo Bezzi Scala Castellini (1820-1898), Italian military officer. *

(1888-1967), architect and industrialist during the Fascist regime. * Louis Ignace, Baron of Marthod (1792-1812), Major in the Imperial Dragoons, recipient of the

Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

History

The Castellini family originated as wealthy landowners in the early 18th century, living in the various foothills and mountains around Milan, known as the "Alta Milanese" or Milanese Highlands. Around the mid 19th century the family began to

industrialise Industrialisation ( alternatively spelled industrialization) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial society. This involves an extensive re-organisation of an econo ...

, using their vast territories to raise Sheep whose wool could be used in their mills to produce fine fabrics and textiles. As the country's political system continued to shift, this business model became very popular amongst the Italian aristocracy, and other noble families who had similarly large estates. At the turn of the 20th century the Castellini family patriarch Clateus Castellini, used the wealth his family had amassed from textile production to found a number of

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

and merchant banks across Italy. The family are also recognised in the Equestrian world for owning some of the finest stables in Europe and for their expertise in breeding English Thoroughbreds.

Medici di Marignano and Visconti di Modrone

The Castellini family are related to a number of similarly notable families. Because of this the Castellini Baldissera are closely related to the

Medici The House of Medici ( , ) was an Italian banking family and political dynasty that first began to gather prominence under Cosimo de' Medici, in the Republic of Florence during the first half of the 15th century. The family originated in the Muge ...

and

Visconti Visconti is a surname which may refer to: Italian noble families * Visconti of Milan, ruled Milan from 1277 to 1447 ** Visconti di Modrone, collateral branch of the Visconti of Milan * Visconti of Pisa and Sardinia, ruled Gallura in Sardinia from ...

, with a number of direct relatives holding titles in both families. Clateus Castellini married Marchioness Adele Medici of Marignano who was also a Vertua, while Elena Castellini married Count Raimondo

Visconti di Modrone The House of Visconti di Modrone is a collateral branch of the Visconti of Milan. It originated in the 17th century and still exists today. Since the 19th century, several lineage members achieved prominence in different domains of public life, in ...

. The family are also more distantly related to the Marquesses Ranieri di Sorbello, the

Pallavicini The House of Pallavicini, also known as Pallavicino and formerly known as Pelavicino, is an ancient Italian noble family founded by Oberto II ''Pelavicino'' of the Frankish Obertenghi family. The Pallavicini of Genoa The first recorded member o ...

and the Marquesses of

Casati Casati is an Italian surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Alessandro Casati (1881–1955), Italian academic, commentator and politician * Ambrogio Casati (1897–1977), Italian painter * Domenico Casati (born 1943), retired Italian ...

d’Estienne De Marthod

The Baldissera family are descended from the d’Estienne de Marthod Family, a noble house from Provence that holds the hereditary Lordship of Marthod. Baron Louis Ignace de Marthod served as a Major in the

dragons de la Garde impériale The Empress's Dragoons of the Imperial Guard () was a heavy cavalry unit formed by Napoleon I through the decree of April 15, 1806. The "dragoon" regiments of the line had distinguished themselves in the German Campaign of 1805, and therefore N ...

and was commended for his remarkable skill in battle, with the

In Popular Culture

The 2009 film "I Am Love" by Luca Guadagnino, the director of "Call Me By Your Name", was largely based on the Castellini Baldissera family, with some members appearing in cameos throughout the film. All the film's main scenes were shot on the family's various properties in Milan.

Notable Estates

File:Palazzo Atellani.jpg, Casa degli Atellani, in central

. File:Villa Castellini.jpg, Villa Castellini on Lago Maggiore, the family's

ancestral seat A family seat or sometimes just called seat is the principal residence of the landed gentry and aristocracy. The residence usually denotes the social, economic, political, or historic connection of the family within a given area. Some families to ...

. File:Atellani4.jpg, One of the family properties in Via Zenale during

Fashion Week A fashion week is a fashion industry event, lasting approximately one week, where fashion designers, brands or "houses" display their latest collections in runway fashion shows to buyers and the media. These events influence the upcoming fashion ...

in Milan.

References

Citations

{{DEFAULTSORT:Castellini Baldissera Italian nobility Italian noble families Noble families Italian families