Fisichella is an Italian

noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Great B ...

family, forming part 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 ...

. Members of the family include multiple

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

s and

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

s, among them a

justice of the Supreme Court The following are lists of justices of several national Supreme Courts: * : List of Justices of the High Court of Australia * : List of justices of the Supreme Court of Canada * : List of justices of the Federal Constitutional Court * : List ...

of the

Kingdom of Sicily The Kingdom of Sicily ( la, Regnum Siciliae; it, Regno di Sicilia; scn, Regnu di Sicilia) was a state that existed in the south of the Italian Peninsula and for a time the region of Ifriqiya from its founding by Roger II of Sicily in 1130 un ...

and an

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

History

, motto = la, VIAM VERITATIS ELEGI
('I have chosen the way of truth') , other_elements = External ornaments for archbishops , earlier_versions = , use = , notes = Inspired by the family arms. The House of Fisichella, originally from the '' Val di Catania'', has long been prominent in the fields of

diplomacy Diplomacy comprises spoken or written communication by representatives of states (such as leaders and diplomats) intended to influence events in the international system.Ronald Peter Barston, ''Modern diplomacy'', Pearson Education, 2006, p. 1 ...

jurisprudence Jurisprudence, or legal theory, is the theoretical study of the propriety of law. Scholars of jurisprudence seek to explain the nature of law in its most general form and they also seek to achieve a deeper understanding of legal reasoning a ...

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

and

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

. Among the family's forefathers, at the beginning of the 17th century Domenico Fisichella was chaplain at the '' monasterium album'' of Campanarazzu,

Misterbianco Misterbianco ( scn, Mustariancu; lat-med, Monasterium Album, lit=White Monastery' or 'White Minster) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Catania in the Italian region Sicily, located about southeast of Palermo and about w ...

, and later at the local St. Nicholas Church, while Francesco Fisichella was ambassador of the city of Catania to the royal court of

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

since 1671. In the 18th century, two renowned members of the family were both named Giuseppe Fisichella: the elder was referred to as ''

signore A signoria () was the governing authority in many of the Italian city states during the Medieval and Renaissance periods. The word signoria comes from ''signore'' , or "lord"; an abstract noun meaning (roughly) "government; governing authority; ...

don Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON *Don (river), a river in European Russia *Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name *Don, Benin, a town in Benin *Don, Dang, a vill ...

'' around 1718, whereas the younger, namely Giuseppe Maria Fisichella, served as

of the

in the years 1770, 1771, 1772 and 1782. Among his nephews, in the 19th century a namesake was ''giudice circondariale'' – that is commissioner and judge – of Centorbi and

Mascali Mascali ( Sicilian: ''Màscali'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Catania in the Italian region Sicily, located about east of Palermo and about northeast of Catania Catania (, , Sicilian and ) is the second ...

, in 1826 and 1830, respectively, while Ignazio Fisichella was Deputy Secretary of the General Prosecution Office of the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to ...

at the

Catania Catania (, , Sicilian and ) is the second largest municipality in Sicily, after Palermo. Despite its reputation as the second city of the island, Catania is the largest Sicilian conurbation, among the largest in Italy, as evidenced also by ...

Appeal Court, and later Clerk to the civil and criminal court of

Nicosia Nicosia ( ; el, Λευκωσία, Lefkosía ; tr, Lefkoşa ; hy, Նիկոսիա, romanized: ''Nikosia''; Cypriot Arabic: Nikusiya) is the largest city, capital, and seat of government of Cyprus. It is located near the centre of the Mesaor ...

. Meanwhile, three members of the family have been prominent in other fields, such as (born 1841), priest, philosopher and

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyses and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal qualification in law and often a legal practitioner. In the Uni ...

Domenico Fisichella Domenico Fisichella (born 15 September 1935) is an Italian academic and politician, who served as culture minister in the Berlusconi I Cabinet from 1994 to 1995. Career Fisichella taught political science at Sapienza University of Rome and the L ...

(born 1935), academic and influential politician, minister and later

senator of the Italian Republic The Senate of the Republic ( it, Senato della Repubblica), or simply the Senate ( it, Senato), is the upper house of the bicameral Italian Parliament (the other being the Chamber of Deputies). The two houses together form a perfect bicameral sy ...

, and

Salvatore Fisichella Salvatore Fisichella (born 15 May 1943 in Catania, Sicily) is an Italian operatic tenor known for his roles in bel canto operas, especially those of Rossini, Donizetti and Bellini. He has been recognized for the ease and vocal brilliance of ...

(born 1943), renowned operatic

tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...

. In the 20th century, two

cadet branches In history and heraldry, a cadet branch consists of the male-line descendants of a monarch's or patriarch's younger sons ( cadets). In the ruling dynasties and noble families of much of Europe and Asia, the family's major assets— realm, title ...

branched off from the main line, whose

family 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 ...

is located in

Militello in Val di Catania Militello in Val di Catania ( Sicilian: ''Militeḍḍu'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Catania in the Italian region Sicily, located about southeast of Palermo and about southwest of Catania, on the last slopes ...

, moving to

Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...

and

Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, respectively; the first is represented by Rino Fisichella (born 1951), academic, theologian and

of the

, while the second by

Giancarlo Fisichella Giancarlo Fisichella (; born 14 January 1973), also known as Fisico, Giano or Fisi, is an Italian professional racing driver, also captain of the official ''Nazionale Piloti'' association football team (composed of the racing drivers). He has d ...

(born 1973), famous athlete.

Onomastics

In popular culture

A mysterious "baron Fisichella" appears several times in Leonardo Sciascia's historical novel , played in the by .

Notes and references

Notes

References

Bibliography

Heraldic literature

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Non-fiction

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Historical fiction

Chronicle

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External links

* * * {{Subject bar , commons = y , commons-search = House of Fisichella , n = , n-search = , d = y , d-search = Q5352294 , portal1 = Italy , portal2 = Heraldry

History

Onomastics

In popular culture

Notes and references

Notes

References

Bibliography

Heraldic literature

Non-fiction

Historical fiction

Chronicle

See also

External links