The Giorgi or Zorzi were a

noble family Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy (class), aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has often been an Estates of the realm, estate of the rea ...

of the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...

and the

Republic of Ragusa The Republic of Ragusa, or the Republic of Dubrovnik, was an maritime republics, aristocratic maritime republic centered on the city of Dubrovnik (''Ragusa'' in Italian and Latin; ''Raguxa'' in Venetian) in South Dalmatia (today in southernmost ...

History

Tradition links the Zorzi to the origins of the city of

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

. In 1817, Antonio Longo wrote that they came from

Moravia Moravia ( ; ) is a historical region in the eastern Czech Republic, roughly encompassing its territory within the Danube River's drainage basin. It is one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The medieval and early ...

and

Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...

; entered Italy in 411 AD and took up residence at

Pavia Pavia ( , ; ; ; ; ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, in Northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino (river), Ticino near its confluence with the Po (river), Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was a major polit ...

; and after the invasion of

Attila Attila ( or ; ), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in early 453. He was also the leader of an empire consisting of Huns, Ostrogoths, Alans, and Gepids, among others, in Central Europe, C ...

in 453 AD were among the founders of Venice. The ''

Almanach de Gotha The ''Almanach de Gotha'' () is a directory of Europe's royalty and higher nobility, also including the major governmental, military and diplomatic corps, as well as statistical data by country. First published in 1763 by C. W. Ettinger in ...

'' enumerates it among the eleven oldest native families of the

, and members of the family were still living in the city in the 19th century. The first documented mention of the family dates from the tenth century: in 964 Gregorio di Andrea de Georgii was

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

of the island of San Pietro di Castello, formerly known as Olivolo, in the

Venetian Lagoon The Venetian Lagoon (; ) is an enclosed bay of the Adriatic Sea, in northern Italy, in which the city of Venice is situated. Its name in the Italian and Venetian languages, ' (cognate of Latin ' ), has provided the English name for an enclosed, ...

. It has been suggested that the Giorgi came to

Ragusa Ragusa may refer to: Places Croatia * Ragusa, Dalmatia, the historical name of the city of Dubrovnik * the Republic of Ragusa (or Republic of Dubrovnik), the maritime city-state of Ragusa * Ragusa Vecchia, historical Italian name of Cavtat, a t ...

either from

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

Giorgio Gozzi, ''La libera e sovrana Repubblica di Ragusa 634-1814'', Volpe Editore, Roma 1981 or from

Kotor Kotor (Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Котор, ), historically known as Cattaro (from Italian language, Italian: ), is a town in Coastal Montenegro, Coastal region of Montenegro. It is located in a secluded part of the Bay of Kotor. The city has ...

. The island of Curzola has been a

fiefdom A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...

of the family since 1254.

The Ragusan branches

Over the centuries, the Giorgi were divided into several branches in Italy and abroad, merging with other noble families of Dubrovnik and

continental Europe Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous mainland of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by som ...

. A branch of the family joined its name and arms to those of the

Bona family The House of Bona, or Bunić, is a noble family long established in the city of Dubrovnik. History The origins of the family remain largely unclear, but according to the two oldest traditions, it originated from Kotor in Venetian Albania, or e ...

, creating a new branch as Giorgi-Bona. The Giorgi were among the important families of the

, serving in the 14th and 15th centuries in 6.50% of all major public offices. Between 1440 and 1640 the Giorgi had 109 members of the Great Council, representing 4.95% of the total. In the two hundred years, they also count for 203 senators (6.21%), 163 rectors of the Republic (6.84%), 173 representatives in the minor council (6.33%) and 41 guardians of justice (4.99%).

People

Members of the family include: * Marino di Matteo Zorzi (1231–1312), governor of the Republic of Ragusa , later

Doge of Venice The Doge of Venice ( ) – in Italian, was the doge or highest role of authority within the Republic of Venice (697–1797). The word derives from the Latin , meaning 'leader', and Venetian Italian dialect for 'duke', highest official of the ...

* Niccolò di Francesco Zorzi (15th century), Venetian ambassador to Pope

Martin V Pope Martin V (; ; January/February 1369 – 20 February 1431), born Oddone Colonna, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 November 1417 to his death in February 1431. His election effectively ended the West ...

* Marco di Bertucci Zorzi (mid-15th century), Venetian military commander and ambassador to France * Giorgio di Giovanni Zorzi, born 1582, Venetian ambassador to France and Poland * (1745–1803), 5th Archbishop of Udine, cardinal *

Ennio De Giorgi Ennio De Giorgi (8 February 1928 – 25 October 1996) was an Italian mathematician who worked on partial differential equations and the foundations of mathematics. Mathematical work De Giorgi's first work was in geometric measure theory, on th ...

(1928–1996), Italian mathematician The Ragusan poet

Ignjat Đurđević Ignjat Đurđević, also known as Ignazio Giorgi (February 1675 – 21 January 1737) was a Dubrovnik, Ragusan baroque poet and translator, best known for his long poem ("The Sighs of the Repentant Mary Magdalene, Magdalene"). He wrote poetry i ...

(Ignazio Giorgi) did not belong to this family, but to another ennobled a few years before his birth in 1675.

Gallery

File:Maria Giorgi-Pozza tombs.jpg, Maria Giorgi-Pozza tomb, Dubrovnik File:Palazzo Giorgi - Ragusa.png, Palazzo Giorgi, Dubrovnik File:Marino Zorzi.jpg, Nineteenth-century copper engraving of Marino Zorzi

History

The Ragusan branches

People

Gallery

See also

References

Further reading