Libro D'Oro Della Nobiltà Italiana (private Publication)

The ''Libro d'oro della nobiltà italiana'' (''Golden Book of Italian Nobility'') is a private, unofficial publication in Italian containing anagraphic and biographical data of certain Italian noble and notable families published at irregular intervals under the auspices of the '' Collegio Araldico – Istituto araldico romano'' (College of Heraldry – Heraldic Institute of Rome)Gian Carlo Jocteau, ''Nobili e nobiltà nell'Italia unita'' (collana Quadrante), Laterza 1997 until 2010 it was published by Roberto Colonnello Editore, owned by Roberto Colonnello Bertini Frassoni, then hereditary Secretary General of the Association, and since 2014 it has been published by Ettore Gallelli, who formally took it over by registering it with the General Public Office for works protected by copyright, under the supervision of the Italian Ministry of Culture (art. 103 L. 633/1941).

This is one of several publications on the subject on the book market, and should not be confused with the Libro d'Oro della Nobiltà italiana (official register) compiled by the Consulta Araldica (Heraldic Council) of the Kingdom of Italy.

History

After the end of the first series of the Annuario della Nobiltà Italiana in 1905, the first edition of the "Libro d'Oro della Nobiltà"'Libro d'oro' on www. collegio-araldico. it
/ref> published by the Collegio Araldico, at the instigation of the secretary of the same association Carlo Augusto Bertini, later Bertini Frassoni, former contributor to the first series of the Annuario della Nobiltà Italiana, with subsequent editions every two or three years until the 1930s, when the Presidency of the Italian Council of Ministers of the Kingdom od Italy issued a decree prohibiting the use of the name 'Libro d'oro', as it was the same as that of an official state register and this risked confusing readers. The ban is still in force and has not been lifted.

The name change marked the end of the first series, which ended in 1932 with the 8th edition.

The editions of 1933-36 (printed in 1935) and 1937-39 (printed in 1939) were entitled "Libro della Nobiltà italiana" (Book of the Italian Nobility), removing the forbidden word ''d'oro'' (gold) from the title, and constituted the second series of the publication.

However, after a long interruption in publication, between 1939 and 1949, the series resumed publication under the same name as the official document, again at irregular intervals and without government authorisation to use the same title as an official register, giving rise to the third series with the 10th edition.

In 1957 the founder Carlo Augusto Bertini Frassoni died and he was succeeded in the editorship of the Libro d'Oro and the Rivista Araldica and in the position of general secretary of the "Collegio Araldico" by his son, Raoul Bertini Frassoni who directed it until his death in 1974 year. He was succeeded by his grandson, and adopted son, Roberto Colonnello Bertini Frassoni, who edited the 16th edition (1973–1976).Angelo Scordo: ''Cento anni di Rivista Araldica'', Società Italiana di Studi Araldici (S.I.S.A.), volume 13, (Atti del 20° convivio), Torino, 2003 (with notes on the history of the Golden Book of Italian Nobility)

In 2005, Roberto Colonnello Bertini Frassoni, 'in his own name and as the owner of the individual firm of the same name' and also in his capacity as Segretario generale del Collegio Araldico (Secretary General of the Heraldic College), sued Andrea Borella complaining that the defendant, in his capacity as editor and publisher of the 'new series' of the 'Annuario della Nobiltà italiana' (Yearbook of the Italian Nobility), would unlawfully have extracted and reused for that editorial activity a substantial part of the contents of the "Libro d'Oro della Nobiltà italiana (Golden Book of the Italian Nobility) and also slavishly copied numerous parts of the Golden Book, thereby infringing the plaintiff's sui generis right as producer of the database and, at the same time, the copyright of the publication in question as a literary work. The Secretary General of the Collegio Araldico, Roberto Colonnello, asked the Court to establish these alleged infringements and to issue the necessary injunctions and sanctions, including the destruction of the all printed copies and the withdrawal of the Annuario from the book market. The Court of Milan rejected the requests of the Secretary General of the Collegio Araldico, Roberto Colonnello, with judgment no. 12659 of 23 June - 28 October 2008.
The Secretary General of the Collegio Araldico, Roberto Colonnello, appealed against the first instance decision and asked for it to be reviewed. The second verdict, issued by Milan Court of Appeal, was very unfavourable to Colonnello and the Collegio Araldico. The Court of Appeal upheld the decision of the first instance and ordered Colonnello/Secretary of the Collegio Araldico to pay all the costs of the trial. The judgment has been notified and become final in mid-2012.
The verdict was followed by a series of events which, in less than two years, led to the closure of the Heraldic College and to Colonnello Bertini Frassoni's resignation from the management of the Golden Book of the Nobility.

At the beginning of 2014 year Colonnello Bertini Frassoni, Secretary of the Araldico College, announced the dissolution of this association, founded a century before, and consequently the suspension of the publication of the Golden Book of the Nobility, the last edition of which had been published under his direction four years earlier, in 2010 (XXIV edition of the third series).

First series of the periodical Golden Book of the Nobility (1910-1932) (I - X edition)

In the first series of this periodical, about 3000.00 different families were published: they represent only a very small part of the families registered in the official Italian nobility lists (about 12.000.00). In the second part of the books were published some families decorated with titles given by the Popes (after 1870), some titled families of the Republic of San Marino not recognised by the Kingdom of Italy and families of heterogeneous origin, including some fake noble families.Arduino Bertoli: ''Falsa nobiltà e libro d'oro compiacenti'', Venezia, Araldica editrice, 1965 BN 66-6819

Second series (1933-1939) (XI - XII edition)

The second series of the work, whose title changed to Book of the Italian Nobility, published essentially the same families as in the first series.

Third series (1940-2010) (XIII - XXIV edition)

The third series of the work, whose title was again changed to "Libro d'Oro della Nobiltà italiana" (Golden Book of the Italian Nobility), published essentially the same families as the first and second series. Until the death of Raul Bertini Frassoni in 1974, the families registered in the official lists of the Italian nobility were separated from those whose nobility derived from other sources. In the second part, some important families, i.e. those who were not noble but possessed the coat of arms of the bourgeoisie, were included, as well as other families.

The first series of the book included almost 1,900 families covered in detail while the website of the Heraldic College, the apparent publisher of the work, proclaimed the publication of some 2500 noble families, for each of which there should have been a brief historical note, the updated family status and the black and white coat of arms.