The House of Bona, or Bunić, is a noble family long established in the city of

Dubrovnik Dubrovnik (), historically known as Ragusa (; see notes on naming), is a city on the Adriatic Sea in the region of Dalmatia, in the southeastern semi-exclave of Croatia. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterran ...

History

The origins of the family remain largely unclear, but according to the two oldest traditions, it originated from

Kotor Kotor ( Montenegrin Cyrillic: Котор, ), historically known as Cattaro (from Italian: ), is a coastal town in Montenegro. It is located in a secluded part of the Bay of Kotor. The city has a population of 13,510 and is the administrative ...

Venetian Albania Venetian Albania ( vec, Albania vèneta, it, Albania Veneta, Serbian and Montenegrin: Млетачка Албанија / ''Mletačka Albanija'', ) was the official term for several possessions of the Republic of Venice in the southeastern Adria ...

, or else from the town of

Vieste Vieste (; nap, label= Viestano, Vìst) is a town, ''comune'' and former Catholic bishopric in the province of Foggia, in the Apulia region of southeast Italy. A marine resort in Gargano, Vieste has received Blue Flags for the purity of its wate ...

in Apulia and Leck. The ''

Almanach de Gotha The ''Almanach de Gotha'' (german: Gothaischer Hofkalender) 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 publish ...

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

Republic of Ragusa hr, Sloboda se ne prodaje za sve zlato svijeta it, La libertà non si vende nemmeno per tutto l'oro del mondo"Liberty is not sold for all the gold in the world" , population_estimate = 90 000 in the XVI Century , currency = ...

, and members of the family were still living in the city in the 19th century. The family was influential and wealthy in the Republic, divided into several branches, and combined with other noble families from Dubrovnik by a series of marriages, which in turn gave rise to additional branches of the family. Their nobility was recognised by the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence ...

, which granted a member of the family the title of marquess. Arms of the house of Bona-Giorgi

The main branch of the family is still in existence, with its principal residence in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, but also a secondary residence and several businesses in

Notable members

* Jan (Giovanni) Junta Bona (15th century), merchant from Venice, owner of Krakow saltworks and several villages in Małopolska. * Serafin (Saro) Bona (15th century),

theologian 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 ...

and writer, the personal adviser of King

Matthias Corvinus Matthias Corvinus, also called Matthias I ( hu, Hunyadi Mátyás, ro, Matia/Matei Corvin, hr, Matija/Matijaš Korvin, sk, Matej Korvín, cz, Matyáš Korvín; ), was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1458 to 1490. After conducting several m ...

* Župan Bona (died 1464), builder and politician * Jakov Bona (1469-1534), writer and poet, ambassador of the Republic to

Pope Leo X Pope Leo X ( it, Leone X; born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, 11 December 14751 December 1521) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 March 1513 to his death in December 1521. Born into the prominent political an ...

. A syllogism of his works was published in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

in 1526. * Mihael (Miho) Bona (16th century), Latin, and Italian poet *

Ivan Bunić Vučić Ivan (Đivo) Vučić Bunić (or Đivo Sarov Bunić; it, Giovanni Serafino Bona; 1592 – 6 March 1658), now known predominantly as Ivan Bunić Vučić, was a politician and poet from the Republic of Ragusa. Biography He was born into a la ...

(1591 or 1592–1658), poet and writer, now recognized as one of the founders of Croatian literature. * Nikola Bona (1635-1678), led the Republic after the disastrous earthquake of 1667, considered "father" of his country. Died a prisoner of the Ottoman rule in Bosnia, a state funeral was decreed in his honour, and a plaque was erected in the hall of the Grand Council of the Republic. Wrote in the Illyrian Herodias, and other compositions in

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

and

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

. * Đivo Bona (18th century), student of Cardinal Giovanni Battista Tolomei. He was a poet and writer, remembered for translating plays from French into Croatian, as well as several poems of his own. * Jero Frano Bona (18th century), bishop and writer * Frano Bona (1669-1717), general, killed in Belgrade * Luka Bona (1708-1778), lawyer and writer * Eduard Bona-Bunić (1894–1944), Croatian Home Guard general * Frano de Bona (1909–1991), recruited as a spy for the Abwehr during the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

but turned by the British Secret Intelligence Service (as Agent FREAK) as part of the

Double-Cross System The Double-Cross System or XX System was a World War II counter-espionage and deception operation of the British Security Service (a civilian organisation usually referred to by its cover title MI5). Nazi agents in Britain – real and false � ...

.
Ben Macintyre Double Cross: The True Story of The D-Day Spies File:Giovanni Serafino Bona.jpg,

File:Dubrovnik-Wappen-de-Bona-1.jpg, Coat of arms on the de Bona villa in Dubrovnik

References

Sources

Francesco Maria Appendini Francesco Maria Appendini (November 4, 1768 – 1837) was an Italian Latin and Italian scholar who studied Slavic languages in the Republic of Ragusa. The French invasion prevented him from returning to Italy, and he adopted Republic of Ragusa as hi ...

, ''Notizie istorico-critiche sulle antichità storia e letteratura de' Ragusei'', Dalle stampe di Antonio Martecchini, Ragusa 1803 *

Renzo de' Vidovich Renzo de' Vidovich (born 27 February 1934) is an Italian politician,de' Vidovich held the following offices during his political life: * Member of the thirteenth Commission (Labour and Social Security) * Component of the Special Committee for th ...

, ''Albo d'Oro delle famiglie nobili patrizie e illustri nel Regno di Dalmazia'', Fondazione Scientifico Culturale Rustia Traine, Trieste 2004 * Simeone Gliubich, ''Dizionario biografico degli uomini illustri della Dalmazia'', Vienna-Zara 1836 * Giorgio Gozzi, ''La libera e sovrana Repubblica di Ragusa 634–1814'', Volpe Editore, Roma 1981 *

Robin Harris Robin Hughes Harris Sr. (August 30, 1953 – March 18, 1990) was an American comedian and actor, best known for his recurring comic sketch about "Bébé's Kids". He was posthumously nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting ...

, ''Dubrovnik, A History'', * Konstantin Jireček, ''L’eredità di Roma nelle città della Dalmazia durante il medioevo'', 3 voll., AMSD, Roma 1984–1986 {{DEFAULTSORT:Bona, House Of Ragusan noble families

History

Notable members

See also

References

Sources