Introduction to the Bozzi (alias Magnatte) Family of Gessopa
The Bozzi family of Gessopalena first appears in 16th-century documents under the name Magnatte (also written Magnatta, Magnate). In the notarial volumes of Claudio Paglione (1580–1609), acts from Fonte Rossa and Contrada dell’Annunziata consistently record Jacobi Magnatte and his heirs. By the late 1580s the family begins to be styled “Magnatte alias Bozzo”, showing the surname in transition. By the early 1600s, Bozzi had fully replaced Magnatte, just as other Gessopalena families (such as Tozzi/Cervano) used alternate surnames before stabilizing.
The family’s early presence is found in Fonte Rossa (Arcioni), where they appear alongside the Larcenese, Silvestro (Salvo), and Tiberino, and in Contrada dell’Annunziata and Contrada Piedi Castello, where their houses and vineyards bordered notable families such as the Cucchiarone, De Lillo, and Paglione. A significant act of October 9, 1601 records Marino (Mariano) Botio/Bozzi as Abbot, baptizing the daughter of Sante Finamore and Camilla di Larcionese — evidence of the family’s early clerical role. By 1599 and 1602, dowry and inheritance acts consistently refer to the heirs of Jacobi Bozzi (Magnatte), confirming the shift to the new surname.
By the mid-18th century, the Catasto Onciario of 1747 lists the Bozzi family as firmly established citizens of Gessopalena. Households of Niccolò Bozzi and Giuseppe Bozzi are recorded in the Rione dell’Annunziata, with holdings in Arcioni, Santa Croce, and other contrade. Their land included vineyards, olives, and canne, with rents and obligations to local ecclesiastical and civic authorities, demonstrating the family’s long continuity from their 16th-century beginnings.
Photo: Jacobi Magnatte recorded with vineyard in Fonte Rossa, adjoining Giovanni de Silvestro di Salvo, heirs of Antonio di Silvestro, and Achille Josie (Giuseppe, Innocentio).
Contrada: Fonte Rossa (Arcioni).
Source: Claudiio Paglione, Vol. I. , page 11, May 2, 1585 by Matthew de Larcinese
Abbate Marino (Mariano) Bozzi in Gessopalena
On October 9, 1601, the San Valentino parish register records Marino (Mariano) Botio/Bozzi serving as Abbate of Gessopalena. He officiated the baptism of Cornelia, daughter of Sante di Finamore and Camilla, daughter of Sarru di Larcionese (Baldassare de Larcenese). The act was witnessed by Blasia, widow of Rinaldo Salamone, another of the town’s notable families.
This entry provides the earliest known evidence of a member of the Bozzi family holding high clerical office. The position of Abbate placed Marino Bozzi in direct contact with Gessopalena’s principal lineages, confirming the family’s role not only in civic but also in ecclesiastical life. His presence at a baptism linking the Finamore, Larcionese, and Salamone families situates the Bozzi within the inner circle of Gesso’s religious and social network at the start of the 17th century.
(Close-up: “Mariano Bozio Abbate” as written in the register)
From Magnatte to Bozzi: A Surname in Transition
By the late 1580s, notarial records show the Bozzi family in the midst of a surname change. In a 1588 act (Claudio Paglione, Vol. I, p. 14), Giovanni Antonio Magnatta is explicitly styled “alias Bozzo”, marking the earliest documented use of both names together. His daughter, Diamante, is also named in this act, placing the family in Contrada Piedi Castello alongside Cesaris Cucchiarone, Hieronini Sernari, and Antonio de Lillo.
Subsequent acts in the 1590s reinforce this transition. By 1594, Jacobi Bocchio (Bozzi) appears in the “ruga di Cola Cucchiarone” of Piedi Castello, while by 1599 Giovanni Antonio Magnatta alias Bozza is recorded as witness in a baptism, and Giovanni Camillo Bozza is noted as resident in Contrada Pincianesi.
These overlapping references demonstrate how the family’s identity shifted over a single generation. The alias “Magnatta” gradually disappears, and by the first years of the 1600s, the surname Bozzi alone is consistently used in both ecclesiastical and notarial contexts.
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Notes and Sources
- Archivio di Stato di Lanciano, Notary Claudio Paglione, Atti Notarili, Vol. I (1580–1609), act of 1584, last line: reference to Magnifico Geronimo Magnate all’ora vice Conte in Palena.
- Lineage of the Counts of Palena: Cantelmo, Caldora (to 1467), de Capua (1467–1667), d’Aquino (1667–1806). See: Nobiliario Napoletano (vol. II, 1889); regional feudal registers of the Abruzzo and Terra di Lavoro.
- On the term vice Conte: administrative deputy empowered to act in the absence of, or by delegation from, the reigning Count (in this case the de Capua family).
Photo: Archivio di Stato di Lanciano 2010. Photo by Matthew de Larcinese