Balsamo
Alias: none
Blazon: per fess, the chief per pale; in 1 or, a bird sable on the fess; in 2 gules; in 3 azure.
Origins: Constantinople, Lombardy
Seat: Messina
Notable people:
- Nicolò de Balsamo, son of Tuccio, a Messinese, was granted the fief of Vigna del Re in 1415, a property later inherited by his son Tuccio, who also acquired Fiumefreddo.
- Costanzo Balsamo, named royal knight by King Peter of Aragon
- Giacomo served King Ferdinand the Catholic as an ambassador and was lord of Mirto, captain-at-arms of Milazzo and Patti, and, later, general vicar; he also acquired Taormina and its casali.
- Nicolò, son of Tuccio, became a doctor of law and a judge of the Grand Court of the Kingdom of Sicily in 1497.
- Giovanni de Balsamo confirmed possession of the Massaria di Patti in 1441, which he had brought as dowry by his wife, Eufemia di Patti.
- Giovanni-Enrico held the forest of Taormina (1477)
- Giacomo possessed several casali, including Mirto and Belmonte (1506), and the fiefs of Graniti (1489) and Mottallegra (1512).
- Angelo held the fiefs of Cucco and S. Basile (1506).
- Giuseppe held the barony of Cattasi.
- Antonio obtained the title of Viscount of Francavilla in 1537.
- Pietro Balsamo became Marquis of Limina in 1599 and the first Prince of Roccafiorita in 1613. He was a Knight of St. James of the Sword and served as straticoto of Messina in 1621.
- Francesco Viperano Balsamo purchased the title of Prince of Castellaci in 1759 and served as senator and mayor of Messina.
- His son Giuseppe was Baron of Cattafi
- His brother Giambattista became Marquis of Montefiorito in 1764 and protonotary of the kingdom in 1773.
- In 1768, Carlo-Saverio Balsamo, Baron of Specchia-Normandia, and his sons Giuseppe-Antonio and Bonaventura-Luigi, were reintegrated into Messinese nobility.
- Monsignor Domenico Balsamo, Archbishop of Monreale, was a highly learned man who founded the Albergo de' Poveri.
Titles:
- Prince of Roccafiorita
- Prince of Castellaci
- Marquis of the Limina,
- Marquess of Montefiorito
- Viscount of Francavilla
- Baron of Cattasi
- Baron of Specchia-Normandia
- Lord of Graniti
- Lord of Cucco
- Lord of S. Basile
- Lord of Mottallegra
- Lord of Fiumefreddo
- Lord of Vigna del Re
The Balsamo family, an ancient and noble lineage, is said by Galluppi to have originated in Constantinople and to have enjoyed nobility in Messina from the 11th to the 18th century. According to Mugnos, another branch of the family came from Lombardy to Sicily under Frederick II in the 12th century, settling in Messina.
Throughout their history, the Balsamo family acquired various fiefs and held significant positions.
The Balsamo family frequently contributed members to the Order of Malta, with notable figures such as Girolamo, who died during the siege of Malta in 1550, and Giovan Salvo Balsamo, Grand Prior of Messina in 1618.
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