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Welcome - Benvenuto
Being a family
genealogist, I have tried to gear this site with the novice researcher in
mind. My end goal is to inform and help you find that elusive
Lusardi
relative which begins with a
history of Montarsiccio, the village where the surname
Lusardi
originated.
The Following
appeared in " L'ARALDO della Madonna di San Marco" which is a
local magazine published in Bedonia. The article was written by Chiara
Fava and translated by Francesca Belli.
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History
of a Village: Named Montarsiccio
by
Chiara Fava
Monzolus,
Mons. Artiolus, Arciolus, Arsicius; in the past these names indicated
Montarsiccio, the town which stands on the wooded slopes of Mt. Segarino. (alt
788 meters).
The first settlers, of which are known, (thanks to the discovery of stone
weapons) were a proud and war-like people, who with-stood more than any other
"italiche" population the advances of the Romans, who conquered the
area only around the second half of the II century B.C.
There now remain only a few ruins of the Montarsiccio Castle's primitive
interior which goes back to the III century B.C. This castle was
considered the last defense of the Ligurians against Roman domination.
The first recorded document from Montarsiccio is dated October 5, 1022.
Plato de Platis's sons divided the territory from Gotra to the borders of the
ligustico State, which included Compiano, Tarsogno, Montarsiccio, Albareto, San
Quirico and other nearby towns. This Land became the duty of Luxardo and
he bestowed the Lusardi dynasty, its name:
Lusardi, Signori di Montarsiccio.
The family coat of arms is that of a primitive design, which had been found on a
stone that was part of the castle wall. It is a design of a tower, on the
left architecturally indicating battlements (Guelfi) and on the right there is a
crown with five points and stars above it.
The Lusardi domain, united with that of the Granelli dominated the Montarsiccio
territory for many years and at times their power had been equal to the Landi
domain, dominators of Compiano. These families had always been allies:
remembering in particular the victory of
Lusardi against Fieschi at Compiano in
1270.
Different historical events caused the castle to fall into the hands of
Malaspina many times. In 1187 the castle was occupied by Morello Malaspina
and in 1262 it passed to Federico Malaspina, who gave it to Uberto Pallavicino.
The "Ghibellini fort" was commanded by Ubertino Landi, who fought at
Benevento in 1266 and held Manfredi, the King of Sicily and his two sons
prisoners.
Ubertino Landi passed long periods of time at his home and it is there where he
died in 1298. In 1927 while work was being done to enlarge the church's
altar area, a tomb was discovered that contained a skeleton, whose clothing
included a type of belt, in which was found a knife with an inlaid handle.
It is believed that these remains are that of Ubertino Landi.
The last power and independence of the Montarsiccio castle dates back to 1451
when Manfredo Landi held the highest power in the land. At a certain
point, the Lusardi-Granelli family completely conceded to Landi in exchange for
immunity and protection of their families. That agreement was kept until
the Borbonico period in 1765.
The towns church, dedicated to St. Martin, is now where once stood the castle's
chapel. The nave is decorated in Piacentina-Ligurian style. The
altar, built in 1801 of marble, has the name of its artist inscribed Giuseppe
Solari and that of by whom it was commissioned, Daniele
Lusardi.
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Montarsiccio is a comune
in the province of Parma and the region of Emilia-Romagna.
The region of Emilia-Romagna has
the following provinces: Bologna (the capital), Ferrara, Forli-Cesena,
Modena, Parma, Piacenza, Ravenna, Reggio nell'Emilia and Rimini.
The Emilia-Romagna region is
located between the Po river and the Appennino mountains. A string of
major cities in a northwest to southeast direction are in the flat Po Valley.
It borders the Veneto and Lombardia regions to the north, Piedmont and Liguria
on the west, Tuscany directly south, and Marche and the independent state
of San Marino on the
southeast. The
population of the Emilia-Romagna region is about 4 million.
The Montarsiccio church bell
The bell that once hung in the church in Montarsiccio had the
following inscription "Questa Campana Suono Non Per I Dughi E I Molinari, Ma Per
I Nobili Lusardi". Translation : "This bell rings not for the Dughi and
the Molinari, but for the noble Lusardi". According to several locals the bell was either lost or
melted down during World War II. The history of the bell was told by one elderly
local, in particular Ivo Botti, whose mother was a Lusardi
from Montarsiccio. To date no written record of the bell has been found.
The above information was gratefully provided by Chris O'Brien who was
personally in Montarsiccio doing research on his maternal Ratti/Dughi roots and
may be contacted at csobrien@verizon.com.
LUXARDENS is
believed to be the original spelling of Lusardi.
Don't overlook it just because it
isn't spelled Lusardi.
Other spellings of Lusardi
that I have encountered
in my research are:
Lasardi, Lazarde, Losardo, Lusard, Lusarde, Lusardie, Lusardo,
Lusardy, Lusare, Lusargi, Luscardi, Luserdi, Lusuardi, Luusardi, Lussardi, Luxarda, Luxardi, Luxardo, Luxiardi, and Luzardi.
Lusardi
is by far the most common spelling of our surname.
Please feel free to email me and I will help
you as much as possible.
Lusardi Links and more
If you want to see your ancestors look in
a mirror. If you want to see your descendants look in a mirror.
George Lusardi Jr.
Email me
...
George@LusardiFamily.com
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