1593 Rivel Record, Entry 120

[darkerhorse]

Can you translate entry 120 of this 1593 Riveli record from Sicily?

[erudita74]

Filippa Petrocello, head of household, age 28
Giovanna, her daughter, age 8
Biagio, her son, age 4

Don't know what town this record is from, but the spelling of surname may currently be with an i or a at the end

[darkerhorse]

Thanks.

The town is Melilli (SR), Sicily.

Interesting that you mentioned the spelling. The spelling of the surname for that family evolved (in Riveli records) from Pitrocello in 1593 to Pitruzello in 1627 to Pitruzzello in 1681 which is how it's also spelled in church and civil records from the 1700s on to the present day.

I believe that the letters "c" and "o" are more common in mainland Italy, while "z" and "u" are more common in Sicily. So the question arises as to whether the surname originally came from the mainland (Pitrocello) and was Sicilianized (Pitruzzello) over time? I know people were illiterate but it's hard to confuse the two implied pronunciations. I suppose it's also possible that the official recorded "Pitruzzello" the way he was more familiar with "Pitrocello" in proper Italian, or maybe he was from the mainland himself.

One relative says his grandfather claimed that the family originated in Bari on the mainland but I've found no evidence, plus they spell it differently there.

[darkerhorse]

Is this more likely Filippa's maiden surname or her husband's surname?

[erudita74]

https://www.reddit.com/r/Genealogy/comm ... available/

Filippa should be listed under her husband's surname

[darkerhorse]

That's what I figured. In later Riveli records her son Blasi is listed with the same surname.