| The original name of the
family was Negrone and its place of origin was the town of Locarno, Switzerland,
in a historic region of Italy known as Lombardy or Cisalpine Gaul. Around
1090 AD a member of the important Spinola family, in turn a branch of the
Visconti family, adopted the surname of Negrone to distinguish himself
and his family from the other members of the Spinola family. In 1131 the
family received the title of Marquio de Negrone (Marchese de Negrone) from
the Holy Roman Emperor and since that date, this title has remained in
the Negroni family. The title of Marquio (Marquis in French, Marchese in
Italian, Marqués in Spanish, or Marquess in English) was a title
of nobility given to a nobleman who was responsible for the security of
a frontier region or "Marca". In European nobility a marquis ranked below
a duke and ahead of a count. |
Coat of Arms of the Negroni Family
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| In
1134 the first Marchese Negrone (sometimes written as Nigrono, Nigrone,
Nigrona or Negrono) was recognized as a member of the Visconti family.
It was a common practice around those times for families to form unions
or alliances (known as Alberghos) in order to enhance the power, prestige,
and riches of the members of the family group. In 1250 the Negrone family
split in two branches, one headed by Giacomo (who died after 1264) and
the other headed by Enrico (who died before 1252). Giacomo's branch is
the oldest, still exists in Genoa, Italy, and is headed by the Marchese
Vittorio II Negrone (born in Genova, 29 October 1932). Enrico's branch
is represented today in France and in Puerto Rico. The French branch is
headed by Francois Marquis de Negroni de San Colombano (born in Paris,
France, 10 February 1943) and the Puerto Rican senior branch is represented
by Colonel Hector Andres Negroni (born in Yauco, Puerto Rico, 30 January
1938). |
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| Both
the French and the Puerto Rico branches originated in Corsica when in 1523
Marchese Francesco Negrone, a descendent of Enrico, went to Corsica to
marry Princess Giorgetta Da Mare. Giorgetta was the daughter of Prince
Giacomosanto I Da Mare, Lord of San Colombano. The Lordship (Signoria)
of San Colombano was a feudal domain under the Doges of Genoa of over 400,000
acres in the northern Cap Corse peninsula of Corsica and included the towns
of Cagnano, Luri, Meria, Tomino, Rogliano, Ersa, Centuri, Morosiglia, Pino,
and Barrettali. The seat of government was the Castle of San Colombano,
in Rogliano, Cap Corse, Corsica. Upon his marriage, Francesco received
the Lordship of San Colombano as dowry and in order to differentiate his
branch of the family from the Genoese branch, he adopted the last name
of Negrone de San Colombano. |
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| Following
the establishment of French sovereignty over Corsica in 1769, France recognized
the Corsican nobility and admitted 77 families to the French nobility of
the ancienne regime. The Negroni family was admitted to the French nobility
through a French Royal Decree dated 22 June 1778 under the name Castagnola-Negrone.
Despite this decree, the Head of the Family adopted the surname of de Negroni
de San Colombano. This name was finally legalized through an affidavit
dated 30 October 1860, which modified the 22 June 1778 French Royal Decree.
The family coat of arms is described as "d'or a trois pals de sable, couronne
de marquis, cimier I'aigle imperial" (a shield of gold with three black
vertical stripes surmounted by the imperial eagle on a marquis coronet).
The right to surmount the shield with the imperial eagle was given to the
Negroni Family in 1310 by Henry VII, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire,
as a mark of appreciation for the hospitality given to him by the Negroni
Family in Genoa during an Imperial visit that year. |
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