De Vescovi Family
The de Vescovi family, originally from Vione in Valcamonica, moved in the first half of the sixteenth century to the upper Sole valley, to Fraviano di Vermiglio, then to Peio and Celentino, to move with a genealogical line to Mezzocorona in the first half of the seventeenth century. The brothers Stefano, a doctor by profession, and Giovanni Pietro on January 2, 1583 obtained the nobility from Ferdinand, archduke of Austria and count of Tyrol. Stefano and Lodovico on 14 April 1664 received confirmation of the nobility and the improvement of the coat of arms from Leopoldo I; on 2 April 1691 Lodovico de Vescovi and his descendants were annexed to the Tyrolean aristocratic matriculation.
The surname “de Vescovi” is part of a group of denominations that indicate professions, offices, titles of nobility and priesthood such as Baroni, Conti, Preti, de Pretis, de Vescovi: it is emphasized that this type of surname is not always it is assigned to those who work in the possessions of local nobles or the Church. The origin of the surname “de Vescovi” (of veschev) can be referred to the latter possibility, linking it to the activity of some members of the family in the service of a clergyman.
Ancient Family Crest 1583
The most significant personage of the de Vescovi was Vigilio (circa 1610 – 1679) priest, doctor of theology, parish priest of Mezzocorona from 1640 to 1679, treasurer of the Prince Bishop of Trento Carlo Emanuele Madruzzo, who as Count of Challant appointed him his procurator and administrator of his assets in the Aosta valley: in the Castle of Issogne Vigilio de Vescovi engraved his signature twice, still visible today. The priest also held the posts of apostolic protonotary, dean forane for the Tratto Atesino, he left several handwritten and printed works. Based on the observation of the Franciscan Giangrisostomo Tovazzi “It was he who brought the de Vescovi to Mezzocorona“.
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Remo de Vescovi
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Giulio de Vescovi
Genealogical reconstructions in the possession of the descendants, partly verifiable on the registers of the parish registry of Mezzocorona from the beginning of the seventeenth century, make it possible to propose Stefano as the progenitor, documented in 1348, therefore with a succession from father to son Pietro (1394), Giovanni Battista (1437), Vigilio (1471), Gian Pietro (1583), Giovanni Battista (1653). Two of his sons, Stefano and Ludovico, originated different branches of the de Vescovi family: from the first comes the thriving line, from the second for example the branch of the barons von Ulzbach.
In 1708 Vigilio de Vescovi, namesake of the previous priest, obtained from Joseph I (1705-1711) the baronial title, the predicate von Ulzbach, but also an improvement of the coat of arms. The members of this branch of the family used the noble title and the predicate to replace the surname: in the parish registers of Mezzocorona, the wording “Baron of Ultzpach” is encountered.
The predicate is composed of the terms Ulz, in other words the Noce stream, as indicated by the German chancelleries, where the forms Ulzfluss and Sulzfluss were used, together with the noun Bach, with the meaning of “stream”. The name referred to the “canal of the mills”, which runs near a building in Mezzocorona where the von Ulzbach barons, a line of Spaur and today (2021) the Donati family resided. The reconnection to the stream that comes from Val di Sole, is a reference to the origins of the family, including the Alto-Solandre. For a certain period the von Ulzbach barons also held Palazzo de Vescovi-Martini, now owned by the Cassa di Trento, Lavis, Mezzocorona and Valle di Cembra.
The de Vescovi were the most significant family in the service of the Firmians within the jurisdiction of Mezzocorona: for example, Giovanni Maria, Ludovico, Giovanni, Vigilio Antonio, Liborio are remembered in the role of captains. The patronage of the family is attested for example by the restructuring of the rectory of Mezzocorona and of Palazzo de Vescovi-Martini by Vigilio de Vescovi (1663), who also gave a chalice to the church of Santo Stefano protomartire in Fraviano di Vermiglio and to the church of Saint Catherine of Alexandria virgin and martyr in Roveré della Luna. The so-called “Toresèla” near Palazzo de Vescovi-Martini, is decorated with a heraldic composition of the fall of the seventeenth century, with the coats of arms of Vescovi and Calvi. Brother Ludovico de Vescovi donated the main altar (not preserved) and the altarpiece representing the Immaculate Virgin Mary, which bears the family crest in the lower left corner to the church of the Franciscan friars convent in Mezzolombardo.
