Forgotten Patrons of Sant'Egidio: The 17th-Century Larcinese

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These excerpts form part of an ongoing historical and genealogical dossier focused on the terrain in Abruzzo historically known as Arcioni—also referred to in early ecclesiastical documents as Arcisanum, denoting the area of Abruzzo owned by the Benedictine Abbey of Monte Cassino. Situated below the town of Gessopalena, this zone played a critical role in the agricultural, monastic, and confraternal life of the region from at least the 16th century onward. Through land records, notarial acts, confraternity statutes, and genetic data, this dossier reconstructs the sacred geography and familial networks—especially those of the Larcinese, Tiberino, and Mancini families—whose stewardship of this terrain spans centuries. Curated by Matthew de Larcinese, the project seeks to reclaim the overlooked ecclesiastical and kin-based legacy of Arcioni as a vital component of Abruzzese historical memory. 

IMAGE:  Excerpt from Monte Cassino in the Middle Ages by Herbert Bloch (1986), Volume I, p. 381. The passage refers to Arcisanum, the historical Benedictine designation for monastic landholdings in Abruzzo under the control of Monte Cassino. The area known as Arcioni—located beneath the town of Gessopalena—is best understood as one subregion within the larger ecclesiastical territory of Arcisanum.  

  In the historical landscape of Gessopalena, the 1747 Catasto has often served as the reference point for reconstructing local genealogies and landholding records. Yet, much of the earlier, intricate 17th-century religious and civic life of the town remains obscured. New evidence, drawn from notarial acts, dowries, ecclesiastical archives, and tax records, reveals that the Larcinese and Tiberino families—often in close alliance with the Mancini—played a dominant role in the Sant'Egidio region of Gessopalena well before the arrival of families like the Cavaliere and the later ascendant branches of the Mancini.

1. Egidio (Ilio) Larcinese and the House of Sant'Egidio
Egidio Larcinese (referred to also as Ilio or Gilio), born ca. 1597 and deceased in 1680, owned a house directly attached to the Benedictine monastery of Sant'Egidio. In July 1670, he sold this house to Francesco Antonio Cavaliere, the father of Taddeo Cavaliere. Taddeo would later appear in the 1747 Catasto as patron of Sant'Egidio, suggesting that the Cavaliere family's prominence in the church began through the acquisition of property formerly held by the Larcinese.

IMAGE:  1670 notarial act documenting Egidio (Ilio) Larcinese's sale of a house in Sant’Egidio to Francesco Antonio Cavaliere. This critical transaction transferred property once belonging to the Larcinese family directly to the father of Taddeo Cavaliere, who would later become the patron of the Church of Sant’Egidio in the 18th century. 

 2. Tiberino and Mancini: Marriages and Patronage
Just months after Egidio's transaction, in October 1670, Bernardino Tiberini purchased a house in Sant'Egidio from Francesco and Antonio Mancini. That same year, Scipione Tiberino, married to Maria Mancini, donated the altar of Saint Joseph to the Church of Sant'Egidio. This foundational act, preserved in the Chieti Archdiocese archives, affirms the spiritual and architectural contributions of the Tiberini family in the 17th century. Later, in 1691, Domenico Tiberino (alias Tychucus) donated four houses and 18 hectares to the Tozzi Church of Sant'Antonio di Padova.  

IMAGE:  

Fragment of the ecclesiastical act from the Chieti Archdiocese showing Scipione Tiberino and Maria Mancini as donors of the altar of Saint Joseph in the Church of Sant’Egidio. This document anchors the Tiberino family's religious patronage in the second half of the 17th century and underscores their prominence in the same zone once held by the Larcinese.

   3.  Larcinese Family Dowries and Bequests in Sant'Egidio
Candida Larcinese, in her 1699 testament, bequeathed a house in Sant'Egidio to her stepson, the priest Romano Mancini. Candida had married Giovanni Mancini, and the dowry for that marriage included a house in Sant'Egidio next to Taddeo Cavaliere. This further ties the Larcinese line into the core spatial and familial matrix of the region. Additionally, Candida's sister Giacoma Larcinese married Giovanni Battista Mancini, and their daughter Cristina Maria married Donato Andrea Tiberini.    I

IMAGE:  Dowry act from 1694 in which brothers Bernardino and Nobile Larcinese grant a house in Sant’Egidio to the Mancini family as part of Candida Larcinese’s marriage. The house was located beside that of Taddeo Cavaliere, creating a documented physical and social link between the Larcinese, Mancini, and Cavaliere families.

   4. Timeline of Intermarriage and Land Transactions (1565–1699)

· 1565: Olimpia Tiberini marries Francesco Antonio Mancini.

·     1586: Achille Tiberino and heirs of Antonio and Baldassare de Larcenese appear as neighbors in Contrada Giardino.

·      1590: Clerico Bernardino Tiberino marries Bernardina Mancini. Reside near Giacomo de Larcenese.

·        1598: Spendora de Larcenese provides a dowry to the Leonello family (later will be the Persiani family) for a part of the Larcinese house in Contrada dell'Annunziata next to the heirs of Ippolito Mancini.

· 1609: Bernardino Tiberino's children reside near the Church of Raccomandati.

·     1624-1638: Children of Scipione Tiberino and Maria Mancini baptized.

·         1670: Egidio Larcinese and the Tiberino-Mancini alliance establish formal property and ecclesiastical roles in Sant'Egidio.

·    1687-1694: Marriages between Giacoma Larcinese, Giovanni Mancini, and their descendants consolidate power.                                                1696: Barone Frigerio sues Berardina Tiberino, widow of Francesco Cavaliere.

          1699: Candida Larcinese's testament reinforces familial landholding in Sant'Egidio.   

IMAGE:   From the notarial records of Claudio Paglione, this 1598 act documents the dowry of Spendora de Larcenese to the Leonello family (who will change their surname around this time to the Presiani/Persiani family of Gessopalena). The dowry includes a portion of the Larcinese house located in Contrada dell’Annunziata, directly adjacent to the property of the heirs of Ippolito Mancini—further evidence of the deep-rooted ties between the Larcinese and Mancini families in the 16th century. 

  5. Oversight in the 1747 Catasto
The 1747 Catasto lists families like Taddeo Cavaliere and Romano Mancini in association with Sant'Egidio but omits any reference to the Larcinese family. By this time, the Larcinese had already divested their properties to other prominent families or shifted their domicile to other contrade such as Mulino, Vicenne (Monte dei Morte) Feud in Prata, and Morrone. Yet notarial and ecclesiastical documents from the previous century clearly place them at the heart of Sant'Egidio’s spiritual and territorial landscape. 

 IMAGE:   Cover page entry from the 1747 Catasto listing Paolino Larcinese. By this time, the family had relocated from Sant’Egidio to other contrade such as Morrone and Prata, although their presence and influence in Sant’Egidio had been firmly established in the previous century. According to the testament of his son, Carmine Larcinese, the terrain recorded under Paolino’s name in this Catasto represents only a portion of the family's total holdings. 

6. Y-DNA Evidence: A Shared Paternal Origin
Modern Y-DNA analysis has revealed a direct match between male descendants of the Larcinese and Tiberino families. This genetic connection confirms that both lines descend from a common male ancestor—likely the original holder of the terrains later divided between branches. The overlapping and parallel landholdings of the two families throughout the 17th and 18th centuries further support this conclusion. The scientific proof of a shared Y-chromosome lineage offers definitive genealogical validation of what the archival record has long implied: the Tiberino and Larcinese families are, in origin, the same family. 

 IMAGE:  Y-DNA analysis from multiple BigY-700 tests confirms a shared patrilineal ancestor between the Tiberino and Larcinese families in Gessopalena. The chart illustrates that both branches diverged from the same male line around 1500 CE, affirming through genetics what the documents already suggest: the Larcinese and Tiberino were once a single family. 

Conclusion
The Tiberino and Larcinese families were key players in 17th-century Gessopalena, especially in the Sant'Egidio district. Through marriage alliances, land exchanges, dowries, and ecclesiastical patronage, they wove a familial and administrative fabric that defined this zone. Their contributions, largely forgotten by the time of the 18th-century Catasto, deserve to be reclaimed and honored as part of the town's rich monastic and civic heritage. Their genetic kinship and historical legacy form a compelling testament to the enduring presence of a single, foundational lineage in the religious and civic history of Gessopalena.

 While Sant'Egidio formed the heart of the Larcinese-Tiberino presence in 17th-century Gessopalena, another equally significant yet neglected area is Monte dei Morte—a territory steeped in spiritual and landholding continuity. Drawing from notarial documents, confraternal records, and modern cadastral maps (Foglio 1), we can now restore the forgotten legacy of this sacred terrain and the multi-generational stewardship of the Larcinese family.

1. Origins: Valle Tremarca and Early Ecclesiastical Control  Monte dei Morte, which also may have ben called, Valle Tremarca or Tre Macchi, in early documents, was likely part of a monastic grancia under Benedictine or Celestine jurisdiction. The terrain, characterized by its rugged hillside ridges and its proximity to the Cesa valley and Fosso di Iannello, functioned as both pasture and sacred memorial space.

Monte dei Morte is not geographically connected to the Arcioni valley. Rather, it lies westward and uphill, bordering the zones of Vicenne, Pietra Andrea, Isolina, and Bracciola, and is separated from Arcioni by the terrain of la Macchie. This area was part of a distinct ecclesiastical and agricultural system, likely tied to early monastic holdings. Egidio (Ilio) Larcinese, born ca. 1597, is first documented as residing in Valle Tremarca, Monte de Morte.  

IMAGE:  Excerpt from the Caracciolo Archives, Archivio di Stato di Napoli, marked Platea del Gesso. This 1669 entry lists residences and holdings tied to Egidio (Ilio) Larcinese in Valle Tremarca (later Monte dei Morte), confirming his established presence in this sacred zone by the late 17th century. 

2. Egidio Larcinese and the Transmission of Sacred StewardshipEgidio held lands in Monte dei Morte, Fosso, Arcioni, Pietra Andrea, and Sant’Egidio. These appear in the Caracciolo Platea del Gesso documents, which list church-affiliated terrain and tenant families. The Larcinese family appears not only as landholders but also as tenants and stewards of confraternal lands.

A 1790s notarial act documents Egidio’s descendant, Pasquale Larcinese (son of Paolino), managing terrain in Monte dei Morte with legal oversight and blessings by the clergy, indicating this terrain’s enduring ecclesiastical affiliation.

IMAGE: Testamentary Mention of Monte dei Morte (1799)
Excerpt from the 1799 oral testament of Vittoria De Falco, widow of Pasquale Larcinese. This passage affirms her family’s continued presence and inheritance in Monte dei Morte, naming her son Gregorio as heir and linking the terrain to the legacy of Egidio’s lineage.  

3. The Confraternity of Monte dei Morti Documents from the Caracciolo Archives  (Archivio di Stato di Napoli) include the statutes of the Confraternity of Monte dei Morti. This confraternity, like its counterparts in Campagna and other Abruzzese towns, organized burial rites and spiritual suffrage for the souls of the dead. These rituals were likely held at or near Monte dei Morte, and the confraternity maintained records of rituals, masses, and benefactors.

The Larcinese appear as affiliated lay brothers and possibly custodians of this confraternal terrain. Their proximity and administrative involvement tie the family to the spiritual legacy of the land.  

IMAGE: From the Libro della Compagnia del Monte dei Morti conserved in Napoli. These statutes, written in the 18th century, outline the spiritual functions and burial rites overseen by the confraternity associated with Monte dei Morte. The Larcinese appear in roles consistent with lay guardianship. 

 The 1747 Catasto and Modern Foglio 1 ConnectionsThe 1747 Catasto lists Paolino Larcinese with substantial holdings in Monte dei Morte, Pietra Andrea, and Prata. Larcinese from both the Mulino and Paolini clans continued to hold this land into the 19th and early 20th centuries. Foglio 1 cadastral maps confirm parcels across Monte dei Morte and adjacent contrade, including 377 to 599, and parcel 394—once under custodianship of Beradina D’Orazio on behalf of Francesco Larcinese.

Additional adjacent parcels are held by members of the extended Tiberino lineage, demonstrating lateral familial continuity in this sacred terrain.

5. Continuity and SignificanceThe continuity of land tenure from Egidio (Ilio) to 20th-century descendants spans over 500 years of documented family stewardship. In the present day, Matthew de Larcinese continues this legacy as an active custodian and researcher of Monte dei Morte, holding terrain adjacent to historic Larcinese parcels. Monte dei Morte was more than agricultural space—it was part of a network of sacred geography tied to confraternal rites, Benedictine legacy, and Larcinese family identity. 

 IMAGE: Close-up of Foglio 1 cadastral map showing key parcels (e.g., 377–382, 599–601, 394) in Monte dei Morte historically owned by members of the Larcinese family. This visual confirms multi-generational continuity from the 18th century through the 20th. 

ConclusionMonte dei Morte, often overlooked in modern accounts of Gessopalena’s history, was a crucial node of spiritual and territorial meaning. The Larcinese family’s connection to it reflects a lineage not only of landholders, but of ecclesiastical stewards. As with Sant'Egidio, this sacred terrain anchors the family in the religious and monastic topography of early modern Abruzzo. The memory of these guardianship roles—rooted in terrain, ritual, and continuity—deserves its rightful place in the historical narrative. family identity.

 IMAGE:  Photograph taken by Matthew Larcinese in Vicenne, facing the Monte dei Morte ridge. This landscape captures the agricultural and spiritual terrain that has been held by the Larcinese family for over five centuries.