Albergo (family)

An Albergo (Alberghi in plural) was a corporation of nobility in which several lesser noble families bonded around a dominant noble house. Families of an Albergo shared the same political views, economic interests, lived in proximity of each other, and often attended the same churches and social functions.

History

The arms of the Imperiali family depicts a double-headed eagle. Other noble families who were structured into an Albergo, and used a similar emblem, include the House of Barbaro and the House of Pallavicini.

Alberghi typically were created to make particular business ventures succeed, much like today's modern corporations. The Pallavicini, Imperiale family, Fieschi family, and House of Grimaldi were some of the 28 Alberghi of Genoa.

Alberghi often funded and supported various confraternities. For example, The Barbaro family Albergo supported the Scuole Grandi of Venice of the Chiesa di San Rocco di Venezia, which primarily assisted citizens in time of plague, and the Scuola's Sala dell'Albergo functioned as the conference room for the members of the confraternity's Albergo.

At Catanzaro, the Barbaro family's Albergo served as a political structure for the house's silk-producing estate. The Barbaro's Albergo was maintained following the Congress of Vienna, and in harmony with the other titles the family held, including Patrician of Venice and Princely Count of the Grand Principality of Transylvania, the latter awarded for service to the House of Habsburg-Lorraine. One noble family associated with the Barbaro dell' Albergo's southern title, Baron dell'Albergo, was the House of Scalfaro, a family from Calabria who was first granted baronial rights in 1814.

Modern associations

Today, the influence of Alberghi can still be found in the Italian word for a hotel albergo, inspired from the idea of several families residing under one roof.