Ettore Fieramosca (born Ferramosca) (Capua, 1476 – Valladolid, 20 January 1515) was an Italian condottiero and nobleman during the Italian Wars. His father was Rainaldo, baron of Rocca d'Evandro, and it is thought that his mother was a noblewoman from the Gaetani family. The family inherited and occupied the Castle of Mignano.[1]
During the Risorgimento and the rise of Fascism, he was presented as a national hero and became the subject of national celebrations. Massimo D'Azeglio wrote an 1833 novel Ettore Fieramosca, in an effort to boost Italian patriotism.
In 1909 and again in 1915, he was the main subject of two Italian silent films, both named Ettore Fieramosca. In 1938, during the Fascist era, Alessandro Blasetti directed a sound film Ettore Fieramosca. A more comical depiction of Ettore was performed by Bud Spencer in the 1976 film Il Soldato di Ventura.
Ettore was born with the surname Ferramosca, inherited through his paternal line from his great-grandfather Russo Ferramosca,[2][3] born before 1405. As a result of his defeat of the French at the Challenge of Barletta, the people referred to ("renamed") him as Fieramosca (fiera = proud) a term which became associated with him as his surname. His family tree is shown on the right.
Between the early 15th century until the Council of Trent (1545-1563), Italians added surnames to record baptisms, marriages and deaths and to monitor marriages between blood relatives.[4][5] Most surnames were adopted from a person's trade, profession, place of birth or that of a famous person. Some decided to take on the name of their hero, as "Ferramosca" or "Fieramosca". These families grew in the provinces of Potenza, Lecce, Pescara and Veneto, with Fieramosca predominant in Sicily.
References
^"Il Castello". Corte di Fieramosca. Archived from the original on 3 August 2020. Retrieved 28 December 2021.