A record of documented arms, meaning and origin, researched for the Boccaccio family of Italy.
Reg. 6521 · Italian, A–C
Coat of Arms & Family Crest Details
Symbols on this shield
bearStrength, cunning and protection of kin
Colours
Gold (Or)Means: Generosity
Black (Sable)Means: Constancy
Historical info
Source
J. B. Rietstap, Armorial Général, Gouda: G. B. van Goor Zonen, 1884–87
Blazon (the actual original written record)
“D'or à une tête d'ours de sa.; à la bord. émanchée d'or sur azur.”
Italyc. 1775
Where the Boccaccio Arms Were Recorded
Venice
Map of Italy showing where the Boccaccio arms are recorded
The Boccaccio arms were recorded in Italy, c. 1775.
Arms such as these were typically recorded in Venice.
Venice ran on trade, and its great families were merchants before they were anything else. The city kept a formal list of its noble houses, and a name on that list carried arms as a matter of record.
This is where the arms were entered in the register. Families often moved to other parts of the country, so the same name can turn up in more than one region.
The body that granted and recorded arms in Italy in this period.
Alvise Giovanni Mocenigo
Sovereign of the period
Alvise Giovanni Mocenigo
1763–1778
Reigning in Italy when the Boccaccio arms are first recorded.
How Arms Worked in Italy
In the Italian states, coats of arms were often used by noble families to show their status and history. These symbols were passed down through the generations to all legitimate male descendants. Younger branches of a family usually kept the original design but sometimes added small changes to distinguish their specific line from the main branch.
Granting authority
Various local rulers and city governments controlled the use of coats of arms across the different Italian states.
How they got arms
Families often assumed their own arms or received them as official grants from local lords, popes, or city councils.
Where arms were recorded
Arms were recorded in local city archives or private family books rather than in one single national register.
The family's standing
Recorded among the armigerous families of Italy.
Origin & History of the Boccaccio Family in Italy
The family name Boccaccio originates from the Italian language and is derived from the word bocca, which translates to mouth. In medieval Italy, this name was often used as a nickname to describe a person with a prominent or large mouth. By the late eighteenth century, records confirm that members of the Boccaccio family were established residents of Venice. During this period, Venice was a major hub for trade and culture, and families living there were often involved in the city's complex merchant networks or administrative systems. While the name is most famously associated with the Renaissance writer Giovanni Boccaccio, the families living in Venice by 1775 were part of the ongoing social fabric of the Venetian Republic before its eventual fall to Napoleon. These individuals contributed to the local economy and urban life of the city during its final decades as an independent maritime power.
Related Branches & Arms
Root word
bocca
The Italian word for mouth or opening.
This name
BoccaccioA nickname for someone with a large or prominent mouth.
also spelled
Bocaccio
Boccacio
Bokacho
Documented Sources
J. B. Rietstap, Armorial Général, Gouda: G. B. van Goor Zonen, 1884–87
Branca, Vittore. Giovanni Boccaccio: Profilo biografico. 1977
De Felice, Emidio. Dizionario dei cognomi italiani. 1978
Archivio di Stato di Venezia, Anagrafe dei cittadini veneziani, 1775
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bearStrength, cunning and protection of kin
bearStrength, cunning and protection of kin
