Coat of Arms & Family Crests Store
 ALFIERI Family Crest / ALFIERI Coat of ArmsThis Spanish and Italian surname of ALFIERA was originally a habitation name from a place in the province of Logrono, apparently so called from the Latin word FARUS meaning 'beacon'. Perhaps given to one who dwelt near such a place. Surnames derived from placenames are divided into two broad categories; topographic names and habitation names. Topographic names are derived from general descriptive references to someone who lived near a physical feature such as an oak tree, a hill stream or a church. Habitation names are derived from pre-existing names denoting towns, villages and farmsteads. Other classes of local names include those derived from the names of rivers, individual houses with signs on them, regions and whole countries. A notable member of this name was Count Vittorio ALFIERI (l749-l803) the Italian poet and dramatist, a precursor of the Risorgimento, born in Asti near Piedmont. Having inherited a vast fortune at the age of l4, he travelled throughout Europe and then turned his hand to writing, achieving great success with his first play, "Cleopatra" in l775. In Florence in l777 he met the Countess of Albany, the estranged wife of Prince Charles Edward Stewart; after separating from her husband she became his mistress. He wrote more than a score of tragedies, six comedies and a mixture of opera. His ashes and those of his mistress, are kept in the church of St. Croce in Florence. In Spain identifying patronymics are to be found as early as the mid-9th century, but these changed with each generation, and hereditary surnames seem to have come in slightly later in Spain than in England and France. As well as the names of the traditional major saints of the Christian Church, many of the most common Spanish surnames are derived from personal names of Germanic origin. For the most part these names are characteristically Hispanic. They derive from the language of the Visigoths, who controlled Spain between the mid-5th and early 8th centuries. The associated coat of arms is recorded in Rietstaps Armoral General. |
