Investita del titolo di marchese da Carlo III nel 1755. Francesco dottor di legge e procurator fiscale della regia gran Corte nel 1648; Antonio giudice del Concistoro nel 1686 e della Gran Corte Criminale 1701; un secondo Francesco parroco dell’ospedale reale di Madrid 1709, abate parlamentare in Sicilia di Santa Maria di Bordonaro 1713, e finalmente ciantro della real collegiata di s. Pietro di Palazzo (giusta il Mongitore); Giuseppe dal 1736 al 1749 Presid. del real Patrimonio e maestro razionale nel 1748, ed il primo marchese nella sua famiglia per investitura di re Carlo III 1755; Melchiorre Cav. di giustizia del S.M.O. Gerosolimitano; un altro Giuseppe Can. e Tesoriere della Chiesa Metropolitana di Palermo nel 1758. Estinta colla morte di quest’ultimo, ed i beni tutti ereditati dalla famiglia Ventura-Avellone. Motto della famiglia: Cesaris est aquila inde columnis redde columnata Ursinis ursam sola catena tua est. Altro ramo. Antica e nobile famiglia originaria di Asti. Erano gonfalonieri di Asti. Un Guglielmo Catena fu testimone alla confermazione che fecero nel 1198 i canonici di Asti di una donazione fatta al Vescovo Bonifacio. Quattro anni prima era stato ambasciatore al Marchese di Monferrato. Oberto fu sindaco della sua patria nel 1229. In quel tempo, trovandosi la città di Asti sotto il domicilio dell’Imperatore Federico II, Ermanno Catena fu fatto conte di Arezzo. . Riguardo a questo cognome abbiamo ritrovato ulteriori informazioni storiche in altri archivi. Purtroppo in lingua originale Inglese. : This Spanish Last Name of CATENA was a Catalan metonymic occupational name for a maker of chains, or perhaps for a gaoler. The name was extrapolated from the Old Spanish CADENA (chain) and rendered in medieval documents in the Latin form CATENA. The singular CADENA is rare as a Last Name in Castile, but frequent in Catalonia. The plural CADENAS occurs in both regions but is more frequent in the former. Many of the modern family names throughout Europe reflect the profession or occupation of their forbears in the Middle Ages and derive from the position held by their ancestors in the village, noble household or religious community in which they lived and worked. The addition of their profession to their birth name made it easier to identify individual tradesmen and craftsmen. As generations passed and families moved around, so the original identifying names developed into the corrupted but simpler versions that we recognise today. In the 8th century, Spain fell under the control of the Moors, and this influence, which lasted into the 12th century, has also left its mark on Hispanic last names. A few names are based directly on Arabic personal names. The majority of Spanish occupational and nickname last names, however, are based on ordinary Spanish derivatives. In Spain identifying patronymics are to be found as early as the mid-9th century, but these modified with each generation, and hereditary last names 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 last names are extrapolated 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. In the Middle Ages heraldry came into use as a practical matter. It originated in the devices used to distinguish the armoured warriors in tournament and war, and was also placed on seals as marks of identity. As far as records show, true heraldry started in the middle of the 12th century, and appeared almost simultaneously in several states of Western Europe….
Noble title: Conti – Marchesi – Nobili
Coat of arms: D’argento, a due croci patenti di rosso, poste in palo, ed accostate da due chiavi dello stesso, addossate, e con anelli trifogliat…