Questa famiglia rifugiata a Torcello per le invasioni barbariche, si trasferì poi a Venezia, dove si segnalò per benemerenza verso la patria e nella serrata del Maggior Consiglio dl 1297, rimase fra le patrizie. Francesco fu elettore dei dogi Francesco Dandolo e Giovanni Grandenigo e nel 1194 fu provveditore generale in Dalmazia. Al principio del secolo XVI i Nani si divisero in due linee rappresentate dai due fratelli, Bernardo (1533-1589) e Sebastiano (1534-1604), senatore e capo del Consiglio dei X. Giacomo figlio di Bernardo (1588-1623) sostenne le principali magistrature e fu fregiato della Stola d’Oro. Antonio, nipote di Giacomo (1665-1742), nel 1684 servì quale volontario nella guerra contro gli infedeli e coprì gradi cospicui nella marina militare, nel 1702 fu provveditore generale in Morea e morì in patria. Bernardo (n. 1712) fu insigne raccoglitore di codici antichi ed iscrizioni e pubblicò un opuscolo su alcune monete russe. Iacopo, cavaliere della Stola d’Oro fu coltissimo e specialmente nell’antiquaria. Poco sopravvisse alla cultura della Repubblica di Venezia. Il fratello di lui Giovanna fu vescovo di Brescia. Antonio Maria Gasparo di Giacomo ebbe la conferma della nobiltà veneta con S. R. A. 22 novembre 1817 e la concessione del titolo di conte dell’I. A. con S. R. 8 ottobre 1819.. Riguardo a questo cognome abbiamo ritrovato ulteriori informazioni storiche in altri archivi. Purtroppo in lingua originale Inglese. : This Last Name NANI was primarily extrapolated from the Hebrew given name YOCJANAN (Jehovah has favoured me with a son), and the name was adopted into the Latin (via Greek) as JOHANNES. This name has enjoyed enormous popularity in Europe, being given in honour of St. John the Baptist, precurser of Christ and of St. John the Evangelist, author of the fourth gospel, as well as others of the nearly one thousand saints of the name. There are numerous variant spellings of the Last Name, and it is known to every state in the world in different forms. There have been many nobles of the name including twenty-one popes and two anti-popes XVI (997-8) and XXIII the former included in the papal numbering, which erroneously contained a fictitious John XV who was thought to have ruled for a few weeks immediately prior to the true John (985-96). John (Last Named Lackland) 1167-1216 was the king of England from 1199 youngest son of Henry II born in Oxford. He attempted to seize the crown during Richard I’s captivity in Austria, but was pardoned and nominated his successor by his brother on his deathbed. He was crowned at Westminster on 27th May 1199. He alienated barons by bad administration and heavy taxation and was forced to sign the Magna Carta at Runnymeade on 15th June 1215. It was also the name of two kings of France John I (1316) who lived only seven days, and John II (1319-64) taken prisoner at Poitiers by the Black Prince, returned to captivity in England when he could not raise ransom money agreed upon, and died in London. Don John (1545-78) was the natural son of emperor Charles V. He commanded the fleet of victory of Lepanto, over the Turkish fleet, and was governor-general of the Netherlands in 1576-8. John Sobieski (1624-96) was the King of Poland, National hero and elected as John III, in 1764 he recovered the greater part of the Ukraine from the Turks. The earliest Polish last names were patronymic. The personal names from which they were extrapolated were mainly Slavonic, but as the Middle Ages progressed, traditional Slavic given names, started to give way to saint’s names, mainly of Latin origin. Surnames extrapolated from Slavonic personal names are of early origin, and tend to be borne by aristocratic families….
Noble title: Conti – Nobili
Coat of arms: Di argento, carico dello specchio arrotondato, trinciato d’oro e di rosso, incorniciato del campo, fregiato di tre foglie di quercia, di verde, ordinate in pergol…