Guerri

Guerri

Tuscany–Siena, 9th–19th c.

Porciano, Siena, Venice

• Counts of Porciano (origin)
• Patricians of Siena

The Guerri descend from the Conti Guidi of Porciano, an ancient Tuscan feudal house. Having lost their possessions in 1336 to the Republic of Florence, Pietro, a descendant of Tegrimo VI, moved to Siena where he took the surname Guerri and obtained admission to that patriciate. A collateral branch, which moved to Venice, was inscribed in the Golden Book of the Serenissima. From the direct line, through the 1862 marriage of Pietro Giovanni Guerri and Dejanira dall’Oro, the surname Guerri dall’Oro was born.

« Dalla guerra alla pace »From war to peace

From the Conti Guidi to Siena

The Guerri descend from the Conti Guidi, one of the major feudal houses of medieval Tuscany: Counts of Modigliana from 925 with Tegrimo I († c. 930) and, through Tegrimo VI (c. 1175 – c. 1234), Counts of Porciano and Counts Palatine.

Among the descendants of Tegrimo VI, Guido “Zeffiro”, Count of Val d’Ambra († c. 1348), and his son Giovanni († 1363) lose all their possessions in 1336 to the Republic of Florence. Giovanni’s son, Pietro, then moves to Siena: there he loses his noble rank and must take a surname to be counted among the citizens of Siena and to hold public office. In the records he appears under various spellings — Guerra, Guerrae, de Guerris, Guerri — whence the definitive patronymic Guerri.

The patriciate of Siena

In Siena the Guerri obtained admission to the city’s patriciate through the high public offices held by several of their members (thus Nanni di Pietro di Giovanni Guerri, 1445, State Archives of Siena). The family, of ancient Tuscan tradition, counted among its members notaries, magistrates and men-at-arms, recorded in the archives of the Republic of Siena and later in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. Six gold stars were added to the arms in the 16th century as a noble emblem.

Motto: “Dalla guerra alla pace”.

The Venetian branch

A collateral branch of the Guerri, which moved to Venice, obtained the title of Count and inscription in the Golden Book of the titled families of the Serenissima. This is a documented cousin line, distinct from the family’s direct line, to which the Venetian Patriciate entry is devoted.

The arms

The arms of the Guerri preserve the white-and-green bichromy of the Conti Guidi, with a Ghibelline partition (vert, a bend argent), accompanied by six gold stars added in the 16th century. They appear in the first and fourth quarters of the quartered arms of the Guerri dall’Oro house, beside those of the dall’Oro.

From the Sienese line to the Guerri dall’Oro

The direct line documented in Siena continues for several generations down to Pietro Giovanni Guerri (b. 1819 – d. 1880), an officer at the Grand-Ducal Court of Tuscany, who in 1862 married Dejanira dall’Oro (b. 1835 – d. 1900), the last of her House, adding his wife’s surname to his own. Thus arose the compound surname Guerri dall’Oro, which unites the Tuscan tradition of the Guerri with the Venetian one of the dall’Oro and continues today in the Princes of Tricase.