First news is in the sale in the insert of 1070, preserved in archive of Cava.
We do not know the year of this donation. Ventimiglia says of a documentexisting in the aforementioned Archive (1113) where it is said of «Priniano»,perhaps from pear trees which its territory abounds, but from predial Roman. The village lies between those returned in 1276 toSanseverino. In Angevin Registers there is news of «comestabulus Venafri, dominus castri Priniali» who with other landownersmust deliver to the Court directed a cow and a terida forship that was preparing against Constantinople.
Before, however, it seems that was baron of the place (1208) John Alfonso Comodio of Salerno, according to Mazza. Ventimiglia, however,says that at Salerno that family did not exist, such as, inan error occurs, that of the Samudio. However, a family Samudio wasactually in the territory, as can be seen from the states of souls.It seems that in the early days of the advent of the Aragonese throne inNaples, Prignano had been granted to a component (Antonello) ofPrignano Family that Mazziotti opines that it was that of Pope Urban VI. But Pope Urban (Bartolomeo Prignano) was born in Naples(About 1318) and was the first rector «Consider Neapolitani » and vicargeneral of the diocese. He was then appointed Archbishop of Acerenza (1363) and Bari (1372). He governed the Vatican stationery and was the last elected popedespite not being a Cardinal (1379). Antonello Prignano was intimate of Sanseverino family.
By Giovannello of Sanseverino, Count of Capaccio, in fact, he bought arustic feud (plague) in the territory of Agropoli. Prignano was later granted by Sanseverino, principles of Salerno, to eponymous family, with the feud Vatolla that another Antonello Prignano and his wife Giovannella D’Afflitto sold in an unspecified year of '500, to Antonio Griso. Gaspare Griso succeeded to his father Antonello, whosegrandson, Fabio di Prignano, alienated (1458) Prignano and hamlets to Prospero Lanara. Prignano family then moved to Salerno, where Giancarlo Prignano was ascribed (April 15, 1549) in the seat of Portarotese. Mazziotti writes that in the '600 descendants moved to Lucera.Lanara then sold Prignano, with the hamlets of Melito and Puglisi(1550) to John Alfonso Samudio (or Salmudio), which thenalienated it in favor (1556) of John Ayerbo, lord of Agropoli.
In 1564 Ayerbo sold Prignano, with agreement to the famous Latin poet Bernardino Rota, reserving, asvassals, some families of Melito. Ayerbo then gave the rightof redemption (1568) to Lorenzo Bonito and this one to his brother Maxentiuswho regained Prignano and hamlets. His son Thomas sold the estate toCornelia de Pasca, from which it passed by surrender (1610) to his nephewFrancesco Matarazzo. A grandson of him, pending a charged of murder (he was in jail vicarious), gave (d. 9600) the feud, also to satisfy his creditors, to Pompey Landulfo.The descendant Ferrante and his son Pompeo then sold (1624) thethree villages d. 15,000. In 1649 estate was alienated, agreementsredemption, in favor of Pietro Brandolini, whose heir sold the estate to Thomas Cardone (1701), which had (19 March 1701) the titleof Marquis. By Peter Cardone (26 August 1767), the estate passed toJoseph (February 13, 1797), from which to Gaspare by succession of the father (15 March 1803).
In the latter, for the near-death of some children,succeeded by Joseph, who, by ministerial decree (1895) obtainedrecognition of the title of Marquis of Melito and the predicate of Prignano, with whom is ascribed to the Book of Italian nobility and the list of noble and titled of the Neapolitan provinces.Mandelli, in his ms. (F 101) reminds the help of Prignano toTorchiara against the Turks in the raid of 1563. Antonini, in Prignano report, adds further, «the plan was already called Li Puglisi, today destroyed at all, »pointing out the poet Bernardino Rota, according to the bell tower, was overlord of Puglisi, Prignano and Melito.
Giustiniani writes that the population of the the village was composed, in his time, by 900 people, all dedicated toagriculture and pastoralism. In the census of 1489 the «casalisPrignani » had 60 families with 334 inhabitants, in 1508 with 45 and225 inhabitants.
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