A Short History of Zoppola
including the emigration of the Quattrins and the Petrises
Our Quattrin and Petris ancestors all come from the small farming town of Zoppola, Friuli, about six and a half miles due east of Pordenone and 56 miles northwest of Trieste. The modern population is about 8400. Other Italian roots are mostly in the region around Zoppola, though the Petrises came from the Carnic Alps and the Quattrins came from Austria originally.
Historical research, including the manuscript studies by Count Camillo Panciera di Zoppola (1893-1896), confirms that a Roman road called the Via Postuma passed through or very close to the Zoppola area, crossing the Tagliamento river near \ Quadruvium (modern-day Codroipo). Built in 148 BC by the consul Spurius Postumius Albinus Magnus, this consular road was designed to connect the Tyrrhenian port of Genoa in northwestern Italy to the Adriatic port of Aquileia in the northeast, traversing Italy's Po Valley through major cities like Verona, Vicenza, Mantua, Cremona, and Piacenza, as well as connecting to Treviso and Peschiera del Garda. The route linked various Roman settlements in the region, including Azzano Decimo, Fiume Veneto, and Casarsa. Today, parts of the ancient route can still be traced, and it is a popular path for hiking and cycling enthusiasts.
Historical research, including the manuscript studies by Count Camillo Panciera di Zoppola (1893-1896), confirms that a Roman road called the Via Postuma passed through or very close to the Zoppola area, crossing the Tagliamento river near \ Quadruvium (modern-day Codroipo). Built in 148 BC by the consul Spurius Postumius Albinus Magnus, this consular road was designed to connect the Tyrrhenian port of Genoa in northwestern Italy to the Adriatic port of Aquileia in the northeast, traversing Italy's Po Valley through major cities like Verona, Vicenza, Mantua, Cremona, and Piacenza, as well as connecting to Treviso and Peschiera del Garda. The route linked various Roman settlements in the region, including Azzano Decimo, Fiume Veneto, and Casarsa. Today, parts of the ancient route can still be traced, and it is a popular path for hiking and cycling enthusiasts.
In the shadow of the Carnic Alps, Zoppola (from the Celtic ‘zaupo,’ meaning dugout or drinking water) had been occupied from prehistoric times. In 40 bce., the Romans established an outpost there (which they named Julia Concordia) to defend against Gaulic incursions. After the fall of Rome in 476 ce., the region became the Duchy of Friuli, in the Kingdom of Lombardy. In 774, it was conquered by Charlemagne and incorporated as a march of the Carolingian Empire. When King Otto I of Germany invaded Italy in 952, he added the Friulian territory to the March of Verona, ruled by the Dukes of Bavaria. From 976 to 1077, Friuli was ruled by the Dukes of Carinthia.
During the Investiture Controversy of 1077, King Henry IV of Germany deposed the Veronese margrave Duke Berthold II of Carinthia, as he had sided with anti-king Rudolf of Rheinfelden. On April 3, 1077, Henry, on his way back from the Walk to Canossa, vested Patriarch Sieghard of Beilstein with immediate comital rights in the Friulian lands of Verona, raising him to the status of a Prince-Bishop. Sieghard in turn safely conducted the king across the Alps. Back in Germany, King Henry assigned the suzerainty over the marches of Carniola and Istria to the patriarchs as ecclesiastical Princes of the Holy Roman Empire. The act is traditionally regarded as the birth of the ecclesiastical state of Aquileia, of which Friuli became a part.
The castle was likely built in the early 11th century as a defensive structure against Hungarian invasions. The castle was once surrounded by a triple ring of walls with moats. The first historical reference to Castle Zoppola was made in 1103 c.e. when it was turned over to the Zoppola family by King Henry. It was around this time or earlier that the Quattrins first came to Zoppola. The origin of the Quattrin family name is that it comes from smallest Papal coin which was the quattrino, a derivative of the Roman quadrans. Supposedly, the first Quattrin came with the garrison that was sent to Zoppola by the Holy Roman Emperor to build and staff the new castle. The new lord’s tailor was a man named Kreutzer or Kreuzer (KROYT-ser), whose name came from the smallest German coin of the time. The tailor became Quattrin. It is unknown how true this family story is, since the kreuzer does not seem to date that far back. The earliest reference to the Quattrin name was in a document from 1250 c.e.
During the Investiture Controversy of 1077, King Henry IV of Germany deposed the Veronese margrave Duke Berthold II of Carinthia, as he had sided with anti-king Rudolf of Rheinfelden. On April 3, 1077, Henry, on his way back from the Walk to Canossa, vested Patriarch Sieghard of Beilstein with immediate comital rights in the Friulian lands of Verona, raising him to the status of a Prince-Bishop. Sieghard in turn safely conducted the king across the Alps. Back in Germany, King Henry assigned the suzerainty over the marches of Carniola and Istria to the patriarchs as ecclesiastical Princes of the Holy Roman Empire. The act is traditionally regarded as the birth of the ecclesiastical state of Aquileia, of which Friuli became a part.
The castle was likely built in the early 11th century as a defensive structure against Hungarian invasions. The castle was once surrounded by a triple ring of walls with moats. The first historical reference to Castle Zoppola was made in 1103 c.e. when it was turned over to the Zoppola family by King Henry. It was around this time or earlier that the Quattrins first came to Zoppola. The origin of the Quattrin family name is that it comes from smallest Papal coin which was the quattrino, a derivative of the Roman quadrans. Supposedly, the first Quattrin came with the garrison that was sent to Zoppola by the Holy Roman Emperor to build and staff the new castle. The new lord’s tailor was a man named Kreutzer or Kreuzer (KROYT-ser), whose name came from the smallest German coin of the time. The tailor became Quattrin. It is unknown how true this family story is, since the kreuzer does not seem to date that far back. The earliest reference to the Quattrin name was in a document from 1250 c.e.
By 1405, it came to be owned by the patriarch of Aquileia, Antonio Panciera, who later became Cardinal. It still belongs to the family. The castle was once surrounded by a triple ring of walls with moats. The main tower was partially rebuilt in 1900, but was broken again in the 1976 Friuli earthquake. The castle features notable artwork, including frescoes by Pomponio Amalteo in the interior courtyard, and attributed works by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Pietro Longhi, and Giovanni da Udine. The grounds include a park, reportedly modeled after a Prussian court garden, with various trees and a romantic-style bridge.
In 1411, internal conflict turned into a war which was to mark the end of the Patriarchate. Cividale received support from most of the Friulian communes, the Carraresi of Padua, King Sigismund of Germany, and the King of Hungary, while Udine was backed by the Venetians. In the December of that year, an Imperial army captured Udine. On July 23, 1419, the Venetians conquered Cividale and prepared to do the same with Udine. By the next year, the Republic of Venice had acquired Friuli, but it continued to be ruled for some time under its own laws and customs. In 1455, the Friulian state was formally incorporated in the Venetian Republic with the name of Patria del Friuli, ruled by a General Proveditor, or a Luogotenente, living in Udine. In 1523, Emperor Charles V ultimately renounced any Imperial feudal rights to the former Aquileia territory.
Things remained relatively stable until 1797 and the Napoleonic Wars. Napoleon swept through northern Italy, “freeing” the peasants and establishing a new order based on the republican ideals of the French Revolution. Despite the French Republic becoming the Napoleonic Empire, local government and economic reforms took hold. Zoppola now had a mayor and a council of elders. Individuals could own land and owed taxes. These changes stayed after Napoleon was gone in 1814 and Friuli returned to Austrian control. The constant taxes and billeting of soldiers devastated the region, as it did much of Northern Italy. Ultimately, the situation led to the Wars of Italian Independence. Friuli was finally relinquished to Italy in 1860, and the Veneto followed in 1866.
Sometime within the two decades after the Napoleonic Wars, the Petris family—Giacomo and Lucia Petris and their two sons Giovanni Battista and Giorgio—moved to Zoppola. The Petris family was originally from Sauris and Ampezzo in the Carnic Alps. The earliest record of a direct ancestor is Nicolo Petris of Ampezzo in 1644. The family nickname was “Chiassan,” meaning they lived in the hamlet of Chiassan (key-A-son) di Celambris, north of Ampezzo. Chiassan does not exist anymore, and has been referred to as one of the “ghost villages of Carnia.” There is a probable connection to a record from 1592 in Sauris about the Petris family, but the early Sauris records were destroyed in a fire at the priest’s house in 1758, so the direct connection is lost. The surname is a patronymic, probably related to St. Peter (Petrus).
In 1411, internal conflict turned into a war which was to mark the end of the Patriarchate. Cividale received support from most of the Friulian communes, the Carraresi of Padua, King Sigismund of Germany, and the King of Hungary, while Udine was backed by the Venetians. In the December of that year, an Imperial army captured Udine. On July 23, 1419, the Venetians conquered Cividale and prepared to do the same with Udine. By the next year, the Republic of Venice had acquired Friuli, but it continued to be ruled for some time under its own laws and customs. In 1455, the Friulian state was formally incorporated in the Venetian Republic with the name of Patria del Friuli, ruled by a General Proveditor, or a Luogotenente, living in Udine. In 1523, Emperor Charles V ultimately renounced any Imperial feudal rights to the former Aquileia territory.
Things remained relatively stable until 1797 and the Napoleonic Wars. Napoleon swept through northern Italy, “freeing” the peasants and establishing a new order based on the republican ideals of the French Revolution. Despite the French Republic becoming the Napoleonic Empire, local government and economic reforms took hold. Zoppola now had a mayor and a council of elders. Individuals could own land and owed taxes. These changes stayed after Napoleon was gone in 1814 and Friuli returned to Austrian control. The constant taxes and billeting of soldiers devastated the region, as it did much of Northern Italy. Ultimately, the situation led to the Wars of Italian Independence. Friuli was finally relinquished to Italy in 1860, and the Veneto followed in 1866.
Sometime within the two decades after the Napoleonic Wars, the Petris family—Giacomo and Lucia Petris and their two sons Giovanni Battista and Giorgio—moved to Zoppola. The Petris family was originally from Sauris and Ampezzo in the Carnic Alps. The earliest record of a direct ancestor is Nicolo Petris of Ampezzo in 1644. The family nickname was “Chiassan,” meaning they lived in the hamlet of Chiassan (key-A-son) di Celambris, north of Ampezzo. Chiassan does not exist anymore, and has been referred to as one of the “ghost villages of Carnia.” There is a probable connection to a record from 1592 in Sauris about the Petris family, but the early Sauris records were destroyed in a fire at the priest’s house in 1758, so the direct connection is lost. The surname is a patronymic, probably related to St. Peter (Petrus).
The map below shows Friuli in 1573 ce. Zoppola can be seen slightly west-south-west of center, conspicuously marked by its Castle. Ampezzo, near where the Petris family lived before moving to Zoppola, can be seen in the top left corner, just beyond the Friuli border in Carniole. Enemonzo, where the De Paoli were from, is due east of Ampezzo (but not named on this map).
