A History of the Surname PENE
The following information is from the writings of Renato Barinotto who resides in Bosconero and who's ancestors include the PENE's. Renato did some extensive research which cronicles the dominant role of the PENE family in the formation of the original town of Bosconero.
Renato Barinotto is, as well as a writer, an accomplished painter. Among his portraits and still life paintings, he has also painted the interior murals in the Chiesa della Modonna delle Grazia church in Bosconero.
Painted for me, by Renato, depicting " Italian immigrants in Bosconero leaving for America "
Between 1500 and 1600, during one of the many Spanish invasions of Piemonte, and there were many during a period of two hundred years, we find that three brothers of Spanish nobility were in the service of the Lord of Rivarolo.
At that time noble families followed the Salica law of heredity according to which the first born son would inherit the title and all the property of the deceased father while the other siblings would inherit nothing. Consequently these sons had to fend for themelves which often meant a military or religious career. The three young men which I mentioned before, chose to join one of many Spanish armies of that time and probably came to Italy as a result of an invasion. How they came to be in the service of the Lord of Rivarolo is a mystery which can only be resolved by a lost manuscript. We do know that they rendered notable service to the Count or Marchese whom we can surmise was either eliminating a dangerous enemy or suppressing rebellions that were common during those turbulent and violent times.
It is certain however, that they served well because the Count and Marchese, who controlled all the lands of Rivarolo which included the area of present day Bosconero, gave the three brothers the land around the Gerulfa Forest which corresponds to present day Bosconero. With this land grant the lords rid themselves of a heavily forested area that did not yield any crops and was only used as a refuge for bandits.
The family name of those three brothers was De Pennes, I believe that I found their family crest in an old ancestral home. from that moment on, we enter into the reign of supposition even though it is very near the truth.
The ancient Inhabitants of Bosconero who resided in the region known as Lotti were probably independent farmers of the lands near the river, but were not from the Gerulfa forest that was ruled by the De Pennes. There was undoubtably communication and trade between them. The De Pennes were in a position to offer armed protection to the farmers of the Lotti area and the farmers were willing and capable of clearing the dense forest. This seems to support the fact that the descendants of the De Pennes were the owners of most of the area of sent day Bosconero at the beginning of the 1800s.
This would also explain the dependence of Bosconero on Rivarolo for centuries until 1694 in which the Comune of Bosconero separated and became autonomous and independent Bosconero still remained dependent to a certain extent on Rivarolo especially as regarded the choice of Pastor for the parish. And even now, the Bosconeresi gravitate more to Rivarolo than to other nearby towns such as Feletto or San Benigno.
Local pronunciation modified the name De Pennes. First the De was dropped and then one "n" was ped because Canavese dialect at that time tended to suppress the double consonants. The "s" became less and less ounced and was finally dropped from the written form of the name, resulting in the name PENE. The current name Pene is found only in Bosconero or se whose ancestors came from Bosconero.
The first time that I found this name was in a book of contracts from 1700 kept by my ancestor who was a notary. It is known that about 1630 a Count of Bosconero was present in the Court of Sabauda di Torino. Although his name is unknown he was probably a descendant of the De Pennes. The coat of arms that I found at the grandparent's home probably came from him. It has the characteristics of a coat of arms from the 1500 - 1600s.
This Count of Bosconero is cited by Gramegna, a historic novelist who writes in scrupulas detail including names and dates about Piemonte in his book "Corte Gioconds" in regards to a strange episode that caused a lot of gossip in that court. He tells the story of how the wife of this Count became affectionate with a deer and became pregnant. She gave birth to a son who had a buckskin forehead. We know that deer lived in the forests that surrounded this at that time.
At the beginning of the 1800s a certain Pene, (possibly Dotoré Giovanni Battista PENE) was a supplier to Napoleon's army which indicates a substantial patrimony at his disposal. I found a Napoleonic sword in the attic of one of my tive's home and since it was not sharpened it makes me think that it was a sample that was not used in battle.
At his death, he left seven sons and two daughters. Each son inherited a house in the country and a farm with 100 cultivated "giomate" (3854 square ers per giomata) beyond the woods. Each daughter was given a dowry of 5,000 lire (several million at today's rate). He was very wealthy and for all ctical purposes was the PADRONE or main landowner and resident of the town. Subsequently the Pene's grew.
One of the Pene's, Vubertino, was honored by King Carlo Alberto in 1837. The Pene's often intermarried with the Vayra family and with them formed what could be called the elite of the town. History answers a lot of questions including why Bosconero was dependent on Rivarolo and why the Pene's are only found in Bosconero or are from Bosconero. This may be of interest to the Pene's of Los Angeles, California, USA.