ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2038 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2038 ************************************ 5 May 2000 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether is an appropriate name for a late 15th or 16th century Venetian. Here is what we have found. was a common name in late-period Venice [1]. We haven't found any example of as a surname. We did find the modern Italian word "sculptor, engraver", but we also haven't found an example of that word used as a surname. It is probably a reasonable surname for your period: Similar occupational terms were used as surnames in late-period Venice and elsewhere in northern Italy, e.g. "tailor", "tailor", "innkeeper" [1, 2]. We do not know whether the spelling variation is correct, though. We hope this letter has been useful. Please write us again if any part of it has been unclear or if you have other questions. I was assisted in researching and writing this letter by Juliana de Luna, Talan Gwynek, and Maridonna Benvenuti. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 5 May 2000 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Arval Benicoeur and Talan Gwynek, "Fourteenth Century Venetian Personal Names" (WWW: J. Mittleman, 1999). http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/arval/venice14/ [2] Salvatori, Enrica, ed., "4300 Citizens of Pisa Swear to Maintain the Alliance with Siena, Pistoia and Poggibonsi" (WWW: Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University, accessed 28 Apr 2000).