This Italian surname is one of a group including Baccelli, Baggiani, Bazzanelli, Badalone, Gagliuffi and Tagheroni, who originate from some long lost, and probably medieval, misdeed. The Italian 'Dictionary of Surnames' is very coy and simply refers to their origin as being (quote) ' some foolish action.' As to what actions these were, and why they were regarded as foolish, and yet sufficiently noteworthy to provide a hereditary surname, it is now impossible to say. As examples of meanings Tardone means 'lethargic fellow,' whilst Perrupato means 'fell over a cliff' (and presumably survived to tell the tale), from which it can be shown that Italian surnames do not usually lack interest! Furthermore and even today Italian words, and consequently many surnames, may be spelt the same, but often mean different things in different parts of the country. This is partly because Italy did not become a united nation until 1860, some Italians say that it still isnt, and the language itself has never become truly national. In addition the recording of surnames through birth, deaths and marriage registers, which has been an accepted practice in many parts of Europe for over five hundred years, has been a real hit and and mainly miss, affair in Italy, with centralised record only becoming available after about 1890. In this cased we have the slightly earlier recording of Sabatino Baggiani who married Teresa di Loreto at Bisenti, Teramo, on August 5th 1847.

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