THE ROVASIOS ORIGIN LOCALITY: HISTORY OF THE ROVASIO AND THE COUNTRY.
by Sergio Rovasio

First of all let me start saying that the search I have carried out has allowed me to learn many things. Looking for the information about the Rovasio family name existed in the past, I found essential to begin the investigation from my familiar nucleus, analyzing all the sources regarding the births (and the deaths) of every male member. The search is possible because people with the last name Rovasio are just a few. Not more than ten unit are in Italy and, abroad, coming from Italy, a few dozens in Argentine plus two familiar units in the United States: in California and the Connecticut.
An other unit could exists in New York. In base of the information collected till now, the locality of origin of the Rovasio is Bardassano in Province of Turin, in Piemonte, the origin region of my family. An other locality of origin could be Asti since at least two familiar nuclei of Rovasio think to be this the place of origin of their grandfathers. This unit and the one from Sassari sustain that the surname come from 'Roasio'. Other important traces are located in Turin and some surrounding town
Historical genealogy documentation has been collected mainly from Bardassano, and just a little from Asti. The Rovasio lived to Bardassano were numerous in the several generations followed in the centuries. The investigations has its start from acquired information from all my relatives who live in the locality, from the consultation of the registries of baptism of the parish of Bardassano, also from information collected directly in the locality, etc., etc.
The main important discover is the documented presence of the Rovasio in this country at least from 1500. This is confirmed from the two main trends of the search: the first one is that in the parish of Saint Michele of Bardassano all the registries of baptism from the 1567 are conserved today; unfortunately the registry from 1840 to 1880 is missing; the second one according from the testimonies collected between the Rovasio relatives who live in Gassino Turinese (a town that includes the fraction of Bardassano), which they have direct testimony to have received from Mussolini two rewards having been, continuously, for about four centuries, at the dependencies of the Countess of the Bardassano Castle.

FARMSTEAD "PARERI 'D FUND'" This is the farmstead where two familiar nuclei of Rovasio have lived from the beginning of the 1800 until 1950.

Rovasio's farm (Pareri 'd Fund) at Bardassano

THE PARISH OF BARDASSANO'S DOCUMENTS
In 1990 I tried to gain information from personal data historical archive of the Town Hall of GassinoTurinese, about the Rovasio been born in Bardassano. The answer was negative. I then decided to try with the parish priest of the Church of Bardassano. In 1995, thanks to the availability of the caretakers of the catholic Church of Bardassano, I have had full access to the historical archive of the baptism registries that, from nowadays, goes back to the 1576, year in which the Catholic Church, in the Council of Trento, decided to file all the names of the people who has been baptized . They give me the permission to photocopy all the registries that contained the Rovasio name. The documentation collected results to be primary to the aims of the search. As I pointed out earlier, the missing registry of the 1800, prevents to verify relations with Rovasios been born in the same period, of other familiar unit and also of those migrated in other countries. The baptism registry was written in Latin and, in the previous period 1800, the name was written for the males in Roasio, Rovasium and for the females Roasia, Rovasia.
The following image is the copy of the more ancient baptism registry dated 1567-1587 where, inside it appears, perhaps for the first time in a document, the 'Rovaso' name: 'maria di rovasio' 1585 a.C.!!

Historical note It is important to know that the Roman Catholic church decide in the main Trento Council meeting, in 1563, to start to registry all baptisms. Before this activity was never done. In the medieval the civil laws was conforme with the Catholic Church wishes, so it is evident that everyone was convince to practice baptism. Another historical information, very important to highlight, is that in the medieval period only the upper level society members (church society , noble families, landowners) knew the alphabet, and the percentage of the analphabetism was very close to 100%. We can assume from this that only the people part of this upper society level, were allowed, and responsible, to keep all these documents (including books, general cultural information texts, council birth certificates).

Some transcribed the names in clear way, many are incomprehensible in the reading. This important historical source demonstrates that Rovasio from Bardassano are existed in this town at least from the 1500. Before me someone else had already made this important discovery

THE ROVASIO OF BARDASSANO REWARDED FROM MUSSOLINI.

An other trend of the search has been the interviews to all the knowing relatives and parents live from the parts of Bardassano and, in particular in GassinoTurinese. I discovered that in 1929 and/or in 1932 Mussolini in person gave two awards to two Rovasio families in Gassino. It happened that a fascist officer, called Bo from the town of Chivasso (town situated between Torino and Gassino Turinese), discovered that the nucleus of the Rovasio families, with all the local ramifications at the time, worked,for at least 4 centuries consecutive,at the dependencies of the Bardassano Counts. They use to be country workers. This fascist officer documented with precision, to the aims of the awarding of the two prizes, the familiar union of the Rovasio and their allocation in the place. The fascists valued to the maximum the country workers production because at that time this was the main resource of Italy. The produced documentation, and quite surely delivered to the 'Fondazione Nazionale Fedeli della Terra' and/or to the 'Confederazione Fascista Dei Lavoratori Dell' Agricoltura', it could exist somewhere. The investigation in the Central Archive of the State in Rome did not give any result. The first prize, consisting in a gold medal and thousand Liras , reproduced here in the picture, was delivered in Rome, between 1929 and 1932, to Michele Rovasio (its grandfather was the brother of my great-grandfather) and it is conserved today by Giovanni Rovasio, our cousins living in GassinoTurinese. The other price, delivered to Carlo Rovasio, Michele's cousins, (the grandfather of Carl was the brother of the grandfather of Michele), consisted in a plate with written on ' Fedele alla terra' ('Faithful to the Earth'). This award is now completely missing

BARDASSANO - FRACTION OF GASSINO TURINESE

Bardassano is a small village situated on a lovely hill , 452 meters height on the sea level, dipped in the green, with less than 80 family units correspondents to approximately 300 people. A medieval castle dominates on the country . From 1600 to 1928 it has been an independent Council and now is one of the fraction of Gassino Turinese. In 1954 the request to return independent was rejected . The first official document that defines the name of this town is from the period 1210-1220 originally called 'Bardacanus seu Bardazanus', someone said that the original meaning come from the word 'Baudazari' that means 'suffering'. From some historical notes is possible to identify in a historic locality of the town a place called 'bric of justice' where they used to keep all political prisoners and the killed. Until 1600 the place was called in Latin 'Bardazani', and subsequently it was transformed in the Italian version 'BARDASSANO. THE BARDASSANO CASTLE'. The medieval Castle of Bardassano, today property of the Count Giriodi Panissera, is dated 1200.
For long time it was transformed in prison from the Chieri Council after demanding the ownership after arguments between aristocratic families. Therefore it comes described in the 1700 property of the Castle in the course of the centuries (drawn from a document of the volume of Francisco Guasco, Marquis of Bisio): Piossasco paper from the Archive of the Bardassano Castle , the following : The Bardassano Castle , after been property of the Tondonito family, then property of the Chieri Council, included in the private property of some aristocratic families, and then given under investment on January 1489 to Antonio of Saumont or Submont, favorite of duke Carl I, then , for a series of female successions, through the family of Pesmes, Montemaggiore and Piossasco, reached the Panissera family and, from these, the family of Giriodi Countess family for the wedding of Giuseppina Panissera of Veglio with count Augusto Giriodi.

SHORT HISTORY OF BARDASSANO

Beyond to the historical trials and tribulations of the Castle, Bardassano has had tormented moments of misery and poverty in its history. The people living there often complained raids not only of criminal but of soldiers and this period are allocated in these lands for long periods. From the taxes and impositions of the noble premises, to the disseminated misery, as a result of long natural calamities, the poverty often dominate between the population. The country has lived long periods of emigration in more fortunate places. It is worth mention some important facts of the history of Bardassano between the 1600 and l800: - from the 1500 to the 1600 there was in Bardassano the cemetery of people affected of tuberculosis from all the province and Turin; - 1630: cases of plague are recorded in the country; - 1642: revolt of all people living in the region against all the cats holding the diseases; 1644: ban against the Gipsy that invaded and destroyed the farmsteads of the poor country workers ; 1675: the Bardassano population is 234 with 82 families and 22 cows; 1753 in an official document of the state of the Council two people, respective with the Roasio and Rovasio last name , are choose as Council Counselor in order to carry out works with the town hall ; 1773: the hail from years destroys the fields and bring misery between the country workers; 1818: between the contributors they turn out to exist 163 owners of assets; 1826: it turn out to be 56 defaulting people with the state treasury; 1858: it turn out to be 668 members in the population

THE RELIGIOUS LIFE IN BARDASSANO

The religious life dominant and much influential in the history of Bardassano, is concentrated on two great traditions:
The protector of the town Saint Michele Arcangelo, which the parish church is entitled. At the 'Longobardi' period, living in these lands for many years. They venerated this saint because he was considered the most combatant. Also the parish of Bardassano has lived its historical moments that were alternated to tensions with the Bishop of Turin, for the decision to move the parish within the Castle, at glorious moments, cause the construction of the imposing new parish church to the end of 1700.
The other tradition regards the 'Confraternita dei disciplinati di San Grato detti della Misericordia'. It was a true and own religious congregation born and developed around 1600 in order to assist political prisoners and the condemned to death in the Castle. The condemned who for mistake were not killed from the executioner acquired the right to live in the Confraternita.