I did some in-depth research into
my family history and it turns out I
have royal and/or noble blood on
both sides of my family. My
father's side ("Palazzolo" - Italian
for "palace-builder") is Sicilian and
can be traced back to the Norman
"De Hauteville" dynasty of Sicily,
who were actually some of the
most enlightened rulers in
Medieval European history, having
allowed religious tolerance and
cosmopolitan mixture of cultures
to allow for a golden age of art,
music, architecture, literature,
culture, philosophy, science, and
gastronomy in Sicily. They also
built a LOT of palaces, castles,
cathedrals, fortresses, and public
works in their domains.
Meanwhile, my mother's Irish side
("Martin", nee "Crian" or "Craigana")
were of landed Irish-Gaelic nobility
in the western region of Ireland
known as Connacht who served as
the Royal Stewards of the Kings Of
Connacht back in the day - we still
have relatives in County
Roscommon living in a manorial
estate over there to this day, being
direct descendants of the Clan
O'Flanagan that we both hail from
and once served for Connacht.
This is all pretty cool stuff, right? I
never knew about any of this until
I sat down to do research about
my family history out of sheer
boredom a few years ago - funny,
how the tables turn, right?
