In the year 2007, I sent a letter to Italy looking for information about my grandfather.  I received many wonderful replies which greatly touched my heart.  One of these replies was from a gentlemen named Nicolo Garzotto who is living in the Vicenza area.  He sent me information about an ancestor,  Nicolo Garzotto that lived in the 1700's. 

During the early part of his life, Nicolo Garzotto, lived in Rovigno, Istria, (Croatia spells it as Rovinj).   Rovigno located on the Istria Peninsula, directly on the Adriatic Sea. It is situated across the bay from Venice.   The Istrian Peninsula was part of the part of the Venetian Republic during the period between the years of 1283 and 1797.  Given its location, control of the Istrian Peninsula was key to defend the Venetian Empire. 

                                                                         

The green area on the map indicates the Venetian Republic.  The dark spot indicates Venice.  Istria is indicated by green area southeast (to the lower right) of Venice.                            

The Garzotto family is listed in Rovigno's "Book of Genealogy" which spans the time between 1340 and 1945.   According to this book, the Garzotto family has been in Rovigno since at least 1541 and may have all left around the year of 1830.

In 1689, the Garzotto family built a home the old part of Rovigno.  It is now a boutique hotel known as Casa Garzotto.  Please see http:casa-garzotto.com.  Given the year of his birth, Nicolo Garzotto may have been born in this house.

It is interesting to note that another Garzotto is found in Istria at the same time as Nicolo.  Lorenzo Garzotto, a priest,  enrolled in the University of Padua on November 30,1746.  He received his doctorate on May 5, 1750.

What we do know is that Nicolo Garzotto was the Sopraintendente Generale of both the artillery and mainland of Istria.  He was the commander of the castle of S.Andrea del Lido di Venice, the head of the Fortress of Leganago.  This information can be confirmed on several websites, all of which refer to the history of Istria.  According to Istrian records, Nicolo Garzotto moved to Lusiana, VI, Italy  in the year of 1755.  

I have read hundreds of birth, marriage, and death records for the Lusiana.  The most interesting records were ones of the Napoleon era between 1806 and 1815.  While I have not yet found a death record for Nicolo, a man named Nicolo appears in 1808 as a witness for the death of a 54 year old woman named Francesca Scalabrin.  She is the widow of  Antonio Garzotto.  Nicolo is reporting the death and states his age as 83 years old. 

To see the record, please click on the following link:  Nicolo Garzotto

In all of the information that I have accumulated, Nicolo is the oldest Garzotto with the next oldest Garzotto being approximately 20 years younger.  While I know that he had at least one son, I assume that he had many children.  During the time that Nicolo lived, it was common to had as many as 10 children.  Based on this information, it is quite possible that all Vicenza Garzottos are related to Nicolo.