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The De Angelis palace was built in 1873, as indicated by the date carved on the keystone of the stone portal of the entrance gate, on an existing house consisting of three rooms with three basements and another basement for use as a straw loft.
The progenitor of this family, who settled in Roccella at the end of the 1700s, was master Antonino De Angelis, from Serra, who married Anna Maria Cartolano, daughter of master Domenico, also from Serra. The marriage took place on December 15, 1784.
We are in the century where the population of Roccella, experiencing demographic growth, was forced to abandon the ancient city, as there were no housing opportunities on the cliff, which led them to move to the Marina and build a home there. At that time, Roccella offered significant job opportunities as artisans were needed for the construction of houses in various neighborhoods of Roccella.
If we consult the parish registers of those decades, we find indeed many masters in the building sector who, having moved to Roccella for work, married Roccella girls and settled permanently. The category of artisans occupied a prominent place in the social and economic fabric of the city compared to the vast majority of the population, which consisted of agricultural workers and sailors who did not own a piece of land for their family’s livelihood. These families achieved a good economic level, allowing their children to pursue university studies outside the region or enter the clergy.
Taking the example of Antonino De Angelis’s family, out of six children, we find three males: Raffaele Giuseppe, a dyer; Vincenzo De Angelis, a doctor; Domenico Tommaso, a haberdasher “pizzillaro”; the three women married artisans. The economic and social growth acquired over time by these artisan families allowed them to enlarge their homes, turning them into comfortable palaces, and in our case, even to set up an oil mill in their warehouses. Furthermore, this economic development allowed them to interact with other wealthy families through signs of distinction in the social and civil fabric of the community.
On August 18, 1838, the spouses master Raffaele De Angelis and his wife Teresa Alì requested from the episcopal authorities (with a notarized deed) to found a “temporary Chaplaincy,” dedicated to St. Raphael the Archangel, in favor of their son “reader” Vincenzo De Angelis (born on September 17, 1821), with the financial support of their estate in the Lacchi district and their house in Petto Dell’Oro, for an annual income of 54.57 ducats, to celebrate 2 masses per month at the altar of St. Raphael the Archangel, in the nearby Church of the Borgo.
It should be noted that the houses, on the mountain side of Via Garibaldi, therefore also the De Angelis house, at that time, were considered part of the Petto dell’Oro district.
For family records, Mr. Vincenzo De Angelis attained the position of Canon of the Cathedral of Gerace, died in Roccella on February 15, 1874, and was buried in the Church of St. Joseph.
From this family, prominent figures in public administration and the professional field are to be mentioned, among others, Mr. Antonio De Angelis, who served as Mayor of Roccella for several years towards the end of the 1800s.