Helping myself with the rare written resources, internet, some surname searchers (Marino Bonifacio was the one who researched the history of surname), statistic results and other gathered data, I will try briefly at least to put together the origin and the history of our surname. I have notified people's names that I found in various sources and will accordingly follow the development of their names and consequently their surname development which, as I previously mentioned, derives from the genealogy of the FUNDANI's, the foundation of which dates back to the very beginning of the Roman empire.

In 243 BC the first representative of the tribal community was elected a Roman consul; plebeian according to the social status (they had managerial rights in the Roman empire since 367 BC, so they could take up government positions) Gaius FUNDANIUS Fundulus. The next was mentioned in 195 BC, this time in connection with the "Opium law", the plebeian tribune Marcus FUNDANIUS. There are some others to be found in the time BC: Gaius FUNDANIUS, a humoristic poet and a satirist in 1 BC (mentioned in Horatio's satires II.8.), Decimus FUNDANIUS Primianus, decurion, in second third of 1 BC, Gaius FUNDANIUS, a plebeian tribune in 68 BC, ...

A very important year and an event attached to it is the year 181 BC. It is the time of foundation of Aquileia. The Romans conquered a strategically and commercially important area in the south-east of Italy over Celts and built a Roman colony. In this way the Po river valley is open to romanisation. In 178-177 BC the Romans conquer Istria together with the nothern Adriatic coast in the Istrian war. In the years to follow about 3000 Roman settlers arrive in these parts, in 169 BC 1500 more Latin and other Italian families (from the vicinity of Lazio) mix among the existing population (Venets, Histri, Celts, Iapodes, ...). Presumably at that time one or more FUNDAN(I)US families moved to this area. In 90 BC Aquileia becomes a municipium. Between 18-12 BC the emperor Augustus (Octavian) connects Istria to Italy, which thereon borders Dalmatia at Raša. After dividing Italy in 11 managerial communities (6 BC) , the same person establishes Regio X (Venetia at Histria) which becomes a Roman Colony since 1 AD. It holds on till almost three centuries. Aquileia becomes its capital. In 297, during the managerial reformation of the emperor Diocletian, based on Regio X a somewhat bigger province VENETIA ET HISTRIA is founded with its capital being Aquileia. Therefore it is obviously the homeland of our predecessor.

In this time a probably most important representative of the genealogy had a high government status - this was K(alendis) Mai(is) C(aius) Minutius FUNDANUS. He was a plebeian tribune, ambassador to Asia, since 107 AD a consul, a governor to Asia (Achaea) in the time of Hadrian in 122/123 AD and a friend of Plutarch. Somewhat at the same time, in 116 AD, a Roman consul Lucius FUNDANIUS Lamia Aelianus was also a plebeian. The last before the end of the Roman empire, there was in 303 AD mentioned FUNDANUS, a bishop in Abitina (Libia). The winning of Christianity and the transition to Middle Age set new social norms that gave an individual a new importance. However these were only for the few chosen ones. Almost 700 years later there appears in the written resources another representative a Martinus FUNDACINO from Atilia (Altino at Venice), who appears to be signed on the document dating 20 December, 982.

Inbetween happened a lot of other events. The invasions of other tribes, especially Huns (452) and Langobards (568), forced the population to move. Piran was founded and it will play a major role in the development of this surname. The review of surnames dating from before 2WW in Piran point at all being of the Roman-Byzantine origin almost without exception and match to a great extent with the surnames in Aquleia. Based on this fact and other parallel resources (population register in Koper and Izola,...) it is believed that Piran was founded by the refugees from Aquileia, after being demolished in 452 by Huns and their leader Atila. On the other hand, some inscriptions in "Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum" (V Volume, Mommsen); here is also mentioned Lucio FUNDANIO Rufo (decurion from Aquileia, a member of the Oglej senate), illustrate the fact that the Piran family FONDA could indeed originate from an Aquleia family FUNDAN (FONDAN), which settled in Piran before 12. century.

Although there is no written evidence to prove that surname FONDA really came into existence in Piran, there is some statistic research which more than obviously shows that. Here I will mention three: the first was done by means of a telephone book and internet (Labo.net) for the year 2002; the second was done by the historian Darja Mihelič,Ph.D. in the book "Piran, mesto in ljudje pred sto leti" (Piran, the town and the people a hundred years ago) and deals with the years between 1889 and 1892; the third one represents the number of families FONDA in the area of Italy in 1945.

The research of the FONDA families today shows that it is quite centrally dispersed from the area of Piran (according to the migration of population in Piran after WW2) with the emphasized direction to the Italian speaking territory the "Italian line" - Piran belonged to Italy till WW2, most of the time to the Venetian republic. It is interesting that some other old Piran surnames of the Roman origin show the same way of dispersion. As the surname FONDA is only one branch that developed from the family tree of FUNDANI's, I was interested to to know which surname nowadays would correspond to the main branch of the genealogy.

By means of the the same help I found an even more frequent surname FONDI which shows exactly the same dispersion as expected. With this one namely the Rome and its vicinity is emphasized as the main centre (the town FONDI is only a hundred kilometres to the south). This surname has two somewhat smaller and less important centres with denser population in the vicinity of Florence and Milan. Beside these two surnames I also found another: FONDACARO, which probably belongs to the same family tree, the dispersion of which in the area of Italy today is different. I broadened this statistical research based on the FONDA families in phone books to the whole of Europe. The results showed the existence of the "French-Spanish line" which frequently appears in the eastern Pyrenne (Pyrennees Orientales), the "American line" in the USA and the "Slovene line" with two centres, the first in Lokev (the Slovenian Karst), and the second in Latkova vas (the Savinja valley) and its surroundings. Later on I will focus on the branch from Lokev in detail as it is the one my family derives from.

The historian Darja Mihelič researched the weddings in Piran from 1 January 1889 till 31 December 1892 and within this period gathered enough data according to which one can make a valid statistical pattern. The results showed that surname FONDA was statistically most frequently mentioned in the wedding certificates (2,7% ).This surname was also most frequent in connection with the house numbers - it appears in 25 addresses (the processed data was one third of all the houses in Piran). Following the data from 1945 there lived in Piran as many as 67 FONDA families which means that it was the second just after the surname Ruzzier (70 families). In this time it was estimated that in Trieste there lived 40 and in other parts of Italy another 60 to 70 FONDA families. After the cancellation of the "Zone B" in 1954, most of the Piran families emigrated to Trieste. There are now more than 20% of all FONDA families living in Trieste.

In Piran the surname FONDA is also mentioned for the first time in any written resources. In "Chartularium Piranese" (7 May, 1230) is as a witness in agreement in dealings with large quantities of oil to the purchaser from Caorle mentioned a Dominicus FONDA. The same person together with another four people from Piran accepts a loan for a period of six months from a creditor from Koper in 1261. In the inscription dating 29 May, 1255 there is a Paponus FONDA from Piran, a son of Dominic's, when he accepts into feudal possession half of the profit from the Piran area Kalčinar from Vercij Almergioti from Koper for the price of sworn loyalty. On 24 April, 1268 he acts as a witness when numerous distinguished Piran celebrities (4 consuls and 24 aristocrats) agree with the creditor the terms of a loan. Before 1300 there are two mentioned brothers (between 1284/92, for the first time already before 28 May, 1281) sons of Mengarda also from Piran, Iohanes and Petrus FONDA. Iohanes appears as a witness in buying and lending on credit. In Piran area of Liminjan he had a vineyard and he sold wine on credit. Petrus is mentioned as a witness in various IOUs, gifts, documents on selling assets, wills. He bought grain and cloth on credit. He owned a vessel which he let for the commercial sake. In year 1616, in the time of Baroque Music, the chapel of the parish church of San Giorgo in Piran hosted organist Papo FONDA, the priest from Piran. In 1626 11 FONDA families were put down as owners of real estate in the very town (2,4% out of all 463 families; only four other surnames appeared more frequently among owners). Zan Paulo FONDA was listed number 12 with the estimated assets of 5190 ducats among the richest people in Piran. At the end of 17th c. there were the father Nicolai and the son Pietro FONDA (both chemist dispensers) listed among those reputable inhabitants of Piran. Their pharmaceutical diplomas are still preserved (the degrees were taken at the university in Venice): Nicolai (1682) with the title: ""Aprobatio D. Nicolai Fonda in arte aromataria" and Pietro (1721) "Niuersis, & singulis has nostras uisuris, & lecturis, Nos Iustitiarij Veteres, pro Serenijsima Venetiarum Republica significamus, & harum serie fidem facimus, qualiter, sub die infrascripta dataru praesentium conuocatus fuit. Magistratus aedicto Aromatariorum huius Inclitae Ciuitatis Collegium sicut moris est, requirentre Dno Io Petro Fonda q Nicolai Piranense.". Besides them, there were two more in Padova who achieved high university education - they were both born in Piran: Donato FONDA di Giovanni Pietro "dottorato in utroque iure in S.C. il 4.Jun 1695" and Hieronymus (Girolamo) FONDA, (26.5.1686 Piran - 30.11.1754 Trogir) a priest-bishop in Trogir (Dalmatia), a writer and philosopher "dottorato in utroque iure in S.C. il 17. Feb 1707".

AMERICAN LINE

Mark FONDA explored the only expressive "American line" outside Europe. The beginner of this line was a colonial settler Jellis FONDA (1614 Agum, Friesland - 1659 Albany, New Amsterdam) who arrived in America in 1650 and was a son of a glazier Douw FONDA (1580 Lyden, Holland - before 1641 Agum, Friesland). The latter is also believed in American genealogy circles to be a descendant of a protestant family FONDA from the vicinity of Genoa, that is the valley of the Po river (in connection Marino Bonifacio mentions Venice in his book). The density of FONDA families in individual American states in 2000 is to be seen from the following file. The statistics is based on phone books.

SLOVENE LINE

There are no written sources as to the existence of the Slovene line either, but most probably it came into being as a consequence of a gradual settling of some FONDA families from Piran in the direction of Trieste and north-east Istria (which the same as Piran belonged to the Republic of Venice in that period) to the continental area and Kras.

The process of settling could take place in the direction of Črni kal to Socerb, Dolina (San Dorligo della Valle) and Bazovica (this is evident from the fallow names "Fonda" which I found in the area of Socerb and the vicinity of Boršt or Zabrežec, two settlements by the Kras edge, today belonging to the Dolina community). I suppose the existence of the Slovene line is connected to the border change between Republic of Venice and Kranjska (Carniola), which happened during the first Venetian war (1508-16). At that time the Venetians and the Habsburgs fought to rule the ex-Furlania and the northern Adriatic. The lower part of the Dolina community, which in Middle Ages constituted a part called "Vallis Mucho" and had at least since 1173 till 1511 a seat in Muhov grad (Mucho's castle) at Zabrežec, also belonged to the Republic of Venice most of that period. In 1511 the whole area of Dolina, except for Mačkovlje belonging to the Milje (Muggia) community (that is to the Republic of Venice until 1797), was annexed to Kranjska after the Habsburgs winning the battle. Presumably, then, among others also the FONDA family (previously a Venetian family) from Dolina decided to stay in Kranjska and adapted to the new social and political order. The new borders were confirmed by truce signed in Worms in 1521, so that year might be accounted for as the very beginning of the Slovene lineage of FONDA. In 2004 in Koper there live five FONDA families, in Lokev three, two in Sežana and Ankaran, one in Dane at Sežana, Dekani and Postojna. The FONDA families in Lucija (5), Piran(3), Dragonja(1) and Parecag(1) probably have Italian roots (source:TIS 2004- phone book of Slovenia for 2004).

Another line of FONDA families deriving from Slovenia seems quite interesting. In the Savinja valley there is a mention of a great density of FONDA surname, namely in the narrow area between Braslovče and Latkova vas. I followed the data of its existence in the book by Ivan Dolinar. He writes about the history of Latkova vas and its inhabitants and at the same time offers interesting notes including FONDA families in this area. In 1781 the first to be mentioned is a best man in Latkova vas Andrej FONDA from Braslovče. The second, Valentin FONDA from Grajska vas, used to be in 1790 among estimators of a deed by some family in Latkova vas. In the 1840 register the FONDA surname is not yet to be spotted in Latkova vas, in 1870 there is an interesting note though. In that period there used to be a house number 23 which was let to a smith. Among the householders there was a FONDA whose descendants still live in Latkova vas today. Johann FONDA (1846-1916) namely married a local woman Lucija OCVIRK (1835-1914) the so-called "Kregarjeva". After six years they take over the bride's parents' farm. In 2004 in Latkova vas there live five FONDA families, two live in Kamenče, one in Ločica by Savinja, Orova vas, Prebold and Rakovlje (source: TIS 2004).

FONDA CLAN - village LOKEV

Based on registers and other church books I will present the history of the FONDA family in Lokev na Krasu which certainly belongs to the Slovene line.

Firstly I would like to say that in the first existing registers through which one could establish relationships in Lokev, there were numerous persons by the name of FONDA but were not really related to each other. Therefore I will from now on use the expressions as used by the villagers; the families that are not related I will mark as "not related". The first source available in this connection was the "Urbar gospostva Schwarzenegg" from 1574. Here are mentioned Urban and Gregor FUNDA who probably didn't reside in Lokev, they only had a vineyard each "Na Gmajni" to work on. If they were the beginners of the line in the village it is not known, but the mention of the surname does not deny this as one could predict at first sight. In this urbar there are various other surnames mentioned from Lokev, which later on appear to be written with the letter "O" instead of "U".

In the second source "Urbar bratovščine Sv. Rešnjega telesa", with the first inscriptions dating back to 31 May 1652, there are more mentions of the surname FONDA, the members of the fraternity. It is interesting that the surnames appear to be in Slovene language. The list from 1652 till 1715 is the following :

While Michael's family records only appears in one generation (the father of nine children, all born between 1698 and 1715) and his father cannot be traced, all the others belong to two families. The bearer of the first is Joannes FONDA (born approximately 1625) and the second Thomas FONDA (born approximately 1640). I will also include Andreas for whom I gather he is the son of Joannes although I haven't found the mention to prove this. The houses of his sons were namely at L.101 and L.103, whereas the houses of his alleged brother Joannes (who is also the son of Joannes) were at L.102 and L.104. The Thomas descendants' houses were also close together, that is from L.84 to L. 90 (except L.89). Although my family derives from the Joannes line, I explored both lines in detail.

Parallel to registers (christening, wedding, death) which had state-managerial validity, there were also internal books in parishes called "Status Animarum" since the second half of 18 c.The data in those books resemble those in today's population registers.

The inhabitants of some settlement or village inside the parish are represented according to the houses in which they resided, together with their relations and the year of birth. When house numbers appeared the family books were useful to follow as well - in Lokev the first such notes appear already after 1758, first in wedding registers, later on in the 70-ies of 18 c. also at child christening. For the many changes in house numbers which appeared for various reasons, they are the indispensible tool in exploring a family. Further on I will, using this means, show where the individual FONDA families lived in Lokev since the end of 18 c. (see Slovene version for details)

Translated by Tatjana KOPITAR, 2006