This article is based in John Pullicino’s history of the early family as given in his geneaology on the old Pullicino website. I have completemented it with church and notarial records that have been digitised since then.
The Beginnings: The 15th and 16th Centuries
The earliest ancestor that was recorded by my family is Francesco Giovanni Pullicino, born around 1490. Anthony Alfred Pullicino wrote that according to the old family records:
The first direct ancestor of our family, of which documentary proof exists, was FRANCESCO PULLICINO, who was born circa 1490 and married Paola at Casal Attard in 1514, when Malta was ruled by Ferdinand II of Aragon (1479 – 1516) .
On 20/10/1980 [I] examined the contract of Atti Brandano Caxaro 24/5/1541 (page 498) at the Govt. Notarial Archives in Valletta which names Francesco Pullicino and Paola as the parents of Gio Orlando Pullicino.
-Anthony Alfred Pullicino
As Tony recounts, Francesco married Paola (Zammit?) in the town of Attard in 1514. Their son Gio Orlando Pullicino was born around 1520 and married Margarita Musci on 24th May 1541. He would have experienced Malta’s acquisition by the Knights of St John of Jerusalem in 1530. He died in 1605, and was buried in Attard.
Gio Orlando and Margarita’s son, Vincenzo Pullicino, born circa 1550, married Giovanna (aka Gioannella) Tabone at Birchircara on 25th April 1572. He lived through the Great Siege of 1565, passing away on 25th May 1629. In that time he had two wives, the second being Isabella (? possibly Cachia).
Vincenzo’s son, Laurentio (Lorenzo) Pullicino, was born around 1575 and married Mariuccia (aka Maria) Briffa on an unknown date. She is the mother of Gio Petro. Tragically, Mariuccia passed away during childbirth on 9th November 1620, leading Laurentio to marry Grazia Galea in 1623 (widow of Domenico Tonna) and then later his third wife Caterina Debono, in 1646 (widow to Valerio Xortina).
Lorenzo died on 25th October 1653, with his will made the same day. His older children managed his estate. Laurentio’s will highlighted his spiritual commitments, as he mandated his heirs to observe St. Catherine’s feast day at the little church on the main street of Birkirkara and light a lamp at the church every Saturday.
The 17th Century
The 17th century brought forth detailed records that provide more vivid portraits of the Pullicino family members. Gio Petro Pullicino (died 1678) married Lucrezia Graziulla Burlo-Teuma (died 1684) and had five children: Natale, Beatrice, Flaminia, and Marcantonio (born in 1655).
The family chronicles, held by Robert Pullicino, describe Natale as a priest who passed away on 18th July 1715, and Marcantonio, who became a notary in 1673. Flaminia married Giovanni Gatt in 1659, and Beatrice married Pietruzzo la Fortuna, a barber in Valletta in 1665.
Marcantonio married Anna Farrugia on 17th January 1678. Their marriage in Siggiewi. He was from Birkirkara, residing in Zebbug, and she was from Valletta, residing in Siggiewi.
Their union resulted in eight children, six of whom sadly died within a year of birth. Their surviving children were Gio Pietro Pullicino (26th April 1684 – 29th March 1742) and Arcangelo Pullicino (7th June 1686 – 25th March 1763). Gio Petro became a priest, we know this because Marcantonio and his wife made a donation towards his ordination.
Marcantonio moved the family’s residence from Birkirkara to Zebbug, a short distance away. He died on 24th July 1714.
Arcangelo, a notary by warrant, married Giuliuzza Palma Calleja at Zebbug on 26th November 1715 and had eleven children. The family was hit by tragedy, with four children dying within three years of birth.
Maria Pascha, one of the surviving children, became a Carmelite nun. Her sisters Catarina and Diana Palma seem to never have married. Giuseppe Maria became a priest and founded St. Joseph Hospital in Zebbug, L’Ospedale dei convalescenti, which was finally completed in 1794. The family tree was only continued by, Gabriele Luca.