Vegni

The Vegni are an Italian family from Siena. The medieval origins of the family have limited documentation. The origin of the family is in Siena, with Bencivenne, father of Aringhieri, whose children Guido, Iacobina and Ranieri are mentioned in a contract of a house sale in 1201. The son of Guido, Bencivenni, is the first one to have a recognised profession mentioned in the documents. A notary of the royal chamber, called Bencivennis olim Guidi, was active in Siena in the first part of the 13th century. The patronymic Bencivennis is used, abbreviated as bcVennis in the documents signed by Luca, a notary, in documents he drew up during late 13th. Pietro olim (of) Luca bcVennis was active in Siena until 1321. The sons of Pietro settled in the area of Chianciano, focusing the centre of interests of the family in the South of the Siena Republic until the fall of it in 1555. The surname Bencivennis remains in official documents during all the Republican period, to disappear at the end of the 16th century, substituted by Vegni. The last one to use it in official documents is Eustachio Bencivennis or bcVegnis, again a notary, who died in 1585. His grandson Giovanni Battista di Pietro, a notary in Chianciano between 1600 and 1641, signs his documents as Vegni, although he still uses the same private legal seal with the family coat of arms.

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