The Spadafora family are Sicilian nobility of Byzantine-Greek origin.
According to tradition, the family was originally from Byzantium and traced their origins to a Basilio, an exarch for Emperor Isaac I Komnenos that came to Sicily in 1058.
Their surname derives from the fact that senior family members had been granted the dignity of carrying the unsheathed sword in front of the Byzantine Emperor.
The family’s first certified traces date back to 1230.
Over the centuries, they accumulated dominance over five principalities, a duchy, two marquisates, a county, and twenty-five baronies.
Some House family members have also held prominent positions in the Kingdom of Sicily and some other European states.
READ MORE: Italiote-Greek Cuisine – Taralli.