“The origins of my family go back to the fourteenth century and begin with a certain Pezolo dei Gozzi. The family tree, suitably cobwebbed, dusty, worm-eaten, frameless but without contradiction, confirms this information. Not being Spanish, I have never approached any genealogist to obtain earlier ancestry. Somewhere there are historical monuments from which it can be clearly understood that my family descends from certain Gozze from Ragusa, the founders of this ancient republic. It is noted in the history of Bergamo that Pezolo dei Gozzi was honored by the Senate of Venice for having laid down his life and his property in the fight against the Milanese, supporting his province with its invincible and extremely merciful leadership. The Gozzi, having become citizens of Venice, built dwellings in this city for their living and their dead, as can be seen in the street and in the church of San Casiano...”