The Traversari are an ancient noble family of Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

. Their origins may lie in the late fifth century, being descendants of Theodore, General of the Heruli

Heruli

The Heruli were an East Germanic tribe who are famous for their naval exploits. Migrating from Northern Europe to the Black Sea in the third century They were part of the...

. There are other sources that cite the Traversari Decia as descendants from the Gens Decia

Decius (gens)

Decius is an ancient Roman nomen; notable individuals of the gens Decia include:**Publius Decius Mus , son of Quintus, consul in 340 BC, fought the Battle of Vesuvius...

 of Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....

. Theodoric I

Theodoric I

Theodoric I sometimes called Theodorid and in Spanish, Portuguese and Italian Teodorico, was the King of the Visigoths from 418 to 451. An illegitimate son of Alaric, Theodoric is famous for defeating Attila at the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains in 451, where he was mortally wounded.-Early...

 was named Count of Rimini

Rimini

Rimini is a medium-sized city of 142,579 inhabitants in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, and capital city of the Province of Rimini. It is located on the Adriatic Sea, on the coast between the rivers Marecchia and Ausa...

 and Senigallia

Senigallia

Senigallia is a comune and port town on Italy's Adriatic coast, 25 km by rail north of Ancona, in the Marche region, province of Ancona....

 after the death of Orestes. After the Byzantine conquest of Italy, the Traversari retained significant and influential positions.

Origins

Their origins may lie in the late fifth century, being descendants of Theodore, General of the Heruli

Heruli

The Heruli were an East Germanic tribe who are famous for their naval exploits. Migrating from Northern Europe to the Black Sea in the third century They were part of the...

. There are other sources that cite the Traversari Decia as descendants from the Gens Decia

Decius (gens)

Decius is an ancient Roman nomen; notable individuals of the gens Decia include:**Publius Decius Mus , son of Quintus, consul in 340 BC, fought the Battle of Vesuvius...

 of Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....

.
In 476 AD with the death of Orestes, Odoacer

Odoacer

Flavius Odoacer , also known as Flavius Odovacer, was the first King of Italy. His reign is commonly seen as marking the end of the Western Roman Empire. Though the real power in Italy was in his hands, he represented himself as the client of Julius Nepos and, after Nepos' death in 480, of the...

, leader

Germanic kingship

Germanic kingship refers to the customs and practices surrounding kings among the pagan Germanic tribes of the Migration period and the kingdoms of the Early Middle Ages ....

 of the Heruli, Scirian and Torcilingi was declared the "King of Italy" on 23 August 476 AD, with its capital

Capital City

Capital City was a television show produced by Euston Films which focused on the lives of investment bankers in London living and working on the corporate trading floor for the fictional international bank Shane-Longman....

 at Ravenna

Ravenna

Ravenna is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy and the second largest comune in Italy by land area, although, at , it is little more than half the size of the largest comune, Rome...

. Odoacer gave Theodore the office of the General Assembly. Theodore took the surname of Traversari and built a castle (still extant) named "Traversara".