Sotto Mayor Family

The Sotto Mayor family (Sotomaior in Galician and Sotomayor in Spanish) is one of the oldest in Portugal. The family descends from the King and Queen of Galicia - D. Fernando and D. Maria - who were both baptised by the Apostol James the Great in the year 40 AD.^[1]

History ^[2][edit]

The Sotto Mayor name dates back to the 10th Century when D. Munio Fernandes - Count of Biscaya and Prince of Asturias together with his wife Infanta D. Teresa, daughter of D. Bermuda II - King of Bermuda; built a great house in the valley of Souto. The house was the largest in the valley and became known as Soutomayor. Mayor is Galician for big.

Notable members ^[3][edit]

• Pedro Álvarez de Soutomayor 20th Great-grandson of D. Fernando - In the 12th century Pedro Álvarez de Soutomayor built Soutomayor Castle. The Castle is considered one of the most important in Southern Galicia.
• Cândido Narciso da Cunha Sotto-Mayor 29th Great-grandson of D. Fernando. (born October 26, 1852 in S. Nicolau de Lebução). Banker and Industrialist, founded Banco Sotto-Mayor in Brazil and became one of the wealthiest Portuguese industrialists. Died in Lisbon, in 29/10/1935.^[4]
• Cândido da Cunha Sotto Mayor. Banker and founder of Banco Pinto & Sotto Mayor. 30th Great-grandson of D. Fernando. In 1920 acquired the Palácio Lemos, in Condeixa-a-Nova and made it the family seat. Today the Palace is called Palácio Sotto Mayor.^[5] Not to be confused with the Palacio Sotto Mayor built in Lisbon by his father Candido Narciso.

References[edit]

This article "Sotto Mayor family" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical. Articles taken from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be accessed on Wikipedia's Draft Namespace.