Nobile (aristocracy)

[1] Unlike higher Italian titles which are typically referred to in lieu of an individual's name, nobile is used immediately before the given and surnames, usually in the abbreviated form Nob..

[2][3] The heraldic coronet of a nobile consists of a jewelled circlet of gold surmounted by five pearls, either on stems or set directly upon the rim.

In this connection, however, by 1800 many signori (lords of the manor) in Sicily and vassals in Piedmont were recognised as barons, whereas formerly they would have been simple nobili.

The records of such grants and the depictions of their corresponding arms show that, at that period, the title of nobile did not include a corresponding coronet of rank.

Following the creation and formal proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861, the existing Consulta Araldica, thenceforth denoted as the Italian Heraldic College, recorded nobile as the lowest rank in the hierarchy of Italian titles of nobility (but compare cavaliere ereditario, patrizio and coscritto).