Portrait miniature of Francesco Oliveri del Castillo, futured Duke di Aquaviva in Palermo

Masterfully portrait miniature of a child with a bird was executed in 1797 by a represantative of Italian School of miniature painters. It is framed in original period gold frame. Due to the antique inscription in Italian on the back of the miniature cover it is portrait of Francesco Oliveri del Castillo as child (Duchino) and futured Duke of Acquaviva of Palermo / Sicily. Francesco Oliveri del Castillo is identified in 19th-century Sicilian historical sources as the Duke of Acquaviva (a title often associated with a residence or noble branch present in Palermo). Historical Context: The name appears in documents related to the period of the Sicilian Revolution. Legal Affairs: A document from 1840 mentions the commutation of a Francesco Oliveri's prison sentence to confinement in Lipari due to "sectarian affairs" (anti-Bourbon political activity). The title "Duke of Acquaviva," referring to the Oliveri family, can be found in Sicilian noble lists of the period. Source: State Archives of Palermo