Camilla Norte

Camilla Norte
Born	(1827-01-24)24 January 1827 Aversa, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies
Died	17 September 1933(1933-09-17) (aged 106) Paris, France
Era	Pre-Vader Era Vader Era
Spouse	Matteo Norte (m. 1852–1925)
Children	Henri van Noord Élise van Noord Vittorio van Noord Julien van Noord
Parents	Girolamo Nostrini (father) Teresa Bellandi (mother)
Relatives	Angelo van Noord (grandson)
Family	Noord family

Camilla Norte (24 January 1827 – 17 September 1933) was an Italian-born member of the Noord family. She was the only recorded child of Girolamo Nostrini, later recorded as Girolamo Norte, and Teresa Bellandi. Camilla married her second cousin Matteo Norte and moved with him to Rotterdam in 1858. They converted from Roman Catholicism to Judaism in 1859 and moved to Paris, France, in 1871. Their Paris household later became secular.

Early life

Camilla Norte was born in Aversa on 24 January 1827. Her mother developed puerperal fever after the delivery and died on 8 February, fifteen days after Camilla's birth. Camilla was raised by her father at the Casa di San Michele in a Roman Catholic household.

Girolamo maintained the records of the northern Nostrini branch. During the 1840s, he taught Camilla formal handwriting and register copying. She helped him arrange correspondence received by the Aversa household. Girolamo died at the Casa di San Michele on 22 February 1851. His archival papers remained in Aversa after his death.

Marriage

Camilla married Matteo Norte in Aversa on 18 September 1852. Matteo was born on 6 April 1824 and belonged to another northern branch of the family. He was Camilla's second cousin and had also been raised as a Roman Catholic.

Their eldest child, Henri, was born in Aversa on 11 July 1854 and was first recorded as Henri Norte. Camilla and Matteo moved with him to Rotterdam in 1858 during the Noord family's nineteenth-century expansion into the Netherlands.

During 1858, Camilla and Matteo received religious instruction through Rotterdam's Ashkenazi congregation. The instruction covered Jewish religious law, Hebrew prayers and the practices required within a Jewish household. Matteo and Henri underwent circumcision before the conversion was completed. On 18 January 1859, Camilla, Matteo and Henri appeared before a three-member rabbinical court and completed ritual immersion. Henri was converted as a minor with his parents.

Camilla and Matteo established a Jewish household after their conversion. Their daughter, Élise van Noord, was born in Rotterdam on 8 November 1859. Vittorio van Noord was born there on 14 May 1863. Their youngest child, Julien van Noord, was born on 26 December 1867. These children were Jewish from birth because Camilla had converted before they were born.

The children born in Rotterdam were registered under the surname van Noord. The Dutch form of Norte allowed them to blend into Dutch society. Henri later adopted the same surname.

Later life

Camilla and Matteo moved to Paris with their four children in 1871. The household continued Jewish religious practice during its early years in the city. Camilla kept the letters sent to Paris by the Norte branches in Aversa and Rotterdam.

Religious observance declined within the household during the 1880s. By 1890, the family no longer regularly attended synagogue or maintained Jewish dietary practice. The Paris household was secular from this period.

Julien later returned to Rotterdam. His son, Angelo van Noord, was born there on 29 January 1905. Camilla was Angelo's paternal grandmother.

Matteo Norte died in Paris on 28 December 1925 at the age of 101. Camilla continued to keep the surviving Norte correspondence after his death. She died in Paris on 17 September 1933 at the age of 106.

See also

• Girolamo Nostrini
• Teresa Bellandi (wife of Girolamo Nostrini)
• Matteo Norte
• Henri van Noord
• Élise van Noord
• Vittorio van Noord
• Julien van Noord
• Angelo van Noord
• Casa di San Michele
• Noord family
• Noord family members