The surname Aquino comes from one of the historic noble houses in Italy. Although Jure Francorum lived,[clarification needed] as Benedetto Croce attests, the family was, however, of Lombard blood, as it came from Radoaldo, who had been Aquino's possessor in the time of the dukes of Benevento. The Aquinos were counted among the seven great houses of the Kingdom of Naples. Among its most prominent members, the family includes the famous saint Thomas Aquinas.[1]