Monsignor Antonino Reggio was born in Aci Catena, a commune in the region of Catania in Sicily, in 1725 and died, possibly in Rome in the first quarter of the 1800’s. Unfortunately the date of his demise has yet to be established. He was a priest, later a Monsignor in Rome and a member of a cadet branch of the Sicilian noble family, the Principi di Campofiorito.

In 1753 Reggio was assigned to the Apostolic Nuncio in Portugal. His duties were as courier to the Nuncio. Reggio, who was based in Rome, was entrusted with the task of carrying back to Lisbon the cardinal’s ‘Beretta’ to Cardinal Tempi as a notification of his promotion.

He possibly remained as courier to the new Nuncio, Fillipo Accioili, who returned to Rome in 1759 after being expelled due to his interference in the problems with the suppression of the Jesuits in Portugal. He was raised to the position of monsignor after Accioili’s appointment as cardinal. In 1763 Reggio relinquished his status of Abate with the monastery of Sant’Angelo di Brolo, a ‘benefici ecclesiastici’ in the region of Messina in Sicily.

Whilst in Rome he was visited several times by Dr. Charles Burney, who described him as ‘likewise a pretty good composer and performer on the harpsichord and violoncello’ and in a summing up of his visit he mentions Reggio again; ‘I am indebted for some curious compositions, and for the conversations of several persons in Rome, eminent for their skill in the art, and learning in the science of sound; among whom …Monsignor Reggio’.

Reggio is also mentioned by the Roman poet and writer Giovanni Gherado De Rossi (1754–1827). De Rossi describes Reggio as ‘a man of great intellect, erudite, and very deep in music.’