a right or estate inherited by a person from his ancestors.

The term patrimony has been also given to church-estates or revenues; in which sense authors still say, the patrimony of the church of Rimini, Milan, &c. The church of Rome hath patrimonies in France, Africa, Sicily, and many other countries. To create the greater respect to the estates belonging to the church, it was usual to give their patrimonies the names of the saints they held in the highest veneration: thus the estate of the church of Ravenna was called the patrimony of St Apollinaris; that of Milan, the patrimony of St Ambrose; and the estates of the Roman church were called the patrimony of St Peter in Abruzzo, the patrimony of St Peter in Sicily, and the like.

What is now called St Peter's patrimony is only the duchy of Castro, and the territory of Orvieto. See CASTRO, &c.