a right or estate inherited by a person from his ancestors. The term patrimony has also been applied to church estates or revenues; in which sense authors still say, the patrimony of the church of St Rimini, Milan, and so on. The Church of Rome has patrimonies in France, Africa, Sicily, and many other countries. To create the greater respect for the estates belonging to the church, it was usual to give their patrimonies the names of the saints who were 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.