The Degrazia family (also spelled de Grazia) was one of the oldest noble families in the Gorizia region. According to family tradition, they were accepted into the Gorizia patriciate in the mid-15th century, and were elevated to the nobility of the Holy Roman Empire by Emperor Charles V in 1532. Nevertheless, until the beginning of the 19th century, they were considered merely a knightly family. It was not until 1803 that the so-called older line, with Atanasio Degrazia, also received the title of baron and the predicate “Podgozdom” (Podgosdam), but this line went extinct with his grandson Gottfried (Goffredo) in 1888 and his granddaughter Francisca (married to Count Thurn) in 1900.

In 1900, Josef (Giuseppe) Degrazia, a distant relative of Atanasio from the so-called younger family line, also applied for the title of baron. His application contained similar arguments to those made by Atanasio a century earlier. Among other things, he referred to the fact that his family had held the Friulian village of Chiopris in fief for many years, and therefore requested the predicate with this toponym, meaning he would be called “Degrazia von Chiopris.” His request was rejected because he had not demonstrated any exceptional merits nor did he have sufficient wealth. Also, his wife, Josephine Rosenberg, who was the daughter of a master tailor from Graz, Austria, did not bring any noteworthy dowry into the marriage. Towards the end of his life, Josef bought an estate in Renče from the Counts of Strassoldo. In 1904, he was elected mayor of the town, but died a year later. He is buried in Renče, and his family coat of arms is engraved on his tombstone.

The coat of arms of the Degrazia family was a simple golden shield with a black eagle holding in his left claw a black steelyard balance with a counterweight on the right and three chains on the left (Schnellwaage). The coat of arms remained unchanged throughout the centuries. The baronial version differed from the knightly one merely in the baronial crown above the shield.

The Degrazia family became extinct in 1954 when Josef’s only son, Johann Josef (Giovanni Giuseppe), died in Vienna.