During the period when it was colonized by France, it was known as the ''French Congo'' or ''Middle Congo''. To distinguish it from the neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo, it is sometimes referred to as ''Congo (Brazzaville)'' or ''Congo-Brazzaville''. Brazzaville derives from the colony's founder, Pierre Savorgnan de Brazzà, an Italian nobleman whose title referred to the town of Brazzacco, in the comune of Moruzzo, whose name derived from the Latin ''Brattius'' or ''Braccius'', both meaning "arm".