Mar 3 2013
Unlike some other countries Italy does not keep its civil records in one central location, all records are kept in the town where the act took place, whether it is birth, marriage or death. In a country prone to earthquakes, and in the past, wars, not all records have survived. Fire, floods, tsunami have all(…)
Jan 26 2013
Most of Southern Italy is very mountainous and this makes arable land very precious for growing crops and grazing animals. It leaves very little land suitable for cemeteries’ and burials. Prior to Napoleon’s conquering of Italy bodies were interred in the crypt below the church floor. There was a strict order for the placing of(…)
Dec 30 2012
Parish records began about 1540 in some parishes but by 1630 they were instituted all parishes although not all complied immediately. Although some Catholic parish registers can be found on microfilm most of those filmed were from the Church of England parishes in Italy or from other religious denominations. The Catholic Church generally speaking is(…)
Dec 9 2012
A birth certificate will give you the names and ages of each parent, their professions, their town of residence and occasionally the name of the Grandfather. This would only happen if there were several men in town with the same first name and surname (maybe even married to a women with similar names). From the(…)
Nov 16 2012
My expertise is with the former Papal States and the former Kingdom of the Two Sicily’s so this information may not apply to Northern Italian civil records. First a little history. In 1809 Napoleon conquered Italy and ordered the keeping of civil records for births, marriages and deaths. The format was the same as that(…)
Oct 25 2012
Thank you! I have already found most of those documents but I was unaware of most of the websites [you pointed me to] for requesting information from Italy. I guess my next step is sending a letter requesting any documents they have. I will also request Davide’s military records and see if there is any(…)
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