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Record Requests

©Photo by Sylvia Hetzel

Record Types

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Many record types are used in genealogy research. In Italy, the most commonly used resources are found in churches and town halls.

 

Church records provide invaluable information from the mid 1500s (the Council of Trent) until the late 1800s (the Unification of Italy).

 

From 1871 to the present, biographical information is mostly obtainable from the civil records offices of the ancestor's town of birth. 

 

Military records can be useful for obtaining biographical data for Italian males born after 1855 when only the province and approximate year of birth are known. These records only apply to men, as women have never been subject to mandatory military service in Italy.

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Civil Registration

  • Birth

  • Marriage

  • Death

  • Family status

 

Parish Documents

  • Baptism

  • Marriage

  • Death

  • Church census reports

 

Military

  • Conscription

  • Service

  • Discharge papers

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Repositories

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A repository is where records are kept. For ecclesiastical records, this is typically in the records office of the  local parish or in a central diocesan archive. Civil records are kept with the town hall and copies are sent to the state archives after a determined number of years.

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For remote access to digital records, the most comprehensive databases for Italian records are provided through  Ancestry. com, FamilySearch.org, and Italy's Antenati website.

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Unfortunately, a relatively small number of civil records is digitally available for towns in central  and northern Italy.

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On-Site

  • Local municipalities

  • State archives

  • Parish archives

  • Diocesan archives

 

Online

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Expertise

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The Italian Genealogist is based in Florence, in the Italian region of Tuscany. Its central location provides easy access to most cities, towns, and villages in central Italy (the regions of Tuscany, Umbria, Lazio, and Le Marche). 

 

When records cannot be obtained online or by written request, it is often necessary to travel to one or more repositories outside of Florence to conduct research onsite.

 

Onsite research can yield exciting results in terms of the types of records available and by gaining access to the historical context of the place itself.

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Geographic Locations​​

  • Tuscany

  • Umbria

  • Lazio

  • Le Marche

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Time Periods

  • 17th century

  • 18th century

  • 19th century

  • 20th century

 

Languages

  • English - mother tongue

  • Italian - second language

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