Italian genealogical records

Italian genealogical records with information of our Italian ancestors.

Who were the parents of our parents, where and when they were born, and how many children they had?

Parish Records

Italian Church Records – Parish records were used since long time ago, before the civil records. Church records and are the primary source for discovering the origins of an Italian ancestor, because sometimes they also indicated the place of birth.

Civil Records

Civil Records– Information about births, marriages and deaths.

• Recent changes in the issuance of Italian civil records older than 100 years
• Asking for vital records to the Italian Registrar of Vital Statistics
• Practical guide: how to request Italian civil records
• The age of majority in Italy (for working, marriage, emigration)
• Asking for vital records to towns which disappeared
• The age of majority in Italy
• The marriage in Italy – From 1861, the Kingdom of Italy refused to give civil validation to parish marriages.
• The surname of the wife after a wedding in Italy

Censuses

• Records of population – We can address to the Anagrafe, asking for information.
• Censuses – The Censimenti are enumerations of the population classified by family units.
• The “State of Souls” Census – The State of Souls was a register, where –mostly in Easter time, the priest was visiting every house of the Parish, and recording information from every family
• Cadastres – Cadastres allow us to find which our ancestors’ properties were.
• Casellario Politico Centrale

Military Records

• Military Records – Contain the name of all those young residents in an Italian province in conditions to go to the military service.
• Fallen Italian soldiers in the First and Second World War

Other

• The Italian Historical Press Online
• Italian Cemetery Records and Burial Registers Online
• Snow and Birth Records in the 19th Century

Archives

Archives collect and preseve original documents created by organizations such as churches or governments.

To be able to do effective searches, it is necessary to know how the Italian archives which record documents with the information of our ancestors created by clerical and governmental organizations are organized.

We can distinguish at least four types of Italian Archives:

• The State Archives (in each province)
• The Town Archives
• The Diocesan Historic Archives
• Other Private archives

• How to Request Italian Records from State Archives
• Portale Antenati – FamilySearch Unites with Italian Archive Organization to Digitize Civil Registration Records .
• Italian Genealogy Form Letters to send genealogical inquiries to Italy – Italian regulations about protection of privacy of public vital records.