Genealogy Research in Italy

A Starting Guide

Things to Know...

• First - you must know that you may become addicted to genealogy!
• Second - you will have to work hard on it! No matter how much you ultimately pay if you entrust a researcher with the archive work, you'll have to work on it to collect information, assemble, reconstruct and connect.
• Third - be ready to say it's enough - You must realize that sooner or later research will stop, because no more records will be available, or expected results very scanty.
• Last, but not least - Do not expect to find a Baron waiting for you in the mist of the Middle Ages: the "aristocracy" was statistically a very small percentage of the population and often a very bad beast, exploiting the blood and sweat of the poor, religious, courageous and illiterate peasants that were the ancestors of most of us. It was them that kept the traditions, wrote the songs, passed on the recipes and for whom the frescoes in the churches were made. Most European aristocracy is extinct, because of genetic faults of marriages, while the great-grandchildren of the "bracciali" and "cafoni" are studying in the colleges, obtaining awards, writing poems, raising beautiful kids that will reach the stars and who knows what else.

Resources Available in this Website

• Growing databases of civil records divided by province, and the section of the Catasti Onciari, family and property censuses of the former Kingdom of Naples (year 1742-1755) categorized by ancient province.
• Italian Genealogy Archived Forums: Thousands of messages posted since 1998, categorized by region and province, where visitors working on family history left their "message in the bottle". Archived in the year 2020 but still valuable as reference source for research: Archived Italian Genealogy Forums 1998 to 2007 and Archived Italian Genealogy Forums 2008 to 2020. Also available the Postings Archive with over 30,000 archived messages categorized by province.
• Italian citizenship: The law of 1992, its relevance for descendants of Italians, and the prerequisites to obtain or reinstate Italian citizenship.
• White Pages: A guide on how to use the Italian white pages to find presence of surnames and possible relatives, addresses of townhalls, parishes and more.
• Italian surnames: how surnames developed, Lists of Italian surnames divided by place, useful to check spelling and statistics, and the etymological origin of many surnames.
• Italian state archives: List of Italian Province archives with links to their current websites, for updated information on opening times, inventories of documents preserved, contact details. Also a guide on what resources you may find in the online Antenati Portal, divided by province, period and place.
• Complete Lists of the over 8000 Italian Communes, with link to the webpages if available, or to the province and region where the commune presently belongs. The commune is the ultimate repository of all civil records since 1809 for the former Kingdom of Naples, and since the unity of Italy (1861) for all places, and the authority that releases citizenship documents. Also Lists of the over 35,000 Italian frazioni and smaller localities, with link to the commune, province and region where the frazione currently belongs.
• Notary records: An introduction to research in ancient notary deeds, especially dowry assignments and wills, and their significance in genealogy research in the centuries before the civil records were established, or wherever parish books should not be available. Also Articles on genealogy, to learn more on family heraldry and specialised research fields, and a collection of various Genealogy links.
• Fees and Estimates: A brief sketch of possible expenses to take into account in genealogy research. Also a form to Request help about your ancestors, where they came from, what resources are available.