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Background Information - Italy
Civil Registration Records (Stato Civile)
Anglo-Italian Military Service Agreement
Introduction
A visit to your ancestors’ place of origin will enrich the story of their lives and may even solve a mystery or two. However, exploring primary records requires preplanning; you may need to research at town level (comune), in provincial archives (archivio di stato) or in the local parish church, and often all three. Noble lines have been catalogued and the Society of Genealogists has a collection of books relating to Italian nobility. The majority of Italian immigrants though, came from humble origins.
If you are not sure of the precise place of origin of your ancestors, narrowing it down to a small area in Italy is important, so look for clues: occupations may indicate regional origins and ‘chain migration’ may have led to enclaves of people from the same villages settling in this country so make a note of neighbours and friends. The date your family arrived in the UK may also be an indicator so take a look at what was happening in Italy and the UK at that time.
Many surnames have specific origins so try searching Italian surname mapping facilities. It is also worth looking for names in the Ellis Island, New York records since sometimes people followed chains of migration between the UK and America and their place of origin may be recorded in the ships’ manifests.
British and American researchers are currently more likely than Italians to have researched their families so social media, online surname lists, message boards and websites devoted to specific families and locations can be useful in forging links between descendants of a common ancestor or a shared place of origin.
In 1975, Family Search joined with the Italian government and Antenati, the Italian State Archives (Direzione Generale per gli Archivi, or DGA) to preserve Italian civil registrations (birth, marriage and death records) and store duplicate archive copies in Italy and Salt Lake City, Utah. In 2011, DGA, FamilySearch and their volunteer transcribers began to digitize and index the remaining state civil registration records - births, marriages, deaths and allegati (inserted papers and notes) from every Italian region for the period 1806–1947. This project is ongoing. To date, not all provinces of Italy have been digitized but the aim is to digitally preserve more than 155 million records containing over 500 million searchable names of Italians.
Civil Registration Records (Stato Civile)
Civil registration records, which come under the general heading of - Stato Civile – are the most useful and accessible source for family history research. The records are written in Italian, in archaic handwriting. Difficulties can be overcome if you familiarise yourself with the format and language of the documents before approaching the records.
Births, Marriages and Deaths
The civil registers of births, marriages and death have been kept in almost every region since Italian Unification (Risorgimento) in 1871. In some regions the records date back to 1809. All people named are identified by their parents and ages; occupations and addresses are also routinely given. For example, on a birth record, the father of the child will be identified as ‘Angelo Bassani, contadino (peasant), ventitre anni, (aged 23), figlio di, (son of) Luigi, cinquantasette anni (aged 57)’. Wherever a woman is named, her maiden name is used. Both parents of the bride and groom are identified in marriage records, together with addresses. The records are held by the town official for each comune.
Write to the Ufficio di Stato Civile for the relevant comune to request copies of documents or permission to search in person. A fee will be payable. Always ask for an extract (estratto dell’atto) rather than a certificate (il certificato), if you can’t access the original documents, as the extracts provide more personal information than the certificates.
Stato di Famiglia (Family Status)
Stato di famiglia can be a helpful record for family research. This is requested from the Ufficio di Anagrafe of each comune. You need to have a full name and at least an approximate year of birth. The information you receive consists of: marital status, date and place of birth, wife/husband and children’s full names, dates and places of birth, occupations and the family’s full address. The year that the person left the commune and where they moved to may also be included.
You can write, in Italian, asking for confirmation that the person concerned had lived in that commune and the charge for the Stato di Famiglia / Situazione della Famiglia is usually minimal.
Religious Records
Church records of baptisms, marriages and burials were kept from the sixteenth century though survival is patchy and access to records can be difficult. They are kept in the local parish, though over the centuries the relevant parish church for a particular village may have changed, so you may need to consult several sets of records. If you are planning a research trip, it is worth writing to the curia vescovile (diocesan office) for permission to consult the registers, though even then a parish priest has the right to refuse access. Writing for information meets variable responses, even when accompanied by donations to the parish. Always send letters and requests in Italian; there are templates on our website that will help you.
Other Sources
Among other sources useful for family history research are census records, tax assessments, military and conscription records, notary records. They are mostly found in the archivio di stato of each province. All Italian males over 18 have been conscripted since 1865, and call-up records (registro di leva) were kept even for Italian citizens who emigrated since they could be required to return to serve. They are held by the military archive of each military district, and copies of records over 75 years old are sent to the archivio di stato. If only the province or region of an ancestor’s origin is known, the conscription record can help trace the exact place of birth. Various local censuses, mainly for the purposes of tax assessments, were taken from the fourteenth century onwards, but general censuses began in 1861 and were taken at ten-year intervals thereafter. Until 1911 they tend to name only the head of households. Later censuses are not open to public inspection so this source is less significant than for UK research.
Censuses
Various local censuses, mainly for the purposes of tax assessments, were taken from the fourteenth century onwards, but general censuses began in 1861 and were taken at ten-year intervals thereafter. Until 1911 they tend to name only the head of households. Later censuses are not open to public inspection so this source is less significant than for UK research.
Anglo-Italian Military Service Agreement
Italians of Military Service Age Embarking for Italy: At the start of World War I the United Kingdom was the sole European country without compulsory military service. With an increasingly desperate need for men for the trenches, the British Government enacted legislation enabling agreements to be reached with individual allied governments including, in 1917, the Kingdom of Italy, the purpose being effectively to bring aliens * from that country within the jurisdiction of the UK Military Service Acts.
The agreement required Italian men of military age in the UK either to return to Italy for military service or, if they remained, to be subject to the UK conscription laws. Repatriation was to take place within a specified period from the date of the announcement of the agreement.
These records appear in our searchable database and contain the names, ages, occupations and UK addresses of those Italian men of military service age who were compulsorily returned to Italy for military service under the terms of the Anglo-Italian agreement. The documents transcribed are held at The National Archives in TNO Piece HO 45/10783/281476WAR.
No attempt was made to correct any mistakes in the original documents although some possible errors have been noted; some of the authors of documents seem to have had problems with the spelling of UK place names as well as the usual difficulties with Italian names. Readers are advised to consult the original documents in all cases where a correct reading of the text is important.
* Alien: in an era of science fiction movies such as ET (Extra Terrestrial) this term can sound out of place, even offensive. It was first used in the 14th century to describe something that felt strange or was of foreign origin. The UK government and institutions now prefer more neutral and respectful language when discussing immigration and foreign nationals. Instead of “alien” terms like “foreign national” or “non-citizen” are used in legal and government contexts. In 2021 US government agencies dealing with immigration were instructed to change their official language practices. Terms like “alien”, “illegal alien” and “assimilation” are no longer used. Instead, new vocabularies apply, including the words “noncitizen” for “alien” and “integration” for “assimilation.”
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