My father's family is from

The records for this town are not available on-line and would require a visit to either the Archivio di Stato in Avellino or the comune's Anagrafe office.Written requests can be made to the comune but our experience in doing genealogy research for several years is that the comunes are too busy (or apathetic) with other work to respond to correspondence requesting this type of information.

When I wrote to my grandparents' small hometown churches, I always received a reply, either with the information I requested or if they could not find any information, they would let me know.   This was done in 4 different towns/churches (baptimal/birth records).  I was fortunate to visit the towns myself, and found everyone to be very helpful, no matter how busy they were...all were happy to help, from the parish priest to town officials!  Good luck!

Dear Beatrice That was very helpful. I didn't think of  the parish. I went to Agropoli ----my mothers side of the family---a few years ago and also found everyone to be very helpful. We even took pictures with the chief of police ! How far back in your ancestry have you gone ?Vera 

What part of Italy?Getting a response to written correspondence either at the parish or comune will depend on where. Here in the south, where some towns had more than 50% of their populations emigrate, the comunes are inundated with these requests. I have been in anagrafe office here where the officials pointed to a stack of requests and admitted they ignore them. The parish providing records is dependent on the priest and some diocese in Campagna require these requests to go through their offices.That said, if you actually visit the town the locals are thrilled. They get so many written requests that sometimes they will go out of their way to help a returning paisano.

As it has been said, you will need to contact not only the Anagrafe's office, but also the parish churches in the area. The reason is that the Anagrafe (or Civil Registry) has not always existed. It was created after the unification of Italy through Regio Decreto Nr 2105 on the 31st December 1864, although this date does not mean that every Comune in Italy implemented it. There was also another Royal Decree (Nr 666 dated 28 January 1872) which ordered that all changes of domicile or address had to be recorded... Well, again, it did not happen in all cases.... Before the Unification of Italy, the only written records about a person's birth, baptism, marriage and death were kept by the local parishes. After the 1864 decree, the Church continued to keep its records, but the Anagrafe slowly became the official source. There is another point that you have to keep in mind. To locate records in Italy is not an easy task. Besides wars, invasions, fires, earthquakes and similar events, some records may be "lost" and it is extremely difficult to find them (I shall explain later on our personal experience). Also, keep in mind that because Latin was the official language in the Church, some records are written in that language, instead of Italian, which may cause further difficulties.We have found that both the Comune and the Church were very helpful; however, you have to know what you are searching for and gather as much information as possible regarding dates, places, names... this will facilitate your search. And if you engage the help of professionals, although they may try as much as possible to locate those documents, they may still encounter many difficulties.And this brings me to our own experience. It all started quite a few years ago, when we tried to locate the birth certificate of my husband's grandfather. We got the assistance of the local Comune who told us to contact the local Parish as the birth had taken place around 1864. A relative in Italy tried to locate the document to no avail. She even sent and paid a researcher to find it... No results. It was possible to locate the records for all the brothers and sisters, but his... was a mystery. A couple of years ago, we decided to try to find the baptism certificate and we went to the town. We already knew which Parish Church had the family records, which was helpful. We spoke to the sexton. who was an elderly man and he took us into a room full of large books. He proceeded to look into the index of each one of those books (at least they were indexed.... or so we thought!). Same story... grandfather was not there. I begged him to look around 1864 and so he did... but I quickly realised that the man had a very poor vision, the books were handwritten and his knowledge of Latin was nil... After one hour looking through them, but not giving me a chance to do it by myself, he became tired and said that the search was hopeless. We went back to the hotel, very disappointed, but then decided to try our luck again the following day. I really wanted to look at the books by myself for several reasons. My late father was a genealogist and I had helped him many times with his researches. My Latin was very good, particularly reading old documents and I could interpret almost any handwriting, so my chances of finding a missing document were higher. I prayed to all the saints and we returned to the parish the following day. And then, my prayers were answered. The sexton was extremely busy with a couple of parishioners, he gave us an evil look, but then I managed to explain to him that I had experience in searching for documents and I even showed him a pair of white cotton gloves that I had brought so that he will allow me to handle the old books. He reluctantly accepted this and after only 15 minutes of search... there it was, the baptism certificate with all the names (he had 5 Christian names) all written in Latin in a terrible handwriting. Obviously, the person who did the index decided that it was too complicated to include in it and gave it a miss... For this reason, always try to get as much information as possible beforehand and do not despair, as in many cases the records are not totally accurate.I wish you good luck in your searches... You are going to need it 

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond. I have my grandfathers date of birth and exactly when he emigrated to the US. I have been working by myself on this for a few years now however my trail ends in Italy---Monteforte Irpino. I don't know what to do next.  He travelled alone but I do have his parents names from his wedding certificate here in New York.  Any thoughts ? I'd appreciate anything. 

Hi again! If you have your grandfather's date of birth and it is not in the 1860-1880 period, you can write to the local Comune, in Italian, and give them  as much information as possible, date of birth, name, parent's names and ask them to look whether they have his birth records. You may be lucky and they may answer with information or suggestions. In any case, I would also write to the Parish (and in your case, it looks as if there is only one, http://monteforte-irpino.corriere.it/parrocchie/parrocchie.shtmlIn any case, keep on trying and do not worry if some data included in the immigration records is not totally accurate. Names and dates often contain mistakes. Be patient! Good luck! 

Actually...In the areas under the control of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies records were mandated and collected in most towns beginning in the early 1800's, some areas as early as 1809. The local anagrafe offices will have these records and they are also stored at the State Archives in the provincial capital.

Yes, I agree, Bruno, but I think that we are looking at a possible claim of Italian citizenship through "Jure Sanguinis" and in order to do that, the Italian ancestor must be born after 1861, as there is no Italian nationality before that date (Unification). The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies became a province of the Kingdom of Sardinia (Savoy House) around that time, so I do not know how accurate the keeping of civil records would have been under the circumstances. If the ancestor was born between 1860 and 1870, it is quite possible that the most reliable records are going to be found in the Parish archives.

My grandfather was born on April 18, 1893

The local Anagrafe should be able to help you, then. Good luck!

Comune or State ArchivesGala,The records that were begun under the French are very extensive and accurate, there may be a year here and there that is missing.Also the anagrafe is who will issue the certificates required for any citizenship application. If not, a visit to the Archivio di Stato in Avellino is the quickest way to get any information.

Bruno, sorry, but I fail to see how this discussion is going to help drvee to locate his grandfather's birth records, particularly now that we know that he was born in 1893, which means that the Anagrafe was in place and fully operational. So the Comune or the Archivio di Stato are the way to go.Baptism and Church certificates would be helpful for those who need to locate records between 1861 (Unification) and say.... around the 1870´s. For those who are not aware about how it works, once the relevant record is located in the Parish church archives (generally large handwritten books), they photocopy or scan the contents and they deliver a certificate, which is then sent to the appropriate Diocese for legalization purposes. Parish churches do not charge for those services; however, a small donation will be appreciated.I notice an increasing number of American members with Italian ancestry who are interested in pursuing the Italian citizenship "jure sanguinis". There are numerous sites on the Web which give information on the subject; however, my advice would be to contact their nearest Italian Consulate for information and advice. There is a very helpful site with lots of information and even sample letters in Italian for those who need to contact a Town Hall, etc. This is www.italygen.comAlso, some official information from the Italian Foreign Affairs Department can be found here: http://www.esteri.it/MAE/EN/Italiani_nel_Mondo/ServiziConsolari/Cittadinanza.htm?LANG=ENIt is not an easy task, but it can be done. It requires time, patience and ingenuity. I would stress the fact that many old documents contain errors in dates, spelling, etc. To all those seeking to obtain the Italian citizenship through "Jure Sanguinis" I wish them luck. It is a rewarding experience, though!