by Angelo Coniglio
In my previous review of the Italian Antenati (Ancestors) site http://www.antenati.san.beniculturali.it/ I noted there are four main tabs, the first being Il Portale (The Portal), which explains that most of the records are available through an agreement with the LDS church; and the second, Il Territorio e li fonti (The Territory and sources), which presents a map of the regions of Italy and links to the explanation of the site’s sources, and websites or email addresses where more source information is available. The page can be viwed in Italian or English by clicking on the appropriate ‘flag’ icon near the top right of the page. Continuing with the 3rd and 4th main tabs:
3. Sfoglia i Registry (Browse the Registers). After selecting this tab, click on the link “ITALIA” at the upper left. This will display several items titled ‘Archivio di Stato di ______’ (Archive of the Records of Status of ______). This is a list of the Italian regions or provinces for which records are on line. As of this writing, there are fifty-one on the Antenati site.
In the following list, one asterisk* indicates a province or region which was originally in the Kingdom of Sicily. Two asterisks** indicate provinces on the island of Sicily. Records for those regions are generally more uniform and complete than those for the former city-states and duchies of the North. The areas included as of this writing are: Agrigento**; Arezzo; Ascolo Piceno; Asti; Bari*; Benevento*; Bergamo; Brescia; Caltanissetta**; Campobasso*; Catanzaro*; Chieti*; Como; Cremona; Cuneo; Enna**; Firenze; Forli; Genova; Grosseto; Imperia; Imperia, sezione di Ventimiglia; Imperia, sezione San Remo; L’Aquila*; La Spezia; Lucca; Macerata; Mantova; Messina**; Modena; Napoli*; Padova; Pesaro; Pesaro, sezione di Fano; Pesaro, sezione di Urbino; Pescara*; Potenza*; Prato; Ragusa**; Reggio Calabria*; Rieti; Roma; Salerno**; Savona; Taranto; Torino; Trapani**; Treviso; Udine; Venezia; and Viterbo.
Clicking on any of the Archivio links will display the categories of records available for that particular region: Stato Civile Napoleonico(1806 through 1815); Stato civile della Restaurazione (1816 through 1860 – 1865); Stato Civile Italiano (1860 – 1865 through 1910 and beyond). Click on the date range you want, and a set of links for various comune or towns in the region will appear. Select your town, and you’ll see a list of types and years of records available. Select the set you want, and begin browsing the images of original records. Generally, each year of records has an alphabetical index at the start or end of the year, indicating the record number for each record. Then browse to find that record number.
4. Trova i nomi (Find names). Here you can search for person’s names using the given name and / or surname; the search can be further specified or limited by indicating the locality of birth or residence and by chronological limits. Once found, the name of the person is linked to the image of the record it references (birth, marriage, death). It must be recognized that the number of names so far indexed is far lower than the number of images available on the Portal, because indexing is a slow and laborious task that requires a major commitment of human resources and time. You may get lucky and find a relative’s name directly by this search, or you may have to browse the registers as listed above. Regions/provinces that have been indexed are listed below. The years and types of records that are indexed vary by region or province, as indicated in a list at http://bit.ly/AntenatiIndexedRecords
Asti; Bari*; Bergamo; Benevento; Brescia; Caltanissetta**; Campobasso*; Chieti; Cremona; Enna; Forli; Genova; Grosseto; Imperia; L’Aquila*; Mantova; Modena; Mondovì (Cuneo); Napoli*; Padova; Pescara*; Prato; Ragusa; Reggio Calabria; Rieti; Salerno; Savona; Taranto; Udine, Urbino; and Viterbo.
There are search boxes headed Nome (Given name); Cognome(Surname); Tipologia di Atto – Nascite, Matrimoni, Morte (Type of Record – Birth, Marriage, Death); Comune/Localita (Town/Locality); Anno Inizio (Starting Year); and Anno Fine (Ending Year). Enter one or more item in the boxes and click the button marked ‘Cerca’ (Search). A list will appear with a transcription of information for names that match your search. To see the actual image of the original record, click on the link ‘Apri’ (open).
Coniglio is the author of the book The Lady of the Wheel, inspired by his Sicilian research. Order the paperback or the Kindle version at http://bit.ly/SicilianStory. Coniglio’s web page at http://bit.ly/AFCGen has helpul hints on genealogic research. If you have genealogy questions, or would like him to lecture to your club or group, e-mail him at genealogytips@aol.com
