Difficulty Finding Records prior to 1800
Hi there! I'm new to digging into family records, and I have family from south-central Italy in the early 1800s. Does anyone have any ideas/resources that may be helpful? Thank you!
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Civil records began in the south of Italy in 1809; anything before that would only be church records, notary records, or the catasto onciario. Very few of these are available online.
For notary records and catasti, check the web site of the state archive for the town you are researching, as some offer limited correspondence research via email.
For church records, you must contact either the church in the town (there may be more than one) or the diocesan archives. You can use https://www.chiesacattolica.it/annuario-cei/regioni-diocesi-e-parrocchie/ to search for the churches in a particular town, and then go to the website of the diocese to find contact information for the church and the diocesan archives. Some churches also maintain standalone websites or facebook pages.
Know that churches are under no obligation to respond to requests for records. Often it is easier to hire an Italian genealogist to conduct research in person on your behalf.
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