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Italian Genealogy Form Letters (Intro)

to send genealogical inquiries to Italy

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This is Page 1 of Italian Genealogy Form Letters > 1 > 2 > 3 > 4 > 5 > 6

These sample Italian Genealogy Form Letters will help you send requests to Italy to obtain Vital Records and Parish Records for your genealogical research.  There are also a few standard letters if you want to write to potential Italian relatives.  All these letters to Italy include English Translations so you know what you are asking for and to help you clearly see where you can make changes to fit your personal family history requests.

The Research Paper entitled "Major Genealogical Record Sources for Italy" (Series G. no 2), published by the Latter-Day Saints Genealogical Department and available on microfiche at any Mormon Family History Center, names several important Italian genealogy records and shows where in Italy they may be found. Of special help is the part showing the years when civil registration records began in various Italian regions.

If one's ancestors left Italy after about 1880, and their last place of residence is known, it is recommended that one write to the Ufficio Anagrafe (Registry Office) there and request a certificato di stato di famiglia (family certificate showing the date and place of birth of each family member).

The next step is to write to the Ufficio di Stato Civile (Civil Registration Office) in all the towns where members of your ancestral families lived and to request extracts of their birth, marriage and death records.

When the above mentioned records are not available, one writes to the priest of the parish where one's ancestors lived to request extracts of their baptism, marriage and burial records.

In addition, many Italian Primary Source records for genealogical research are now available online. Links to online images are listed on this site under How To Do Your Own Italian Genealogy Research.

**NEVER** send money until an official signed letter asks for it. Then send it addressed to the exact person who requested it in exchange for the document they have retrieved on your behalf. [Paula--Nigro: editor]

Use the following statement (or something similar) in place of any mention of enclosing money:

Vi prego di farmi sapere il costo del vostro aiuto e come posso effettuare il pagamento. ( Please let me know the cost of your help and how I can pay.) Reference: LDS Family History ITALIAN Letter-Writing Guide

The address can be completed by giving the name of the town or parish, the province and then Italy.  An Italian gazetteer, such as the Nuovo Dizionario dei Comuni e Frazioni di Comune gives the province in which each town/municipality (comune) and hamlet (frazione) is found.  If your library does not have an Italian gazatteer simply use an online Italian Phone Book, such as ones listed on the Italy Genealogy Research Help Page of this site, to find addresses & CAP codes for the Italian Archives.  I like to use the Italian Phone Book to double check everything. It also has map links on the right side for most of the addresses:
http://www.paginebianche.it/
Type in the word for municipality (Municipio) in the "cognome" space, the name of the comune in the area for "dove" and then click "trova" (sometimes you have to use the word Municipale or Comune di ). If there are any words you don't understand simply use google translate or else an Italian Genealogy Word list or dictionary such as those listed here on Translation Help-Aids
http://geocities.ws/paulanigro/italian-genealogy-online/italian-latin-genealogywords.html

Simple example of the way to address your envelope even if you can't find an exact street address.

Name of Comune (Province Code) Archive Office Cap Code - Comune (Province optional) Italia  /  Italy

Comune di Corleone (PA) Anagrafe / Stato Civile 90034 - Corleone - Palermo Italia  /  Italy

In Italy the day is shown first followed by the month and then the year
07 giugno 2005  =  07 June 2005
(this style is also typical in most of Europe and in traditional genealogy studies)

Months are not capitalized in Italian
(although in older Italian Documents I have seen the months Capitalized)-- [paula-nigro:editor]
January / gennaio , February / febbraio , March / marzo , April / aprile , May / maggio , June / giugno , July / luglio , August / agosto , September / settembre , October / ottobre , November / novembre , December / dicembre

Linked below are various "Example" Letters to Italy (with English translations for your information only) which will assist you in corresponding in Italian to the documents archives in Italy.
(TIP: The links below are "on-site" links so you will need to use your browser "back" button to return to this page.)

• Letter to the Ufficio Anagrafe (Registry Office).
• Letter to the Ufficio di Stato Civile (Civil Registration Office).
• Letter to the Parish Priest.
• David Zerga's Italian Form Letters to send to Italy for Genealogy Research & Help: Letters to Italy requesting Vital Documents, Follow up when there is no response, to Potential Relatives, to Bishop, to Parish Priest and many helpful hints.
• Italy Form Letter to potential Italian Relatives by Steve Saviello: Founder of Comunes of Italy Italian Mailing List.