These difficulties can be overcome. It will require that you learn a little bit about the Latin language and discipline yourself to follow a specific process or method each time you begin to interpret a Latin document.

Decide the Document's Purpose
You can learn the purpose of a document's creation in several ways. Sometimes it is on a microfilm that begins with a title target showing the type of record filmed. The document you are reading from may be listed in a catalog or inventory. Usually such finding aids identify documents by titles that indicate the documents contents. When all else fails, look for a heading at the top of the document or in the first line of the text that contains words that may be familiar and which reveal the document's purpose: testamentum, nuptias celebraverunt/celebrarunt, baptizatur est, liber defunctorum, liber confirmatorum, nomina infantes.

List the Words You Expect to Find
It may be necessary to use the English to Latin part of your dictionary or word list to make a list of the words that you expect to find in a document describing wills, marriages, christenings, or deaths: son, daughter, wife, church, land, property, bride, bridegroom, parents, occupation, residence, child, christening, witnesses, cause of death, age, spouse, widow, and widower are a few examples.

Read Each Line Looking for Familiar Words or Word Stems
As you find a familiar word, write its common meaning above it. Sometimes you will see a word stem--the unchanging main part of a word to which endings or prefixes are added--that reminds you of a word you know: nuptias=nuptials; defunctorum=dead; cognomina=names; celebraverunt/celabrarunt=celebrated. Write the meaning the word stem conveys ignoring the ending or prefix you do not understand.

Identify the Nouns
Here is where you begin to learn a little Latin grammar. The nouns in a document will be the people and the things you are most interested in. The people who are named will be easy to spot - a name will be listed for them: Willelmus, Johannes, Robertus, Raymundus, Maria, Anna. The -us, es, -a on the end of these words tell us they are subjects of a verb and are subjects in a sentence or clause. Sometimes the ending will look different: Willelmi, Roberti, Raymundi, Mariae, Annae. These examples show how a name can be changed to the genitive case, singular: of William, of John, of Robert, of Raymond, of Mary, and of Ann. These endings are also the same as the plural of some words and names: Willelmi=two Williams. The other nouns may not be as easy to recognize: pater, mater, filius, filia, uxor, sponsus, vir (father, mother, son, daughter, wife, bridegroom, man/husband). To find them in your dictionary, look for words that have the same word stem--the beginning letters of the word--pat-, mat-, fili-, uxor, spon-, vir, are examples. In dictionaries nouns appear in the nominative case, as they would if they were the subject of a sentence or clause. The word pater may appear in documents as patris, patrem, or patri. Remove the ending and you have pat- and add an -a, -us, -er, -um, --s, -is, or -e and then look in your dictionary for nouns spelled that way. Normally only one or two will appear with a meaning that fits into the context of the document before you. The endings added to noun stems show the roles the nouns play in the sentence: subject, direct object, indirect object, object of a preposition, etc.

Identify the Pronouns and Adjectives
Like nouns, pronouns appear in a dictionary under their nominative form: ego (I), tu (you), nos (we). The other forms of ego--in English me is the only other form of I-- are mei, mihi, me (of me, to me, me). The pronoun who appears as qui, quae, or quod in the nominative case. The other uses of pronouns, as direct objects, indirect objects, etc. are indicated by a change in the ending of the qu--stem (quem, quam, quod, are examples) or by changing the qu- to cu- and adding the ending. Short words with qu- or cu- stems are normally a form of the pronoun who. Sometimes you will find the stem aliqu-. This is another pronoun form: someone, something. The endings are similar to the pronoun qui. The nominative form you will find in the dictionary for these pronouns is aliquis. Possessive pronouns and adjectives, me, my, your, our have the following Latin equivalents in the nominative case: meus, mea, meum, vester, vestra, noster, nostra. The possessive pronouns his, hers, its are: suus, sua, suum.

Identify the Verbs
Numerically, the verbs in your documents will be in the minority. They will be outnumbered by nouns, pronouns, adjectives, articles, and conjunctions. Verbs are formed by adding an ending to the verb stem to indicate the person, number, or tense of the verb. Most of the documents you read will be written in the present, the past perfect, or the future tenses. Let's use the verb celebro, -are, --avi -atum as our example. Verbs normally appear in a dictionary under the first person singular present tense form--in this case I celebrate--with the infinitive--to celebrate--and sometimes the perfect form and past participle are also shown--celebrated, celebrated. As you look up the word stems of the words you do not recognize, some will not appear as nouns, except as a participle with -tus ending. Other stems will appear only as verbs. The stem for celebro is celebr-. To this can be added many endings, many more than are possible with a noun stem. If there is not an -n- in the ending, it is a singular form of the verb because all plural endings have an -n- in them: -unt, -int, -ant, -ent -ntur. When you try to find a verb in the dictionary, take the ending off the stem, add an -o. Then look at all of the verbs that appear with a similar spelling to see if there is one with a meaning that fits the document you are interpreting.

Interpret the Document
Write down, in the same order they appear in the document, all of the words you have interpreted. This string of words may not make much sense at first. Rearrange the words, one sentence at a time, so that they make sense. Now read the whole document to see if all of the sentences together seem to deal with the subject of the document. You may have given the wrong meaning to a few words, so adjust their meaning to fit what appears to be the purpose of the document.

Reading Old Handwriting and Abbreviations
Sometimes documents are hard to interpret because you cannot read the handwriting. Here are a few hints to help you. Start with the first sentence and trace it using a piece of white paper. After tracing the words, do you recognize any letters, groups of letters, or words? Begin making an alphabet for the document by writing down the letters you discovered in the first line. Read the other lines using the same procedure. By the time you have finished the document you should have examples of most of the upper and lower case letters used in it. Using this alphabet, go through each line again and copy out the words you think the letters spell. After this step you can begin to look up the words in a dictionary to finish your task.

To save space and time many scribes shortened the words they wrote by leaving off the endings or leaving out some letter in the middle of a word. They usually warn the reader by placing a line or a comma above the word or a period, comma, or some other symbol at the end of the word. Often the word stem remains or there are one or two consonants or vowels taken out of the middle of the word. If the stem is left, you can still look it up in the dictionary to see what the possible meanings might be. If there are missing consonants or vowels, use the stem again as a guide to similar words in the dictionary to see what you can find. Some books are cited in the bibliography that will provide further help interpreting abbreviations and symbols.

As a nation state, Italy has emerged only in 1871. Until then the country was politically divided into a large number of independant cities, provinces and islands. The currently available evidences point out to a dominant Etruscan, Greek and Roman cultural influence on today's Italians.

The earliest human settlements within the territory of present-day Italy date almost certainly to the initial phase of the Quaternary era (Pleistocene). This period was characterized by frequent alternation in climatic conditions, with consequent phases of expansion and retreat in the Alpine and Apennine glaciers and relative variations in sea level.

With the Iron Age Italy and her population practically enter the historical period. Until the end of 5th century A.D. Italy was dominated a number of tribes, and finally the Romans. The last hundred years of the Western Roman Empire, from the second half of the 4th century, coincided with large migrations of Germanic peoples (Visigoths, Vandals, Burgundians, Huns, Heruli, Alemanni etc.) who on different occasions settled within her territories. At the same time economic conditions also reflected the political instability of the imperial government, it deteriorated gradually and was accompanied by a chronic fall in population.

It was in this period that the influence of the Christian church began to make itself felt more consistently. This was in contrast to the progressive orientalization of the Empire, now focused on its new capital of Costantinople, founded by the emperor Constantine between 326-330 on the site of the ancient Greek colony of Byzantium.

With first the Normans and then the Hohenstaufen (1220-1266), besides the institution of particularly efficient state structures that formed a network of control throughout the territory, there was introduced into Italy, with all its juridical implications, the feudal system. This further favoured the expansion of large establishments, whether civil or ecclesiastical, but conserved for the towns sufficient independence to guarantee the development of economic activities.

The ending of imperial authority, quickly followed by the papal crisis involving its transfer to France from 1309 to 1377, was accompanied by a strengthening in the independence of the Northern and Central Italian communes. There was also a notable economic improvement for the majority of towns in the Po Valley and Tuscany.

The scarse inclination of the newly-formed urban middle-class for military activities led to a search for the protection and support of their interests by the powerful feudal families. In a short time, although in the name of the people, they acquired the signoria or lordship of the old communes. Their sphere of interest then often spread considerably beyond the original town and its surrounding district, forming a much more extensive territory. In practice, the change from commune to new signoria also signified the transformation of the first city-states into true and proper States, whose political force was therefore directly connected to their economic power.

In this atmosphere of renewed vitality, culture also prospered with a new enthusiasm for the study of the classical world and a revaluation of interest in nature and man (humanism). The arts (from literature to the expressive and figurative) had one of their finest moments. The appearance of towns was transformed with the introduction of new styles of architecture. During this period Italy indeed became the cultural centre of Europe.

A period of calm, in the agitated political panorama of Renaissance Italy, seemed to be heralded by the Peace of Lodi (1454). The great Italian states of Milan, Florence, Venice, Rome and Naples agreed to guarantee through the Lega Italica at least forty years of peace and stability.

Between the mid-15th century and the mid-18th century, Italian city states fought against the Spanish and then the French domination. They gained their independence after this long and politically chaotic period.

The next fifty years saw a period of relative political stability and economic progress for all the various Italian States. Judicial and administrative reforms were carried out, generally marked by increased efficiency in state structures. This was also due to the actions of statesmen and enlightened sovereigns like Maria Teresa of Austria and Joseph II in Lombardy, Bernardo Tanucci at Naples, Pietro Leopoldo in Tuscany and Pius VI at Rome.

Following this brief but intense period came first the echo of the French Revolution (1789) and the tragic end of the French monarchy (1792) and then the resounding reality of the Napoleonic armies. The latter's first Italian Campaign (1796) carried with it the hope of an independent Italy before too long. Spanish predominance in Italy, extending over some two centuries, had rather negative consequences for the country, whose economy, especially in the rich northern and central regions underwent a disastrous decline. This brought in its train social and cultural repercussions. The imbalance between the southern regions and the rest of the country increased, above all in the agricultural sector.

After the revolution, Italy had to concede to France cultural leadership. A contribution that was to play a significant role in the political and philosophical debate leading to the revolutionary spirit of the 18th century. Earlier, however, and again from France, there had spread throughout Europe, of course including Italy, the new spirit of Enlightenment. This was a reaction against the restrictions imposed by tradition and religious faith, revaluing the human intellectual capacity and individual conscience in its ability to confront and resolve the great issues of humanity and its destiny through the use of reason alone. Favoured also by the renewal of economic and civil life through a series of reforms stemming from the tolerant and enlightened rulers of the period, Italy made her main contribution in this field at Milan and Naples by the actions of statesmen and economists of the calibre of Beccaria, Verri, Romagnosi, Galiani, Genovesi, Pagano and Filangieri. Reforming activities were however abruptly interrupted by the events of the French Revolution, bringing into question the very concepts of State and Society under the pressure of the new Jacobinism.

The Italian political and territorial picture, which at the end of the 18C seemed to have stabilised, rapidly disintegrated in the face of Napoleon Bonaparte's first military campaign across the peninsula so as to successfully attack the Austrian Empire on its southern flank. Successive events further reinforced Napoleon's control of Italy. His brother-in-law Murat ascended the throne of Naples; the Kingdom of Italy was expanded with the Trentino and Alto Adige (the latter fiercely defended by Andreas Hofer); and Tuscany and the Papal States were incorporated in the new French Empire (Peace of Schönbrunn, 14 October 1810). But after a brief interlude, the failure of Napoleon's Russian Campaign and his defeats at Leipzig (1813) and Waterloo (1815), as well as Murat's tragic end (October 1815), brought back to Italy the restoration of the old political and territorial order under the terms of the Congress of Vienna (June 1815). But the seeds of liberty and change had been sown in Italy above all with the First Napoleonic Campaign and a sense of national unity had been aroused by the establishment of first republican structures and then the Kingdom of Italy.

Following the plebiscite that voted in favour of annexation to Piedmont (1860), there then began the construction, together with the territory of Southern Italy that had been taken by Garibaldi's expedition of `The Thousand', of the United Kingdom of Italy. This was to be proclaimed at Turin on 17 March 1861, though the acquisition of Rome and Venice were still outstanding. The latter was added five years later (1866) following an unfortunate conflict with Austria, which was resolved in Italy's favour thanks to the intervention of Prussia; Rome was conquered by force, 20 September 1870, on the fall of Napoleon III. With these events the territorial unity of the Italian nation was almost complete and it was now necessary to construct its own social, economic and cultural image.

Among the numerous and complex problems of the new State emerged the need to bring uniformity to a territory that was so politically and economically diverse. The indiscriminate application of the administrative, judicial and fiscal structures of the old Piedmont was to create a further divide between Italy's more economically developed Northern and Central regions and the structurally weaker Southern region (the Mezzogiorno). A mass emigration of peasants and the poorest classes to the two Americas occurred (in the decades spanning the 19-20C the number reached several million) and the so-called southern question took root. At the same time, in order to compete with the other European powers, Italy followed a policy of colonial expansion in Africa. She occupied Eritrea (1885-96), Somalia (1889-1905), Libya and the islands of the Aegean (1911-12). A commercial concession (500 sq miles) centred on Tien-Tsin was obtained from China in 1902.

In the economic and social areas the period from the taking of Rome to Italy entering the First World War (1870-1915) was characterized by general growth in the whole country. This was undoubtedly favoured by an interlude in international politics that allowed Italy to put her financial affairs in order and re-organize her administrative structure. There then followed the development of certain essential sectors, such as the rail network and basic industries, often making use of foreign capital. At the same time, attempts were made to strengthen international political relations (by joining in the Triple Alliance with the Germany of Bismark and the Austria of Franz Joseph) and commercial links, even if it was eventually necessary to resort to protectionism in order to protect the still fragile national economy. While agriculture encountered notable difficulties due to the fall in prices on foreign markets and the backward conditions of a large part of the countryside, as well as the scourge of malaria, industry was a growth area. The textile industry, with its two main sectors of silk and cotton, as well as the metallurgical and mechanical industries were favoured by increasing supplies of electrical energy from the newly built water-powered plants in the upper Alpine and Apennine valleys.

Just after the WWI, which was already lost, a number of new political parties were founded; Partito Popolare (1919), by Luigi Sturzo, as a continuation of the Democrazia Cristiana; Partito Comunista d'Italia (1921, at Leghorn), from a split with the Partito Socialista and led by Antonio Gramsci; and, finally, the Fasci di Combattimento of Benito Mussolini, previously a socialist leader and an ardent interventionist. This latter movement, after having obtained 35 deputies in the 1921 election, transformed itself into the Partito Nazionale Fascista equipped with a revolutionary programme that, after the episode of the March on Rome of 28 October 1922, brought Mussolini to the head of a government.

Having obtained a parliamentary majority in the 1924 election and the following year passed a law increasing the powers of the head of government, it was in 1926, with the abolition of all the other political parties, that the Fascist dictatorship formally began.

In its external policy the Fascist regime especially sought prestige by further colonial expansion, as that into Ethiopia (1935-36) or participation in the Spanish Civil War on the side of Franco's forces. Gradually, Italy's good relations with France, Britain and the Soviet Union (whose revolutionary government Italy was the first country to recognize) deteriorated, while her links with Hitler's Germany increased (Rome-Berlin Axis, 1936). In 1939 the Pact of Steel with Germany, after an initially non-belligerent phase, inevitably dragged Italy, in 1940, into the tragic events of the Second World War (1939-45).

Italy's increasingly unsuccessful war, fought on many fronts and against better trained and equipped armies, overwhelmed Mussolini in 1943, when he was censured by his own party. He was replaced as head of government by the Marshall Pietro Badoglio, who immediately signed an armistice with the allied powers (3 September 1943). The formation of a new government by Mussolini in Northern Italy, the Repubblica Sociale Italiana based at Salò, with the support of Germany and in opposition to the monarchial government (temporarily based at Brindisi) provoked a civil war. This was only brought to an end by the intervention of the allied armies, the formation of the partisans, the abdication of the king and the end of Mussolini (28 April-2 May 1945).

After an interlude with several national coalition governments and the provisional rule of Umberto II of Savoy, Alcide De Gasperi of the Democrazia Cristiana became President of the Council. On 2 June 1946 the results of the institutional referendum brought to an end the monarchy of the House of Savoy (its last king, Umberto II, going into exile) and heralded the republic which was officially proclaimed on 18 June 1946. Enrico De Nicola was elected as the Republic's first President. Under the government led by De Gasperi, the first parliamentary assembly to be freely elected by the people began work on the new Constitutional Charter that was to come into force on 1 January 1948.

The name Italia, probably a Graecized form of Italic Vitelia (='calf land'), was originally restricted to the southern half of the 'toe' but was gradually extended. By 450 B.C. It meant the region subsequently inhabited by the Bruttii; by 400 it embraced Lucania as well. Campania was included after 325, and by Phyrhus' day Italia as a geographical expression meant everything south of Liguria and Cisalpine Gaul; this area however only acquired political unity after the Social War. Cisalpine Gaul was not officially incorporated until Augustus' time when, accordingly, Italy reached its natural Alpine frontiers. Unofficially, however, whatever the administrative divisions, the whole country south of the Alps has been called Italy from Polybius' time onwards. ...

Italy was thus well adapted to support human life and attract invaders, and actually did so from very early times. Traces of Neanderthal not to mention palaeolithic man have been found, while remains of neolithic people, chalcolithic 'terramaricoli', and iron-using Villanovans are copious. Long before the rise of Rome, Italy was well populated and civilized from end to end. On the east coast were Illyrian immigrants: Veneti, Picentes, Messapii; these occasionally penetrated to the west. Hardy Sabelli, and the related Umbrians and Volsci held and tended to expand from the mountainous central regions. The southern coast lands comprised Magna Graecia. In the north Gauls began to settle c. 400. Various peoples inhabited the west; Ligurians , who were possibly of Neolithic stock and originally held a wider area; Etruscans; Latini and the related Falisci and Hernici; Aurunci-Ausones Oenotri (= Sicels?). These various peoples differed greatly from one another in race, language and civilization, and Italy's mountainous configuration accentuated and perpetuated their mutual divergencies.
But ultimately they were united under the hegemony of Rome. Her political unification of Italy, however, was a protracted task finally accomplished only in Augustus' day. The romanization of Italy took much longer and indeed was never fully achieved.

After unifying Italy Augustus divided it into eleven administrative districts: [the today's corresponding regions are listed inside brackets.]

Latium; Campania; Picentini district. [Lazio & Campania] Apulia, Calabria; Hirpini district. [Puglia] Lucania; Ager Bruttius. [Southern Campania, Basilicata; Calabria] Region inhabited by Samnites, Frentani; Marrucini, Marsi, Paeligni, Aequiculi, Vestini, Sabini. [eastern Campania, Molise; Abruzzo] Picenum, Praetutti district. [northeastern Abruzzo, southern Marche] Umbria; Ager Gallicus. [Umbria; northern Marche] Etruria. [northern Lazio, Toscano] Gallia Cispadana. [Emilia-Romagna] Liguria. [Liguria, southern Piemonte] Venetia; Istria; Cenomani district. [Veneto, Friuli, Trentino; westernmost Slovenia & Croatia; eastern Lombardia] Gallia Transpadana. [northern Piemonte, Valle d' Aosta, western Lombardia]

This arrangement lasted almost unaltered until Constantine's time, when the islands were customarily included in Italy."

This concise historical presentation is intended not as an exhaustive sociological treatise, but as a general introduction for the layman. It is presumed that the reader has already reviewed Italian Heraldry, Nobility & Genealogy. Because of the highly individual nature of genealogical and heraldic projects, many of these observations are necessarily generalities.

Italian nobiliary practices cannot be compared directly to those of other countries, such as Scotland or Russia. Even within Italy, regional differences must be considered because until circa 1870 this nation did not exist as a politically unified state.

The Italian Republic was founded by popular referendum in 1946. Two years later, the Italian Constitution established that titles of nobility and coats of arms henceforth were not to be recognised officially by the state, although in some cases the predicato (territorial designation) associated with a titled family could be legally attached to a surname. Thus, the Lanza family, princes of Trabia, are no longer addressed in legal documents (passports, etc.) by the title principe (prince), but their full surname is Lanza di Trabia, not simply "Lanza". It is important to observe that the use of aristocratic titles in Italy is no way outlawed, and historical titles are often used socially, with the titles of cavaliere (knight) and dama (dame) recognised in some cases. A consequence of the lack of governmental recognition of titles in Italy is the proliferation of impostors - people who claim, or even bestow, fraudulent or unsurped titles.

While there exist no means to petition for "official" recognition of Italian noble titles or coats of arms, some private organisations, such as those associated with the former ruling dynasties, continue to recognise these.

The greater titles of nobility are Principe (Noble Prince), Duca (Duke), Marchese (Marques), Conte (Count), Visconte (Viscount) and Barone (Baron). The wife or widow of one of these noblemen is styled by the feminine version of her husband's title - Principessa, Duchessa, et al. In former times, the son of a titled noblemen was occasionally addressed by courtesy by his father's title. The minor titles of nobility are Patrizio (Patrician), Nobile (Nobleman) and Cavaliere Ereditario (Hereditary Knight).

The historical evidence of an ancestor's nobiliary title is usually obvious and can be confirmed through juridical investigation because of documents creating or recognising the rank. The former use of certain titles (particularly baron) without authority must be considered in some cases because rural families of untitled nobility were often identified as "baronial" in the absence of fuedal rights or recognition by the crown.

Nobile is the most frequent aristocratic rank in Italy because, in addition to families that were never actually titled, the younger sons (cadets) of titled noblemen were traditionally regarded as nobili. Thus one encounters such usage as, for example, Giuseppe Lanza dei Principe di Trabia (Giuseppe Lanza of the Princes of Trabia). In Addition to those whose untitled nobility was recognised formally, there were familes of rural gentility that were considered by tradition to be of untitled minor nobility - an Italian class analogous to Britain's landed gentry. Establishing the nobiliary status of such families depends upon various factors and is essentially twofold.

Firstly, documentary evidence must indicate that several ancestors in the same line were accorded honorific forms of address (Magnifico, Illustrissimo, don) in civil or church records before the nineteenth century. Such designations were applied rather loosly in centuries past - especially in rural localities, where any literate tradesman might be addressed as "don". While most local officials or wealthy landholders could not claim nobility, the use of such titles does serve to support the possibility of nobility in some cases.

Secondly, associated heraldic evidence must exist. The family must have been attributed a coat of arms that appertained to that family in particular, not to another in the same region which coincidentally bore the same surname. The coat of arms might be found as the engraving on an ancestral residence or the seal in a document. Perhaps it was recorded in a heraldic reference which mentions a proven (and legitimate) ancestor.

Circumstantial evidence is important, but it can be misleading. For example, one might conclude that local residents who share the surname of the local duke are his kin, and therefore nobles. Documentary research, however, might well demonstrate the contrary - for they might descend from the ducal family's servants.

Anecdotes are rarely accurate or demonstrable. A frequent story is that of an ancestor's having been the illegitmate child of a nobleman. Typically, he was born to an unwed mother whose family subsequently sought to salvage her dignity by alleging aristocratic paternity. It is usually impossible to prove this.

Which conditions may have an effect - positive or negative - on your Italian family history project. The following insights, based on many years of experience in Italy, pertain to factors that have very little to do with Italian genealogy per se, but involve vast cultural differences that influence archival access, documentation and research progress. Research conducted in Italian records (such as microfilms) outside Italy does not bring the researcher into direct contact with these factors. However, the researcher who deals directly with those responsible for Italian records retained in Italy will probably encounter challenging conditions at some point. These involve, among others, factors such as negotiation for archival access, apathetic attitudes on the part of civil or church officials, and the lengthy delays imposed by these issues.

Because the few professional genealogists working in Italy frequently encounter such difficulties, it is occasionally necessary to advise a client of these matters. Typically, the Enlish-speaking Italian descendant who commimisions or conducts Italian genealogical research is simply unaware of the way state bureaucracy, governmental offices and the Roman Catholic church function in Italy. In reality, these Italian institutions differ considerably from their counterparts in North America, Australia or even the United Kindom. Despite perceptions fostered by the informational exchange made possible today by such means of communication as rapid travel, fax machines, the internet and CNN, Italy is not an American state where a different language happens to be spoken - regardless of the extent to which popular culture may attempt to convince us that all societies are essentially the same. The visitor to Italy who ventures far beyond the business suite or tourist trail will discover numerous cultural differences that can affect a genealogical research project. Two everyday examples described here will demonstrate that these differences are not limited to research procedures. Italians traditonally approach tasks in a lineal manner, wishing to complete one activity before beginning another. This differs from the American and British approach, in which somebody might engage in several tasks at the same time, eventually completing each. In an Italian clothing store, a clerk might tend to the needs of the first customer to arrive, continuing to assist him or her even though another customer in need of assistancne is waiting to be fitted. While an English clerk might excuse himself from the first task, at least for a moment, the Italian clerk might consider it rude to interrupt the first customer simply to ascertain the needs of another who arrived later. The implications are obvious; the second customer may have to wait for service.

Likewise, a manager working in his office on Friday might delay answering Thursday's correspondence while he tends to Tuesday's, the priority of each being ascribed as much according to time of arrival as to actual importance. This principle is frustrating when applied to such services as postal deliveries, which in Italy are notoriously unreliable.

The casual visitor to Rome or Florence might not encounter the attitudes described above, and international corporations based in Italy employ a more "American" strategy of scheduling. However, genealogical research is not conducted in a tourist or commercial environment, but rather in state archives, small town vital statistics offices, or old parish churches where traditional attitudes are still a fact of life.

Two customs are particularly alien to those outside Italy. One involves the offering of funds in compensation for such purely voluntary ("unofficial") favors as access provided to a private archive; Catholic parochial archives are "private" and a discreet but generous offering is usually expected to a smaller parish in return for archival access. Another practice is the "recommendation," which involves a person's having been referred by somebody known to the official whose assistance is sought. Both customs are often required by aged Southern pastors, whereas public officials at state archives would be offended by such gestures. This is not "bribery" or "nepotism;" in fact both practices - offerings and recommendation - date from the Middle Ages, when parochial churches were patronized by local aristocratic families. (Thus the notation "offering to facilitate parochial archival access" in the expense section of a clientïs invoice.) These are typical examples of traditional Italian social practices which foreingners sometimes view as "corrupt." Conversely, Italians cast a suspicious eye toward certain American practices which seem corrupt to Europeans-large political campaign contributions and high university tuitions rank among these.

Before considering some particular circumstances, it is worth mentioning that church and state (governmental) entities in Italy are not involved in the pursuit of genealogical research. That simply isnït their job. In general, they do not share the genealogistïs zeal to discover historical information, and they are not in any way obligated to assist him in this pursuit, to reply to his requests, or to allow him access to the necessary records. This means that success in this field depends in large measure upon whether the individuals responsible for the relevant archival materials are cooperative. Bewildered by the growing foreign interest in Italian genealogical information, and inundated by request for free assistance, more and more clerical and civil officials are becoming less and less cooperative, and it should be remembered that there are more immediate demands upon their time; municipal offices are understaffed and there is a dearth of priests in Italy, as elsewhere. Even scheduling an appointment to research is often difficult.

Postal Requests for Certificates.
In many cases, especially where a precise name is provided and an exact date is known, a vital statistics official of pastor will reply to a request vided and an exact date is known, a vital statistics official or pastor will reply to a request made by mail for one or two certificates of baptism, birh, marriage, etc. In other cases, repeated requests or a query by telephone will be necessary in order to receive a response. This is one of the reasons for which professional genealogists charge what seem like inflated rates for this service. Despite what a few "professional" genealogists may imply, neither an overworked vital statistics official nor a busy pastor is legally obligated to respond to such a request, indeed, rigid privacy laws preclude the former from responding to certain requests made by third parties relating to persons who may still be living.

Parochial Archives.
Parochial archives contain information which in some cases might facilitate advancing a lineage into the 1400s; the earliest civil (vital statistics) records in Italy date only from the early 1800s, and census records provide only secondary information. Although pastors will sometimes allow direct access to the parochial archives in their care, they are not obligated to do so. A pastor may require his bishopïs authorization before permitting a genealogist archival consultation. Even then, he might not permit the researcher to consult registers directly. There are more dioceses in Italy than there are provinces, and bishops exercise ultimate authority over the parishes in their diocesan jurisdictions. In most instances, ther are no alternative sources for the information contained in parochial archives, and most of thes archival records will never be microfilmed by the LDS Church (Mormons) or the Italian state. For religious reasons, the Mormons are not generally allowed access to Catholic parochial records in Italy. (This results from an order issued by the Catholic Conference of Italian Bishops a few years ago.) Obtaining parochial archival access is quite time-consuming and often complicated, and may be influences by a pastorïs negative experience with discourteous amateur researchers. In some cases, a year or two can pass before a diocesan bishop decides to grant archival access for research purposes. This can impose a considerable-and frustrating-delay in completion of certain projects, for which a client might wait as long as two years or more. Often-especially for periods before 1800-the information available in parochial records simply does not exist elsewhere.

Photocopies and Certificates.
It is often possible to obtain photocopies of at least some source documents. However, pastors and other officials may prohibit photocopying, and some are reluctant to issue certificates to the researcher who request a dozen of more "proofs" of acts and dates. Photocopiers are often unavailable, and may contribute to the destruction of priceless records; photography with digital cameras and photocopying with portable scanner-copiers might not be permitted. Increasingly, therefore, genealogists provide page and reference numbers in lieu of certificates and photocopies.

Time.
As you may have inferred, the greatest difficulty posed by a genealogical research project conducted in Italy relates to time. When records exist, profound lineages can be established. Yet, the delays imposed by bureaucracy in matters involving genealogical research are formidable even under the best of circumstances. Patience is a virtue well-suited to this field.

The legal requirements for recognition of Italian citizenship claims made by persons born abroad, but whose births were never registered with an Italian consular agency, vary considerably according to particular circumstances, and also depend upon existing treaties between the Italian Republic and various states. Therefore, if claimants born in Great Britain, the United States and Argentina each queried an Italian consular officer in their respective countries with regard to this procedure, each would receive different answers to some of the same questions. It is our intention to present a general description of the procedures involved, and particularly the genealogical requirements, especially for claimants born and resident outside Italy. For our purposes, we shall consider births under normal conditions, as opposed to circumstances such as adoption.

Italian citizenship is based primarily on lineage, as opposed to geography (i.e. birth in Italy) or naturalization. However, an Italian bloodline is not, in itself, sufficient grounds for claiming Italian citizenship. One is an Italian citizen if he-she is born to a parent who is an Italian citizen. Citizenship may be transmitted through the childïs mother, father, or through both parents. However, a claim to Italian citizenship is made only through one parent per generation. Legitimacy of birth is not required if the citizenship is claimed through the mother; it is normally required if claimed through the father of a child born outside Italy. It is also necessary to establish definite identification of the person(s) through whom citizens ship is claimed. If, for example, Christina Clark seeks to claim citizenship through her fater, born in Italy as Giuseppe Calarco, but her own birth registration indicates his name as Joseph Clark, it would be nececary for her to establish to the satisfaction of consular authorities that Giuseppe Calarco and Joseph Clark are in fact the same person; this may require that particular records (for example, a legal document authorizing a change of name) be produced in addition to normal circumstances, Italian residency of his-her descendants is not required for them to claim Italian citizenship. It should be noted that when a family has resided outside Italy for several generations, the last ancestor recognized as an Italian citizen may have been born more than a century ago. If born before 1860, he would have been a citizen of one of the nations (Kingdom of Sardinia, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, etc.) to which the Kingdom of Italy and subsequently (since 1946) the Italian Republic are successor states.

The most important acts and documents relate to births, marriages and citizenship for each ancestral generation. A renunciation of Italian citizenship may influence the claim, An example best explains this (see genealogy illustrated on reverse). Giuseppe Rosso is born Italy in 1895, and emigrates in 1925. In 1927, he weds in the United States Karen Volker, a German citizen, who gives birth to a son, John, in 1929. Giuseppe becomes an American citizen in 1932, having renounced his Italian citizenship the year before. Karen also becomes a United States citizen. John, however, was already an American citizen because he was born in the United States (where geography is the principal determinant of citizenship). John is likewise an Italian citizen because he was born to an Italian citizen. As an infant, he could not renounce his Italian nationality, and his father could not do so for him. John remains an Italian citizen unless he ever decides to renounce this right legally. Another child, Carl, is born to the couple in 1934. Carl is not an Italian citizen because he was born to a father who is no longer an Italian citizen. John, being an Italian citizen, transmits this right to his children. Carl, however, is not an Italian citizen and has no citizenship right to transmit. In the event, John and his children cannot exercise their rights as Italian citizens unless they are recognized as citizens by the Italian Republic. If Johnïs birth or citizenship was never registered with an Italian consulate, his children must demonstrate their status (and their fatherïs) as Italian citizens if they wish to obtain the exercise of these rights.

The basis for obtaining these rights outside Italy is usually a petition for a certificate of citizenship (certificato di cittadinanza), normally a prerequisite for an Italian passport.

Which documents will you need? You will be required to produce, at the least, a certificate of birth and a certificate of marriage for each foreign-born ancestor through whom your claim is made, as well as the Italian- born ancestor. These documents must indicate parentage. They might relate to a father, grandfather and great grandfather. In most countries, you must provide proof of the date of naturalization for any ancestor who renounced his-her Italian nationality. (In the United States, for example, an act of naturalization can be obtained through the local court before which the ancestor swore allegiance to the government, and a document indicating that a foreign-born ancestor never became an American citizen is obtained through the Immigration and Naturalization Service.) All documents must be properly sealed. You may be required to provide an apostille certification (a form of naturalization recognized internationally) for documents released by a nation outside the European Community. Non-Italian documents usually must be translated officially for a fee by an Italian consular officer or authorized agent. Within the European Community, however, it is usually possible to obtain multi-lingual vital statistics certificates which obviate the need for this service. A simple family tree clearly indicating the line of descent and acts for which supporting document are provided should accompany these items.

How much will the procedure cost? This depends upon various factors, such as the number of generations involved. At the minimum, a petition involving several generations and various supporting documents, with the required translations, certificates and fees, will cost several hundred dollars or pounds.

It is not the purpose of this guide to offer legal advice; particular queries should be addressed to the Italian consulate having jurisdiction in your locality, or to an Italian attorney qualified to represent a client in thesr matters. Under normal conditions, legal consultation will not be necessary, although the services of a professional genealogist may be required for document searches in Italy.

Although most governments do not prohibit dual nationality to their own citizens, certain legal conditions should be considered, and foreign-born claimants for Italian citizenship are strongly advised to consult the competent government agency regarding any questions pertaining to this matter.

Investigative and genealogical research pertaining to adopted ancestors or those ancestors born outside marriage presents particular challenges. While each case is unique, certain generalities can be considered based upon the nature of social conditions, as well as available records. For the most part, we shall consider such generalities as related to civil (vital statistics) records, as opposed to church records (parochial acts of baptism, marriage, etc.). Historical topics relate to births from circa 1810 to circa 1860; subsequent births will be said to be contemporary, births in the twentieth century being considered investigative cases rather than genealogical research projects per se.

Before embarking on any project involving an adoptive ancestor or one born outside marriage, it is important that the researcher acknowledge and comprehend several factors. From 1860 until 1929, the Italian state (i.e. the Kingdom of Italy) did not recognize Catholic marriages. Although it is true that both ecclesiastical and civil marriages were performed for most spousal unions in certain parts of Italy (such as the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies) in the decades before 1860, the Kingdom of Italy refused to recognize ecclesiastical marriages altogether. This means that an act of birth from, for example, 1875, might refer to a child as the son of "an unwed mother" who in fact was married in church but not at the town hall. Terms of one of the Lateran Treaties granted retroactive state recognition of these ecclesiastical marriages in 1929. Therefore, such acts must be confirmed by consultation of parochial records.

Hearsay may provide certain general information, but its legitimate research value usually correlates in some way (often inversely) to its social value. For example, an unwed mother might have claimed, perhaps long after her child's birth and far away from the locality where she resided when she gave birth, that the natural father was a local aristocrat; families often perpetuated such stories to salvage the dignity of both mother and child. The genealogist, however, would require more than a merely circumstantial "allegation" of paternity in such a case--for example, a formal act of recognition made by the natural father before the local vital statistics registrar.

An act of recognition would not have "legitimized" such a child for purposes such as succession to a title of nobility, though it may have allowed him, if only under very particular conditions, to inherit certain other paternal property, but in any event a married man would not likely consent to acknowledge publicly that he had committed adultery or fornication. The principle of legitimacy relates to crown (statutory) and church (canon) laws too complex to be described in detail here. Illegitimacy in Italy has never been as rigidly defined as in English law, which distinguishes, for example, between "bastards" and "adulterine bastards." Canon law formerly dictated that only legitimately-born men could be ordained to the priesthood, but this condition is no longer required for ordination. Rigid privacy laws prohibit direct consultation of contemporary (post-1910) vital statistics records, or any such records that have not been deposited with a provincial state archive.

Historical Cases
Into the nineteenth century, foundlings were often given surnames which actually indicated their illegitimacy. Proietti meant "cast out," Trovato literally meant "foundling," and D'Ignoti "of unknown" parents. Esposito derived directly from the Latin ex positum (literally "of this place") which appeared in some acts of baptism of foundlings. Legislation passed in 1928 outlawed the practice of assigning such children surnames indicative of their illegitimacy or abandonment, but surnames of some sort still had to be given to these children. These were sometimes the surnames of royal and noble families, but more often they were toponymic (geographical) in nature or alluded to the day, month or season of the child's birth (i.e. Sabato, Maggio, Primavera, and so forth).
An act of birth referring to an infant's paternity as "unknown" was normally necessary if the mother was unwed and the natural (biological) father had not come forth to recognize the child. Reference to "unknown" maternity was more frequent in the cases of complete abandonment of infants; this doesn't necessarily imply that all such infants were born to unwed parents. Where this kind of declaration was made by a midwife, it is reasonable to presume that she knew the identify of the woman whose baby she helped to deliver. It is presumed that the mother declaring the birth of her own illegitimate child knew who fathered the baby.

The texts of acts of baptism usually indicated "legitimate and natural" children of listed parents, and "natural" progeny of a single parent (usually the mother) or unknown parents.

Acts of recognition may be contained in particular registers covering a number of years, or they may be found in , which may also include adoptions and sundry legal acts relating in some way to vital statistics. It should be observed that atti diversi registers are not dedicated exclusively to adoptions and unwed births. In some localities, there are particular registers dedicated exclusively to proietti, or foundlings. Most frequently, acts of births regarding to foundlings or children born to unwed mothers were filed in the same registers as other births.

Contemporary Cases
After 1860, civil acts of birth were instituted throughout Italy, whereas previously they were kept only in certain regions or were attached to acts of baptism. In general, acts of birth and marriage after 1860 provide far less genealogically useful information than will be found in acts issued prior to that date.
In considering this period, it is worth noting that Italian orphanages traditionally were sponsored by the religious orders, and therefore answered to the church before the state. Very few of their archives have been preserved for consultation, and in the event usually do not provide the explicit information (such as parentage) that facilitates lineal research. However, many children were placed in orphanages who were not "orphans" in the most traditional sense. For example, a man whose wife died might place his children in an orphanage even though they were no longer infants (for instance, children around the age of ten years).

In the event an infant were placed for adoption (for example, by a young unwed mother) after his birth was registered, the birth record itself might include parentage, or at least indicate maternity. However, direct consultation of such acts, which may be prohibited even to most vital statistics personnel, is usually impossible, and only a "simple" birth certificate (without indication of parentage) normally will be issued. In fact, most birth certificates issued in Italy today, and all those required for official use such as school registration, are released on forms which do not even have a designated space for parents' names. This is likewise true for most contemporary baptismal certificates.

In certain cases, an infant was placed for adoption immediately, even before his birth was registered. In such cases, the birth records would contain less information.

Twentieth-century adoptions, including many of those processed after 1946, have often been undertaken through various Catholic agencies; this included newborns as well as children resident in orphanages, and until the 1970s some such adoptions were "international" (i.e. Italian-born children placed with overseas couples). Certain information pertinent to such adoptions would be retained by the agencies (many of which are now defunct) and, in most cases, by the local court responsible for registration of adoptions. Unfortunately for adoptees in search of their natural parents, such records are usually not made available for consultation.

Circumstantial Evidence and Investigations
Circumstantial factors must be considered objectively in cases involving foundlings, adoptees and children born outside marriage. In the rare instances when conclusions are drawn, these must be based upon a preponderance of the evidence, and all evidence must have been reviewed carefully. This may involve parochial records as well as civil ones, and will normally require direct consultation of records in Italy, as opposed to superficial review of microfilmed records.
Sociological factors and practices are extremely important in this particular branch of genealogical research, and bureaucratic procedures (regarding access to records, etc.) are relevant. In most cases, the research involving a project of this nature should be entrusted to a professional genealogist based in Italy who is experienced in investigations and studies of this kind. Especially in contemporary cases concerning living persons, such investigations may necessitate the application of certain particular strategies and tactics which have not been described herein.