You’ve come to the right place if you’re looking for Italian birth, marriage, or death records. These are called vital records, and they are issued by the Registry Office of your ancestor’s municipality.
They are available at FamilySearch online in the Catalog. The collections vary by place, with some having annual indexes that make finding your ancestor easier.
Birth Records
The first step in obtaining Italian citizenship is getting the proper documents—vital records—for yourself and your ancestor(s). For births, you’ll need a document known as a certificazione di nascita, or estratto di nascita. The consulate will require this to be authenticated with an apostille, so it is essential to get it right the first time.
Birth records in Italy were kept at the civil registrar’s office [anagrafe] of each town where a person was born. So you’ll need to know what town or city your ancestor was born in and how to identify that from maps, gazetteers, and other references.
A certificate of birth is an official document issued by a municipality certifying the date, place, and parents’ names of the person born. It can be used to obtain a passport, register for military service, or apply for naturalization.
The FamilySearch library has microfilmed many civil registration records for central and southern Italy towns from 1866 to 1910. The Antenati portal has indexes for many of these towns, as well. But even these cover only some of Italy or the years before and after when civil registration was optional in all areas.
Marriage Records
Aside from the Italian genealogical society of America, if your ancestor was married in Italy, you can find their marriage records from the same municipal office where they registered their birth and death. The office is called the Ufficio dello Stato Civile (registry office) in Italian.
The same type of documentation is required for a marriage certificate, although the information may differ slightly depending on when they were married. The document may include a full name, date of birth, parent’s names, and occupations. It may also list any children from previous marriages and the terms of deceased fathers or paternal grandfathers if the bride or groom was underage when they married.
Unlike birth and death certificates, marriage records are not usually available online in Italy. You’ll need to visit the local registrar and ask to see them.
You can use maps, gazetteers, and other references to help you identify the municipality in which your ancestor lived and its civil registration office. You can then search FamilySearch’s online Catalog by entering Italy in the “collection title” field and a place name or clicking on Europe on the map and choosing a province to view all available collections in that area.
One collection that helps extend your Italian lineage quickly is the marriage supplements, also known as processes or allegati. These are packets filed by a bride or groom to support their application for a marriage license. The packages included copies of the supporting documents, including birth and death records and documentation on previous spouses.
Death Records
In Italy, death records (estratto di morte) are based on the civil registration office’s (Ufficio Anagrafe e Stato Civile) registrar’s original papers. The Ufficio can issue an Estratto per riassunto dell’atto di morte (a certified extract of the death record) and an Estratto per riassunto di matrimonio (certified extract of the marriage record). Generally, only the husband can request these documents on behalf of his wife. In addition, some municipalities may issue a document known as a Certificato di Esatte Generalita. This certifies that an individual named in different records has the same name and, therefore, the same person.
Civil registration records are kept in your ancestor’s town or city [comune]. To find them, you need the name of your ancestor’s hometown and a general idea of when the event occurred.
FamilySearch has many collections of Italian death and burial records that can be found on their website. You can search them for free in a FamilySearch center or an affiliate library. You can also purchase the papers from them for a small fee.
Another source of information is the Civil Registry of New York City for births and deaths before 1906 and in Brooklyn and portions of Richmond County before 1895, which are available through the NYC Department of Health. Other sources include the state archives and church records.
Divorce Records
If your ancestor got a divorce in Italy, there are several ways to access the record. The first is to check the civil registration office (ufficio anagrafe e stato civile) in the municipality where your ancestor was born or where they married or died. This office cannot research its files extensively for an unidentified record nor translate requests written in a foreign language.
The second way to find Italian divorce records is to search online. The FamilySearch website contains an extensive collection of civil registration records (registry dello stato civile). This includes supplies by year, index, and images. To access them, enter a place search in the family tree and then select the option for registry dello stato civile di [place].
You will also want to look for church marriage records and check the civil records for the husband’s municipality. These records may include more information than those of the bride’s municipality.
Another thing to remember is that many of these records are very old. Some of them are more than 100 years old. As a result, the information could be tricky to read. This is why having someone who knows Italian with you is a good idea when searching these records. You can find the documents in the United States in your city, county records office, or state archives.