Italy Church Records: Difference between revisions

For more information about government vital records, see the "[[Italy Civil Registration- Vital Records|Civil Registration]]" section of this outline.

In general the church began keeping records in 1563 because of reforms proclaimed at the Council of Trent. Not all parishes conformed until much later. Most parishes, however, have kept registers from about 1595 to the present. A few parishes kept records as early as the 1300s. The church records of Palermo, for example, start about 1350, and the baptistry in Firenze has records from the early 1400s. A few examples of important dates are:

Unfortunately some Italian church records were destroyed in the various wars throughout Italy’s history. Other records were destroyed when parish churches burned down. Some were lost, and still others have been badly worn and destroyed by insects, vermin, and moisture.

Duplicates, when they exist, are normally located at the ''curia vescovile'' (diocesan archives).

The information recorded in church books varied over time. Later records generally have more complete information than the earlier ones.

In most areas, printed forms were not used until the late nineteenth or early twentieth centuries. Printed forms were used as early as 1820 in the Trentino-Alto Adige region.

Children were generally baptized within a few days of birth. Baptismal registers usually give the names of the infant and parent, status of legitimacy, names of witnesses or godparents, and the baptism date. You may also find the child’s birth date, father’s occupation, and the family’s place of residence. Death or marriage information has sometimes been added as a note in the margin. The street name or family’s address may also be given for larger cities.

Earlier registers typically give less information. They may give only the names of the child and father and the baptism date. They may not contain the mother’s name, or they may contain only her given name. Early records only record the baptism date; later records may include the birth date.

Couples were generally married in the home parish of the bride. Typically, girls married between ages 18 and 25. Men married in their twenties.

In addition to the marriage date, marriage registers sometimes give the dates on which the marriage intentions (banns) were announced.

A wedding was generally was announced for three consecutive Sunday masses prior to the wedding. These announcements, called banns, gave opportunity for anyone to come forward who knew of any reasons why the couple should not be married.

In addition to or instead of the actual marriage registers, some Italian churches kept separate books to record marriage banns.

Burials and deaths were recorded in the church record of the parish where the person died or was buried. The burial usually took place within a day or two of the death in the parish where the person died.

Stillbirths were sometimes recorded in church baptismal or burial registers. In most cases, however, the birth is not recorded.

In Italy the parish priest was often required to collect taxes for the state from his parishioners. He would sometimes record information about his parishioners and the tax in a special set of volumes, which were called church censuses. In Italian the church census is called the stato delle anime. In Latin it is status animarum. Both terms mean "state of the souls."

Not all priests regularly kept church censuses. Where the censuses do exist, the registers list all family members living in a household and their ages or birth dates. Deceased children were not listed. Married children, if living in the same household, were recorded with the family but as a separate household. Familial relationships and addresses were also noted.

Church records were kept at the local parish church. The term parish refers to the jurisdiction of a church priest. Parishes are local congregations, usually in one town only, but sometimes they included other villages in their boundaries.

The headquarters of the parish is the town where the church building is located. Although most church buildings were usually named for a saint, the Family History Library Catalog may refer to a parish by the name of the town where the parish church was located. In large cities that have many parishes, the catalog usually uses the parish church name (such as San Giovanni) to distinguish the records of different parishes.

The Family History Library has records from many Italian parishes up to 1900 and some up to 1925. However, if a record has been destroyed, was never kept, has not been microfilmed, or is restricted from public access by the law, the Family History Library does not have a copy.

New records are continually added to the Family History Library collection from many sources. Do not give up if records are not available yet. Check the Family History Library Catalog again every year or two for the records you need.

Italy has no single repository for church records. If the baptism, marriage, and burial records have not been microfilmed, you will have to contact or visit the local parish or archive in Italy.

When you write to Italy for genealogical information, your letter should be written in Italian. Send the following:

* Check or money order for the search fee in local currency, when possible.

* Full name and sex of the person sought.

* International reply coupon, available from the post office (optional).

Effective use of church records includes the following strategies:

* When you find an ancestor’s birth or baptismal record, search for the births of siblings.<br>

* If you do not find earlier generations in the parish registers, search neighboring parishes.<br>

* Search the death registers for all family members.

Although the Roman Catholic Church is the dominant religion in Italy, other churches do exist and have kept records.

The Family History Library has some records for the following denominations:

* '''Waldensians [''Valdesi''].''' These records follow the format of most church records but are written in French.

* '''Eastern Orthodox [''Chiesa Ortodossa'' or ''Chiesa Greca''].''' Where they exist, these records are virtually identical to Roman Catholic Church records and are available at the local parishes.