Hello,
I am visiting Italy with my three sisters and will be spending the day in Piacenza, (a town in central Italy between Milan and Tuscany) which is where my Great Grandmother lived. I am wondering if there is a company that will help me find an exact or even approximate building where she lived. Does anyone know of any company either in the US or Italy that could help me with this search?
Thank you,
This is great. Thanks.
Go to the local church to search for baptismal, marriage and death records.
Piacenza is actually in northern Italy, between Parma and Milan.
If you have info on the ancestors, the church is a good place to start. Ufficio Anagrafe of the Comune (CityHall) is where official records are kept.
If you are okay with a DIY approach, you could always contact the commune via email to see of they would be able to give you the information. Here is the website: https://www.comune.piacenza.it/comune
I recently went in search of my family roots. I got lucky and the cook where we were staying had a brother in vital records who got us the address. If you ask nicely, you may get what you need without hiring someone.
My geneological experience in March 2015 was a little different. We were going to stay at a B&B in Salerno, and in advance I hired the owner to drive us one day to Sant' Arsenio, a tiny village 50 km SE into the foothills in Campania. He also said he did advance work with the town to set up a meeting at which we would be provided with docs about my great-great grandparents. Before we left, I sent the info I had to the B&B, which was supposed to be forwarded to the authorities in Sant' Arsenio.
Needless to say, none of this took place to my satisfaction. The owner wasn't available, so his 70-something father (who spoke no English) drove us, along with the B&B's caretaker who spoke some Italian & some English, neither well because she was Japanese. We got to the city hall, the man in the office looked at our sheet, said he wasn't aware of any meeting, and acted like he was angling for some money. I wasn't about to pay him because I already paid the B&B owner handsomely for this work, and his poor father was caught in the middle, with the caretaker translating between Italian & English.
Of course, they all blamed each other in the end, amusingly. We still had a great time for the few hours we were there, visiting the town cemetery and finding my great-great uncle's grave, one of the few still remaining intact after having the crap bombed out of the area in two world wars. Also found some similar surnames with the locals at the coffee shop, speaking in my fractured Italian, and just wandering around town in a chilly March fog. A memorable time despite the snafus.
Bottom line is that had I stayed two or three days, I think I would've made some real headway. You can't do it in just a few hours. And maybe you don't want to do it yourself...
I was able to get a copy of my grandfathers baptismal certificate at the church in Northern Italy where he was born (Gaggio Montano) and then proceeded to the town hall where they made me a copy of his birth certificate. The church is the repository of all records before the government started keeping records many years later. I asked at the library in town if there was anyone who spoke good enough English to help me and the librarians husband was able to go with me to church and town hall. I offered to pay him but he wouldn't hear of it so I left money in the collection box at the church.
I forgot to add that his baptismal certificate had the location of his birth (a house called Casa Piccio). The gentleman helping me knew the house and drove me to it and explained to the current occupants who I was and I took pictures of the outside.
