It doesn't take a researcher long to discover this diversity. When you first begin researching Italian records, you will see this trademark Italian variety in an almost endless assortment of records, each changing format depending on the geographic area and time period.

North and South
The documents which often give genealogists the most problems are those that are referred to as Napoleonic records. When Napoleon took over most of Italy in the beginning of the nineteenth century, the French instituted a system of law, which included the recording of civil vital statistics. This system introduced new forms for the recording of births, marriages, and deaths (these forms are similar to the forms used for the registration of these events today). The Napoleonic records begin in about 1806 or later, depending on the area of Italy. Napoleonic records are filled with details to delight genealogists. These records are in Italian, of course, so at least a basic knowledge of the language will help. Without some advance preparation and language background, finding the date you need and the name of the person who is the subject of the record can sometimes be difficult.

In southern Italy and Sicily, you will find wonderful printed records that start about 1809 to 1820. The forms in this area of Italy (which are also often called Napoleonic, even though Napoleon never entered Sicily) are fairly uniform, and it is easy to become acquainted with the records and do your research. In the north, however, the records are not as easy to use. Napoleon was in the north of Italy until 1815, and although there are Napoleonic records for this period, the north, which is always thought of as being very developed and industrialized, has handwritten records. As genealogists know, this often creates a big problem: deciphering handwriting is a major stumbling block when reading records. While the northern records include much of the same information as is found in the southern records, northern records are much harder to read.

It is always difficult to generalize about Italy. For instance, the situation described above does not apply to all of northern Italy. In the Trento region, after Napoleon left, civil records were kept by each local church parish, in addition to its own parish records. This procedure was continued until the area became part of the Italian Republic. There are also variations in record keeping found in the Piedmont area. Thus the north presents problems for researchers, as opposed to the south and Sicily, where the vital records are much more uniform. Fortunately, the vast majority of immigrants to the United States came from the south and Sicily.

Civil Vital Records
To complete most searches, a researcher will have to go to the source: Italy. Due to time and financial constraints, however, many people write to Italian archives to obtain vital records for their family histories. If you write to Italy for civil vital records created after 1865, you will receive either a "certificate" or an "extract." The Italian government does not permit vital records to be photostated or viewed until they are at least seventy-five years old. Extracts will give you much of the information you want, including parents' names, which are not generally included in a certificate. The extracts are fairly easy to read, even for a beginner, with the use of an Italian genealogical word list or dictionary.