If they came from a small town you must write to the Comune of the city having jurisdiction over the "frazione" (hamlet). Updated: January 2, 2020 . Ancestry.com, findmypast.com, and MyHeritage.com can be searched free of charge at your local family history center or the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. This is a list of Parish census (stati delle anime = "state of souls") and census made by the civil authority, (population, housing, "censimento") of Italian communes, available for consultation online.

and. The first census of Italy was taken in 1871. Census records up to 1991 are held in the state archive of each province. This photo is an example of how a census was conducted. This month, we are going to dig into Italian census records. If you need assistance understanding the records in Latin or Italian, there are many webpages devoted to terms used in Italian genealogical documents. An interesting aspect of Italian census records is their availability and contents vary based on the history of a region. The first true Italian census took place in 1871 after unification, but census-like records were compiled as far back as 1379 in Venice. Each person in the town had a personal record card indicating all their personal… Church records and civil registration records are usually better sources for Italy. I see a lot of posts on message boards asking about Italian Census records. Browse/Search To find links to collections for lower jurisdictions (such as a county, town, or parish), go to Locating Online Databases. There really aren't any of the type you see in North America or the United Kingdom. Italian Census Records Online. Census records from 1911 or 1921 to 1991 are also usually found in each comune’s anagrafe (register’s office). Since then, a census has been taken every 10 years. Finding Italian Records In order to obtain copies of family records you must write to the Comune (municipality) of the city or town from which your ancestors came. However, they may not have all the terms you will need to know, so make sure you take advantage of translation engines such as Babelfish and Google for definitions of those words. Italian census records do not provide as much information as census records of other countries. Your Italian Ancestors' place of birth can be found on documents and records such as USA Immigration papers, Birth records, Marriage Records, Death Records, Census Records, Social Security Applications, Ellis Island or other Immigrant Ship Passenger Arrival Records, Naturalization Papers, Obituaries and some WWI and WWII draft cards. Italy Online Genealogy Records This chart shows links to countrywide collections. Census records, however, can be valuable because they list much of the population, and they can provide certain information if other records are incomplete or missing.