Looking for info on our surname.

[depastinogang]

Hello. My name is Amanda DePastino. I am trying to find information about my husband\'s family, back in Italy. So far we have gotten our information from other DePastino\'s here in the U.S.A. and from some family records. I have a copy of a birth certificate for my husband\'s Great Grandpa DePastino, and it gives the name of his father and mother...however, we are having a very hard time finding what our surname used to be. Apparently, DePastino is not the original spelling or name and I have a few others that I have been told may have been the correct name. These are what I have. <BR>1. Di Pastena 2. Di Pasta 3. De Pastene 4. Di Pastene <BR> <BR>I have found DePastino in Italy. But the last ancestor born in Italy was named either Damiano DiPastena or Damiani DiPasta. He was born in 1898 in Castelforte or Castle Forte Italy. I was told that our family was from an area between Rome and Naples. My husband at one time was told that they were Sicilian and now I am very confused! Anyway, we are trying to find relatives that live in Italy and trace back as far as we can go. This project is so that I can put together a family tree for my kids to carry on with them. Just in case we do find any other relatives, my family and I are learning the Italian Language. So far we are doing pretty good. We know the Alphabet, numbers 1-30, the days of the week, some foods names, we can say some phrases, but only through memorization right now. We are still learning the verbs, nouns and such. However, our pronunciation is very good and we have been told that we sound authentic. That makes me feel good because we have only been studying for about 7months and we are self taught, through books and online programs downloadable software. Anyway, if we do find family, then, we will hopefully be ready to speak to them. <BR>If you can help us in anyway, or if you personally know anyone by the last names that I have put in here, please let me know. We want to go back as far as possible. My sister in law has found that the DePastino\'s (our side of the family) goes back the royal family, by the last name Savoy. That is very interesting. <BR>Thanks for any help you can give me. <BR> <BR>Ciao. <BR> <BR>Amanda DePastino

[ptimber]

There is no listing in the italian dictionary of curnames for any of the sunrame variations that you mentioned and beyond which means that the name is entirely local. Your attempt to trace the correct spelling then narrows down to the town of origin which you say ius Castelforte, Postal code 04021, Province of Latina in Lazio. If you go to www.gens.labo.net/en cognomi/gnera.html and insert these names you will get a geographic distribution of the surname you select in Italy. You have an advantage in knowing the town so I would concentrate on all the available records which may date back to 1803 or 1873 when Italy became unified for civil records and church records go back to 1600.If you wish to conductyou inquiry here in the uSA then go to the Mormon church Family History Library nearest your home and request the Catelforte microfilm and bring a magnifying glass to assist you. The charge is minimal and the work prodigious!! You might want to review www.google.com for a spelling that is assocaited with Csastelforte after you reveiw the microfilm data and see how the name has been spelled. Peter

[ptimber]

as an afterthought why don\'t you go to www.google.com and insert Castelforte italyD......... and use each of the names to see which one comes up associated with Castelforte. Peter