ITALIAN WAR BABIES

[CherylSims]

Hi! I hope I am posting this in the right place. My husband's English father was stationed in Italy during WWII and consequently(!) he has a half-sister, LILIANA TERENZI, born in PESARO on 6 June 1944. How easy would it be to trace her? Also how probable is it that she would have been told about her biological father? (We have heard that quite often Italian men brought up these children as their own and so the children knew nothing about their real parentage.) We would love to hear from anyone who could help us.

[misbris]

This may be a crazy coincidence, but

Terenzi Liliana
61100 Pesaro (PU) - Via Alfano Franco, 18
0721 454691

Here is a link to the Italian white pages with all the Terenzi in Pesaro.

http://www.paginebianche.it/execute.cgi ... mr=10&td=2&

It doesn't cost much to send a letter.

Good luck

Mary Jo

[AnotherCitizenToBe]

Hi! I hope I am posting this in the right place. My husband's English father was stationed in Italy during WWII and consequently(!) he has a half-sister, LILIANA TERENZI, born in PESARO on 6 June 1944. How easy would it be to trace her? Also how probable is it that she would have been told about her biological father? (We have heard that quite often Italian men brought up these children as their own and so the children knew nothing about their real parentage.) We would love to hear from anyone who could help us.

You should tread carefully here...

Perhaps this person does not know of the circumstances of her birth and would rather not find out now, at the age of 63.

I see from the Italian telephone directory that there are many Terenzi's listed in Pesaro, including a Liliana (see here)

I think if *I* were to pursue this kind of situation, I would consider contacting the local parish priests. See if you can find out which church Liliana worships in, if the priest is aware of her circumstances, and if he thinks contact would be successful. I might even ask him to speak with Liliana to see what she would like to do.

Of course, I do not live in Italy and can only guess at how well your attempt to contact Liliana might be received.

[BillieDeKid]

Hi Cheryl,

This is very interesting. Just out of curiousity how did your husband come to know of Liliana and to know her actual year and day of birth? Do you know what her mothers name full name? Is Terenzi her stepfathers surname?

Like I said, it's an interesting story and I'm just curious.

Elizabeth

[CherylSims]

Hi Cheryl,

This is very interesting. Just out of curiousity how did your husband come to know of Liliana and to know her actual year and day of birth? Do you know what her mothers name full name? Is Terenzi her stepfathers surname?

Like I said, it's an interesting story and I'm just curious.

Elizabeth

Hi Elizabeth,

Thanks for your message. We know Liliana exists because we have 4 photos of her! One is of her as a baby sitting with her mother taken in a studio in Pesaro. It has the photographer's stamp on the back, and a handwritten message in Italian to my husband's father dated 6-6-1945 and signed Gina. From that we assumed that Liliana was born in Pesaro and the date was that of her first birthday. There are three further photos of Liliana pre-school and maybe 5 or 6 years old. On the back of one of the photos is some childish writing and on another the date 6-6 and the child's name: Liliana Terenzi. The first letter of the surname is quite fancy and appears to be a "T", although it is possible it could be another letter. (Not being familiar with Italian surnames I have no idea what else it could be.) My husband's father (John Sims) married in Feb 1950 and it would appear that the photos stopped then. It is quite interesting that Gina sent photos to John in London, England for several years - it may be Liliana DID know about her English soldier father.

My husband's mother knew that there was a child in Italy but John never talked about Liliana; however he did keep her photos and they resurfaced after his death in 1994. My husband's mother died in Sept this year, hence the reason why we are attempting to trace Liliana now.

Cheryl

[misbris]

Cheryl,
I do not know Italian customs that well, but I believe you could write a very diplomatic, non threatening, non judgmental letter asking for assistance in finding this person. Maybe one of our Italian members can weigh in on this subject to give better advice.

Mary Jo

[BillieDeKid]

Cheryl that's wonderful that your husband wants to find his sister. I'm a little choked up, it's very touching. I'm sure that one of the genealogists from italy will give their input. Please keep us posted on what you decide to do.

Best wishes,
Elizabeth

[CherylSims]

This may be a crazy coincidence, but

Terenzi Liliana
61100 Pesaro (PU) - Via Alfano Franco, 18
0721 454691

Here is a link to the Italian white pages with all the Terenzi in Pesaro.

http://www.paginebianche.it/execute.cgi ... mr=10&td=2&

It doesn't cost much to send a letter.

Good luck

Mary Jo

Thanks - I'll bear this in mind!

[CherylSims]

You should tread carefully here...

Perhaps this person does not know of the circumstances of her birth and would rather not find out now, at the age of 63.

I think if *I* were to pursue this kind of situation, I would consider contacting the local parish priests. See if you can find out which church Liliana worships in, if the priest is aware of her circumstances, and if he thinks contact would be successful. I might even ask him to speak with Liliana to see what she would like to do.

Of course, I do not live in Italy and can only guess at how well your attempt to contact Liliana might be received.

Sounds like very good advice to me - we hadn't thought about contacting local parish priests in the event that we did find Liliana.

[AnotherCitizenToBe]

You should tread carefully here...

Perhaps this person does not know of the circumstances of her birth and would rather not find out now, at the age of 63.

I think if *I* were to pursue this kind of situation, I would consider contacting the local parish priests. See if you can find out which church Liliana worships in, if the priest is aware of her circumstances, and if he thinks contact would be successful. I might even ask him to speak with Liliana to see what she would like to do.

Of course, I do not live in Italy and can only guess at how well your attempt to contact Liliana might be received.

Sounds like very good advice to me - we hadn't thought about contacting local parish priests in the event that we did find Liliana.

You know, I just want to reiterate...

Italy is a land of old traditions and nowhere are these more evident than in the small villages outside the large cities. At the time your now-62 year old relative was born, an out-of-wedlock birth would have been a very shameful thing and might very well have been kept hidden from everyone. Was Liliana ever told? We can't know that with any certainty. If she wasn't told, and finds out at this late date, will she be pleased to know about her British relatives? Or, will she be ashamed of her heritage and angry with her (presumably though not necessarily) deceased mother?

There is just no way to predetermine the outcome and you should consider not only your desire to find Liliana, but her potential desire to be found. This is not at all dissimilar to adopted children seeking out their birth mothers; as you may have read, there is great debate on this subject.

Come to think of it, you may want to consider seeking out Liliana's mother instead of Liliana herself.

[Emmy]

Just a thought. Is there any way you may be able to obtain a copy of Liliana's birth certificate I know it wont be on LDS films but if you managed to get a copy you would know for sure if the father's name had been put on it. or if it had been filled in as 'niente padre' no father. If your husband's father's name is on the birth certificate then you would be certain that Liliana would be aware of the situation.
Emmy

[CherylSims]

We had thought about looking for Liliana's mother but had assumed that she was unlikely to be alive. Yes, it may be easier to approach the situation from that angle instead.

[ricbru]

Cheryl,
I suggest you to write to Pesaro civil record office

Comune
Ufficio di Stato Civile
Via Don Minzoni, 4 - 61100 Pesaro
phone +39 0721-3871

in order to request her birth certificate that also states the names of her parents (estratto per riassunto dell'atto di nascita con maternità and paternità).
Also request to Pesaro Family record office (Ufficio Anagrafe - same address as above) if Liliana is still a resident of Pesaro and where she lives, so you can see if the address and phone number you have are about the same person.
Keep us updated and.......good luck
bye Riccardo

[CherylSims]

Cheryl,
I suggest you to write to Pesaro civil record office

Comune
Ufficio di Stato Civile
Via Don Minzoni, 4 - 61100 Pesaro
phone +39 0721-3871

in order to request her birth certificate that also states the names of her parents (estratto per riassunto dell'atto di nascita con maternità and paternità).
Also request to Pesaro Family record office (Ufficio Anagrafe - same address as above) if Liliana is still a resident of Pesaro and where she lives, so you can see if the address and phone number you have are about the same person.
Keep us updated and.......good luck
bye Riccardo lol

Riccardo,

That's brilliant! Thanks very much for the address and all your information.

I really can't believe how friendly and helpful everyone has been on this website. It's absolutely amazing!!

Cheryl