How can I find prison records in Italy?

[Clicker]

Hi there

I am looking to find prison records from Parma from around 1863. My Great great great grandfather apparently died in prison on that date (I have his church records that indicate they are waiting for a letter from the prison in Parma concerning his death)......but it is a very long way from home for him to be in prison given that his hometown was Fano. He was probably in there no earlier than 1857.....how do I go about getting these records?


Also, a question, why would he be so far away from home to serve time in jail? It's possible that he was there and committed his crime there I suppose, but it seems not very likley given his labourer status.......Did the prison system ship prisoners around like this? Did he perhaps commit such a serious crime that he needed to be sent to what we might associate with a maximum security prison? Or is the fact that he lived in a papal state preclude him from being executed there....so they shipped him to an area where he could be executed? (This is of course making the leap that he was executed....he could have simply languished in jail) Does anyone know about prisons/justice system in that time.


Thanks for your time

[misbris]

That was a time of political upheaval in Italy. There was a revolution in 1848. Perhaps your ggggrandfather was a political or military prisoner?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_un ... .80.931849

[Clicker]

Thank you very much Misbris, never thought of that....funny how when you face the word jail, your assumption is never that it might have been for something noble or political...LOL........if that's the case then perhaps I should be looking at some other sort of records? Maybe?

[misbris]

There are a few members on this site who know a lot about military and political matters. I'm sure someone will jump in and help when they see this posting. Do you have any documents at all or does your knowledge come from family history?

[Clicker]

Hi Misbris

No it's based on a single line in his death record from the church that says that they are waiting for a letter from the prison in Parma withe details surrounding his death (or words to that effect)

[Clicker]

I just got some more information.....after getting a clearer translation it seems that it is very likely he was executed in this prison in Parma, but again seems very far away to go for just a local crime....besides prison or military records, is there any other records to search if one was caught up in a revolution of revolt or anyhting of that nature (political).....?