johnnyonthespot,
Is there any government agency that can compel the comune to release these records?
Since they are just hoping that you will go away and not bother them anymore, I would try to be a thorn in their side. Inundate them with letters, emails, phone calls, etc. Keep the pressure on ...

blujay, thanks for your thoughts.

The truth is, I have already obtained everything I absolutely needed from my paternal ancestral comune (with the help of a gracious lady as described above) and my citizenship jure sanguinis application was approved long ago. However, as I continue researching my ...

In my experience there have been people who answer more than not. But I really do feel bad for the people who are having so much trouble. But I guess its the same in America. I can honestly say whenever I call vital records in NJ they are some the meanest sounding people I talked too. Just ...

Johnnyonthespot,
Sorry to hear that. Believe me, I know what that feels like. But, you do have some options.
1) If you know the address of the ufficio dello stato civile in that comune, you could send them a formal letter stating your request (send it registered mail- somone will have to sign for ...

So...Its a roll of the dice with each one who is going to be compliant.

Alicia

Yes. But the comunes that do not respond are in the minority. I have emailed several comunes and have received responses with researched information in as little 2 days. Through my experience, the average waiting time ...

Thanks for the comments.
Three formally written requests were sent (via postal mail): Dec 2008, Mar 2009 (registered), and Jun 2009. The last one being sent to the mayor (who obviously had better things to do with his time!). No response. At least 5-6 emails were sent. No response. It was not until ...

Hello everyone! Good news! :)
After more emails and under the guidance of elba, I finally received the birth extract of my great-grandmother from Ottaviano in early March (it took them 15 months to process my request!!). She was born 2 Jan 1888. All those years, her birthday was celebrated on the ...

Your e-mail(s) are probably in a pile as it is the 'holiday' month in Italy. Most places either close down and state offices run on a skeleton staff who only deal with urgent matters and they will then slowly catch up with the backlog when vacations are over.

Most offices are returning to full ...

It has been almost a fortnight and I have not received a response via email from Ottaviano (no surprise there!!) concerning the birth of my great grandmother. Should I just keep resending the same email over and over? Perhaps a letter once a week? Is there a higher authority I should contact that ...

maybe they speak english well enough for you to understand them?=Peter=

I assume that they cannot communicate in English. When I mentioned the fact that I could not speak Italian so well in my email, my relative did not offer or mention to speak in English. Since he is a one generation above me ...

Italysearcher wrote:Why not ask your relative to get the records for you. She would know who to contact.

That thought did cross my mind but I don't know if it would be appropriate at this point to ask for such a favor. Is this commonly done in Italy?

Why not go to www.nonsolocap.it/campania/54-ottaviano. I sense you can speak Italian sufficiently well to ask them about your document so call their MUNICIPIO and ask to speak with the Uffico di Stato Civile and find out what is their problem. =Peter=

I just wish I could Peter! It turns out the ...

It's very strange. I have written in Italian using the same methods to other comunes and have gotten fantastic results. Grottaglie gets back to me now in just 2 weeks! The address you provided looks very familiar. I think I used the same exact one. Besides, the last two were signed for. And I sent a ...

Hello,
I have written Ottaviano, Italy thrice concerning the birth records of my great grandmother Elvira CAMMISA born Feb. 14, 1888 (d. 1982). The last two requests were sent registered mail with the final letter being sent to the mayor. It has now been three months (nine months since I started ...

One side note here for those working on the exchange rates - we just returned from Italy this month - for the first time we learned that due to bad rates right now and the devalue of the US dollar, one must have a minimum dollar amount or the bank will NOT exchange it - and even at over $200 US, my ...