"his firm was permitted access to all of Italy's land (abandoned) records". Why was one firm permitted access? Can any private individual gain access to this data? Does the Italian government charge for use of the database? How do we contact the actual source of the data?

I reviewed some death records for Racalmuto, working backwards from 1865. Some towns have all births together, all deaths together, etc. but Racalmuto has a year of bitths, the same year's deaths, the marriages, etc., so several microfilms are needed to cover a span of years.

I found no Salvatore ...

Sorry, I posted the wrong link. Here's the correct one: http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=DESC&db=coniglio&id=I7510

My Mormon FHC has Racalmuto records. I'll look for Puma death records when I have the chance.

There are (at least) two possibilities for the dual "Pagliarello Puma ...

I have Salvatore Puma in my data base. See http://www.italiangenealogy.com/forum/ucp.php?mode=activate&u=39936&k=162PSRJ2M

According to the birth record of his grandson Luigi Puma, Salvatore died before 1874. His death record may be available in microfilms of Racalmuto civil records.

Maria Rosa ...