Faxes and letters to a comune?

[Charlynna]

I've only just became aware of "jure sanguinis", and I'm now trying to obtain citizenship for myself. However, I'm missing a number of vital documents relating to my grandparents that I need to retrieve from a very small (pop. 900 -1000) comune, known as Melicucca, located near the southern tip of Italy.

Has anyone had any experience with establishing contact and obtaining vital records from a tiny comune? From what I've heard, Melicucca is a fairly run down place with most people living below the poverty line, so I can't say I'm all that hopeful with getting much response. Previous attempts by my family members have failed, although that was during the 80's, and I think it's safe to assume that communication has improved dramatically since then.

Unfortunately, I no longer have any relatives residing in Melicucca to even ask for assistance. They all emigrated during the 20's and 30's to Australia, the US and countries in South America.

[johnnyonthespot]

Italian comuni are required by law to be responsive to such requests, though some measure responsiveness in months and others in hours or days. Many of us have actually had better results from small comuni than from larger ones, so if anything, Melicuccà's size may be in your favor.

One thing you must remember is to absolutely make your request in Italian. Also, always include a self-addressed (but not stamped) return envelope (if you make your request by mail) and include a copy of a photo ID such as a driver's license as many comuni will not process requests without it.

The address to write to would be:

Ufficio dello Stato Civile
Comune di Melicuccà
via Roma
89020 Melicuccà RC
ITALY

fax: 0966/332019 (add the appropriate international dialing codes
email: anagrafemelicucca@libero.it
web: http://www.comune.melicucca.rc.it/index ... =index&p=1

You can find many examples of letters on this and other sites:

http://www.circolocalabrese.org/resourc ... civile.asp

http://www.angelfire.com/ok3/pearlsofwi ... tters.html

http://www.italiangenealogy.com/forum/topic22987.html

[RussoTiesi]

Perhaps my experience is not typical, but I sent a birth certificate request via email to Chiusa Sclafani, Sicily, and received the certificate in three weeks. I was astonished it had come so quickly after nobody emailed me back.

The website of the comune had the name and email address of the official responsible for vital records, and I addressed my request directly to him, which may have helped.

[johnnyonthespot]

The Stato Civile office (which handles recording of vital records such as birth, marriage, and death) falls under the domain of the Ufficio Anagrafe. As seen here, http://www.comune.melicucca.rc.it/index ... ndex&p=226 the responsible persons are Maria Rosaria La Rosa and Rosaria Florio.

[Charlynna]

Thank you for the fax and email. I had checked that same website, but wasn't sure who I was suppose to be writing to. I've now faxed them off a letter in Italian telling them I require the documents for Italian citizenship by descent, so now it's time to play the waiting game.

In all honesty I'm in no huge rush, because I now have to obtain recent copies of my grandfather's death certificate etc. from here in Australia anyway, because I've been told they're too old to submit.