Help in researching mysterious grandfather, Carlo Alberto Scandolara

[marisasabatino]

My maternal grandfather, Carlo Alberto Scandolara, always proudly told me he was born in Milano. His birthdate is August 11, 1886. He died in 1984, almost 98 yo and had amazing mental acuity till the end. I can't find when he came to the US, he might have smuggled aboard and entered illegally. He married my grandmother in 1917 in NYC and listed Giovanni Scandolara & Maria Salaroli as his parents. I found Giovanni and Maria's marriage info. He was from Cremona and she lived in Milan, near the center of the city. They married in January of 1872 in Milan.
They settled in Cremona e Corpi Santi and had 10 children from 1875 to 1890. I cannot find a record of Carlo Alberto's birth. They had a child May 7, 1885 and the next record is from August 13, 1887... almost exactly a year after my grandfather's birthday.
I checked the Section II records for 1886. He is not listed. Not listed in any index. Since Maria's address was in the center of Milan, I checked the Milan commune records for 1886. No record of Carlo Alberto.
Does anyone have any other ideas? I did find a boy named Carlo Alberto Palma, who was born Aug. 13, 1886 in Cremona. I can't find any other mention of his parents, no death records, nothing. Could this be my Grandfather? Orphaned perhaps and taken in by the Scandolaras?

Molto Grazie for any help!
Marisa

[Italysearcher]

If you need help with a ship manifest, try lostquays@ymail.com.
Bear in mind that most Italian birthdates are off by one year due to the way they state their age. They are 'in their ? year' right after their birthday.