Matrimoni, memorandum notificazioni ed opposizioni

[darkerhorse]

What is Matrimoni, memorandum notificazioni ed opposizioni ?

[Italysearcher]

Matrimoni = marriage
Memorandum notificazioni= notification of the marriage (promessi)
Opposizioni= opposition to the marriage if the participant was (or even was not) a minor. I once saw an opposition from the mother of a son over 21 years of age. It was prepared by a notary but even though attached to the processi the marriage still went ahead.

[saccolicious]

They are marriage "banns" that had to be announced 3 times by law before the ceremony could occur. For genealogical purposes, they can be useful for 3 reasons:
(1) They can show marriages that were supposed to occur, but did not
(2) They can show marriages that occur in a town other than the one you're researching. Generally they are posted in the comune of residence of the bride and groom, as well as the comuni where they were born, if different than the residence. So if you're researching town A and realize that there's no marriage record for a particular couple that you know lived there, check the Notificazioni for their names, and if there's one there, look to see if one of them is from a different comune. If so, the marriage likely occurred there.
(3) Especially the banns ("pubblicazioni") after 1865 provide information that isn't in the marriage record, like the age of the fathers of the spouses, if living, as well as some dates like when a previous spouse or parent died, or any illegitimate children who are being legitimated by the marriage.

[darkerhorse]

Thanks.

[darkerhorse]

Are these three separate records or all in one?

For Opposizioni, f there's a record in the file does it mean someone opposed, or was an Opposizioni record filed for all marriages?

[saccolicious]

Memorandum is one record (shorter), then about 2 weeks later they would file the notificazione (longer, more detailed). If there was opposition, it is usually written on the same page as the notificazione. At least in the records I've gone through, opposition is not common.