Military Service in Italy, pre-WWI

[DeliatheCrone]

Where should I look to find information about ancestors who might have served in the Italian military before world war I? Specifically ancestors from Abruzzo.

[johnnyonthespot]

Where should I look to find information about ancestors who might have served in the Italian military before world war I? Specifically ancestors from Abruzzo.

Do you have reasonably complete info regarding dates and places of birth?

If so, see this thread for info on requestiong military records from the provincial archives ("Archivio di Stato di [province name]")

[DeliatheCrone]

I have no information that any ancestors served in the Italian military. But I'd like to know if there is a list of names anywhere, that I can check against my ancestors.

[johnnyonthespot]

I have no information that any ancestors served in the Italian military. But I'd like to know if there is a list of names anywhere, that I can check against my ancestors.

In Italy, all men served in the military unless they were physically unable to or were exempt for other reasons. If your ancestors were present in Italy between the ages of roughly 18 - 25, it is almost a certainty that records exist.

Using the same letter in the previously linked thread, requesting a "REGISTRO DI LEVA" will likely get you a page from the registry indicating your ancestor's name, date & place of birth, parent's names, vital statistics (height, weight, eye/hair color), date of conscription or reason for exemption.

If your ancestor did actually serve, the "FOGLIO DI CONGEDO ILLIMITATO" will be a copy of his complete service record, including promotions, assignments, training, etc.

PS: You can see examples of these documents if you go to http://images.google.com and search for the titles above.

[DeliatheCrone]

I notice that the address in the thread you mention is in Bari. Do the records held there contain the names of men from Abruzzo? Or only in Bari?

[johnnyonthespot]

I notice that the address in the thread you mention is in Bari. Do the records held there contain the names of men from Abruzzo? Or only in Bari?

The Regione of Abruzzo contains four separate provinces each of which is made up of many comuni. Since archives are held at the provincial level, you will need to determine which of the four (Chieti, L'Aquila, Pescara, or Teramo) to write to.

What additional information do you have concerning your ancestor's place and date of birth?

[DeliatheCrone]

Most of my ancestors are from the area now known as Pescara, in varying towns. However, several years back the same towns were considered part of Chieti, not Pescara. Is that going to be a problem?

[johnnyonthespot]

Most of my ancestors are from the area now known as Pescara, in varying towns. However, several years back the same towns were considered part of Chieti, not Pescara. Is that going to be a problem?

You can write (or try email) to both - they normally don't charge if no records are located and even when they do locate records, the charge is typically only a few Euro.

Archivio di Stato di Pescara
Piazza della Marina 2/4
65126 Pescara (PE)
Italy
email: as-pe@beniculturali.it


Archivio di Stato di Chieti
Via Fernando Ferri, 25
66100 Chieti (CH)
Italy
email: as-ch@beniculturali.it

[DeliatheCrone]

Thank you so much! I'm all set!