Which company to get birth certificate from Italy?

[beauac]

Did anybody here use a service such as myitaliancitizenship.com to get their ancestors birth certificate from Italy? I think this is how I will get the record I need from Italy as it might be easier for me. Which companies have the people here used? Were they successful or fast?

Should I have them look for the certificato di cittadinanza italiana?, I have heard it is not required.

Thanks alot.

[VittorioE]

Beau - where were you ancestors from?

[Tessa78]

You can usually get them yourself (usually without cost) if you write to the comune yourself.
You must know the exact town of birth to do this...

As VittorioE asked...where were your ancestors from?

T.

[beauac]

My great great grandfather was Luigi Caruso from Salvitelle Italy. I thought it might be faster to get the records through a company that specializes in it. Especially since I just started learning how to speak Italian.

[sceaminmonkey]

try user "ricbru" he is a poster on this site and I have used him. you can most likely write yourself to them but, it is better to call and have someone talk to them if you dont speak italian. I used two services ( because I do not speak italian) to get documents for me and it took them 6 months. I used user ricbru whos name is Riccardo Bruno and he called the commune who said they did not have it and he called only twice to them and they turned up the document. I could not be more happy with his services. not only that but when I had questions he called me from italy and explained things in detail. honestly I was thrown off by how nice he is. It did not really compute at first but he got done what took other companies 6 months. I would use him. But if you speak italian just call yourself or write. keep in mind these communes have other work to do besides help us with our genealogy but if you keep contact and composure they will respond.

[Tessa78]

If you decide to write to the comune (town) yourself...

The address:
Ufficio dello Stato Civile
Via Panoramica E. De Nicola
84020 Salvitelle (SA)
ITALY

Here are instructions and a form letter in Italian
http://www.circolocalabrese.org/resourc ... civile.asp

If not...Riccardo is MOST helpful

T.

[beauac]

I sent a message to ricbru. Hopefully he will help me. Do you think I should try to get the certificate of citizenship or is that not necessary (I read only two consulate require it).

[johnnyonthespot]

I sent a message to ricbru. Hopefully he will help me. Do you think I should try to get the certificate of citizenship or is that not necessary (I read only two consulate require it).

Once you get past thinking in terms of citizenship jus sanguinis, you will probably realize that learning about your ancestors has been a rewarding experience in and of itself. In that respect, I have collected dozens of documents on both sides of my family (I am 100% Italian), most of which came long after my citizenship was recognized. Two years later, I am still researching and "leafing out" my family tree.

So, sure, go for it. Even if you don't need it for your application, I am sure the day will come when you will be glad that you have it in your collection.

[beauac]

Another option I could consider is going to the town myself. I guess this would be desirable if I could immediately get the document as opposed to waiting weeks relying on other people to find it.

[MamboItaliano]

"Here are instructions and a form letter in Italian

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

Wow, that is really useful! I wonder why it generates a letter asking for the document "on non-legal paper" though?

Should it say that if you need a birth certificate for official means (e.g. obtaining citizenship)?

[Italysearcher]

Certain types of 'paper' means you pay a fee. Trust the experts and request both a certificate for citizenship purposes AND a 'copia integrale'.

[johnnyonthespot]

Since Ann brought it up:

Birth/marriage/death photocopies of original registry pages are called: Copia integrale dell'atto di Nascita/Matrimonio/Morte

Birth/marriage/death computer-generated (sometimes handwritten)extracts are: Estratto Per Riassunto Per Atto Di Nascita/Matrimonio/Morte

Many examples of copia integrale can be found in the "Italian language, handwriting , script & translations" board; one of them is here: http://italiangenealogy.com/Forums/view ... 18267.html As you can see, these documents can be difficult to decipher; on the other hand, they carry a wealth of information.

An example of an estratto is below. Much less information; much easier to read. I assure you, the consulate would rather receive an estratto from you then a copia integrale.



Click the thumbnail for a larger image.

[MamboItaliano]

I see the difference, thanks for the info.