La Spezia - Traveling there soon, need advice

[zola24]

Hello! I am going to be in Italy soon and want to track down records for my grandmother who was born in La Spezia (and her family)...Any recommendations for where to look in La Spezia for birth/death records? Thank you!

On a separate note, i have a copy of my grandparents marriage certificate in Florence, but i cannot find the name of the church on it (and was hoping to visit!). Any thought on how to figure out the church would also be greatly appreciated!!

[johnnyonthespot]

Hello! I am going to be in Italy soon and want to track down records for my grandmother who was born in La Spezia (and her family)...Any recommendations for where to look in La Spezia for birth/death records? Thank you!

Go directly to the municipal offices and request the Ufficio dello Stato Civile - the Office of Civil Status. Be prepared to speak Italian or bring along someone who can translate for you. See http://www.comune.sp.it/ilcittadino/Gui ... ivile.html (Google translation: http://translate.google.com/translate?j ... ivile.html )

On a separate note, i have a copy of my grandparents marriage certificate in Florence, but i cannot find the name of the church on it (and was hoping to visit!). Any thought on how to figure out the church would also be greatly appreciated!!

Sorry, can't help you on this one...

[Tessa78]

Welcome

Do you have the actual marriage act or an extract?

Can you scan it and post it here for us to view. Maybe there is something we will see that you may have missed? May be worth a try

Use an image-sharing site like www.imageshack.com or www.photobucket.com and post the link on this forum.

T.

[zola24]

Carmine- thank you!!! That is perfect!

Tessa - Thanks! Glad to be here! To answer your question, I have video of the certificates which have made very poor stills, but i will try to upload them...I have translated most of them already, the parts I haven't are because the cursive is difficult to decipher. My grandfather says it was at Immaculate Conception in Florence - but I couldn't find any church with that name...

[Tessa78]

There are 100 Churches listed in the Italian Phone book for Florence.

Of those, I only found ONE with the word "Immacolata" in the name.
Here is the full listing for the church. May be worth writing to...

Chiesa Cattolica Parrocchiale Immacolata e S. Martino A Montughi
Via Paoletti Ferdinando, 36
50134 Firenze (FI)
Italy

tel: * 055 475301

T.

[zola24]

Thanks Tessa! The pics I have seen online don't look like the same church, but I will do some more research (and maybe swing by when I am in Florence!) Thank you, I really appreciate it!

[zola24]

Just a quick update, since I am back from my trip! I had no luck finding the church (it must definitely have a different name, and the photos I had were mainly interior so that didn't help much!) I did find the building where my grandmother lived, whcih was cool.

But my trip to La Spezia was great - surprisingly, getting records at the municipal building was really fast and easy, despite my not speaking Italian (I learned a few key words for birth, death, marriage and grandmother and parents) and 3 people worked on it together to come up with birth years & birthplaces for my great grandparents and a birth certificate for my grandmother. Took about a half hour and cost me one Euro!

So now I have more info to go on in my research and know where to look in Italy for more records. Thank you all for your advice and suggestions!

[Tessa78]

Hi and welcome back

Glad to hear your trip was great and successful!

T.

[nickintexas]

I Hope you had a chance to wander around the Cinque Terre area while visiting La Spezia!