Minasi family in Calabria - dead end

[pricklypear]

I'm struggling finding records for a married couple in my partner's family tree. I suspect they were born and married in a different town than where all their children were born...

The people in question are:
Antonio Minasi (born abt. 1853) and his wife Fortunata Franco.

Their eldest child that I can find is my partner's direct ancestor, Faustina Minasi. She was born in Laureana di Borello on 12 July 1881 and married Vincenzo Pentimalli in the place of her birth 16 July 1901 (he was born in Sant'Eufemia d'Aspromonte).
Faustina Minasi birth record
Marriage with Vincenzo Pentimalli
(hope these links work, they should take you to my public Ancestry family tree).

I have searched all the records available for Laureana di Borello from the 1840s until 1860s (when Faustina's parents would realistically have been born) and also for marriages up to and including 1881 and have not found a single record pertaining to them. I was able to find siblings for Faustina Minasi, all born in Laureana di Borello except one born in Limpidi (random that I came across it at all, but we also have family in this village so it was a nice surprise).

Unfortunately, Antonio Minasi's family were carbonaio, and would travel burning the forests to make charcoal. It realistically means that he and Fortunata could have been born and/or married anywhere. It's very frustrating as you can imagine

Does anyone have any ideas of where I should go from here?
Thank you!

[rlw254]

https://antenati.cultura.gov.it/ark:/12 ... 95/0JREkG6
Marriage 4 Oct 1880 in Scilla, Reggio Calabria
Antonio Minasi, 30, born in Scilla, son of Sebastiano Minasi & Faustina Macri (deceased)
Fortunata Di Franco, 23, born in Scilla, daughter of Giovanni Di Franco & Mariana Arbitrio (deceased)

https://antenati.cultura.gov.it/ark:/12 ... 98/wr9rDjp
Antonio Minasi born 28 Jan 1850 in Scilla to parents Sebastiano Minasi, 35, and Faustina Macri, 28

https://antenati.cultura.gov.it/ark:/12 ... 22/wOEgeYd
Fortunata Di Franco born 8 Aug 1857 in Scilla to parents Giovanni Di Franco, 32, and Mariana Arbitrio, 30

[pricklypear]

WOW. How on earth did you find that? What made you pick Scilla as the location? Thank you so much!!

[rlw254]

It was a little trickier than usual. Death records for this would be easiest but the years are not available in Laureana for when the parents apparently died. Typically next I'd align surname maps with both parents and see if there is any obvious overlap, checking all nearby towns that show strong representation for the mother's surname. That didn't work either as Scilla doesn't even show up with either Minasi or Franco on the maps I normally use. My last resort tonight was just looking on familysearch for anyone with the Franco surname who was born in the right timeframe to see where they lived or where they were born to at least get a feel for where anyone with the same surname lived. I had seen a handful of Minasi in Scilla and decided to check after also seeing a few people with the name De Franco also coming from Scilla and that was that.

[pricklypear]

Yes I also used Italian surnames map and came up short. I didn't even consider looking at FamilySearch (I use the site too but haven't ever found much when searching for names in my tree). That's brilliant, thank you again. I'm pretty sure my mother-in-law mentioned Scilla at some point in our conversations, can't wait to tell her about this. I can go searching for their siblings and other potential relatives now. Really appreciate your help!

[Amsgarlata]

I’ve got Antonio Minasi from Scilla circa 1850 in my family tree. I wonder if I’m a distant cousin of your partner

[pricklypear]

I’ve got Antonio Minasi from Scilla circa 1850 in my family tree. I wonder if I’m a distant cousin of your partner

Oh that's really cool if so! Where is your family tree located? Mine is on Ancestry and MyHeritage (although that one might need an update). My partner has done a DNA test which is connected to both trees.