Need Help Reading This Italian Army Paper

Having problems with the Italian language? Do you need help to translate or understand an old family document? There is always someone who can help you!
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JeanR
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Need Help Reading This Italian Army Paper

Post by JeanR »

Click here to see Giacomo Riva's Italy Army paper. If you click on the two images (front and back) they will enlarge. (I just figured that out this morning quite by accident. LOL)

I'm particularly interesting in learning the town/city and region where he was born, parents, and his military unit, the war he may have been involved in (if any) and any other information you feel a family genealogy history should include. The only oral history we have on my grandfather is that he was in Africa at one point in his two year hitch and that he was baker, feeding the other soldier.

Jean
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uantiti
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Re: Need Help Reading This Italian Army Paper

Post by uantiti »

Jean,
I don't have time to translate it now. I can do it tomorrow. Anyway your gradnfather was born in Pertusio, province of Torino. As I said I spent several years in a nearby town (Pont Canavese). Pertusio has a hamlet called
"Case Riva" which means that the hamlet took the name from the people living there who were RIVA.

http://piemonte.indettaglio.it/eng/comu ... tusio.html
The above is a link with some info on Pertusio.

Ada
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Re: Need Help Reading This Italian Army Paper

Post by ricbru »

Giacomo Riva was son of Giovanni and FALETTO Margherita, he was born in Pertusio, now province of Torino on 26 March 1873
He was a bread maker, he was assigned to 4th Alpini Regiment at italian colony in Eritrea (Africa)

The military document you have is the military discharged paper
You can request his military record, that is more detailed, to Archivio di Stato di Torino

http://www.archivi.beniculturali.it/UCB ... ome=TORINO

I hope it helps
bye Riccardo
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JeanR
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Re: Need Help Reading This Italian Army Paper

Post by JeanR »

Thank your both for your time in translating my document! Wow, it really helped to flesh out my family tree.

Can I ask two more questions?

1) On Faletto Margherita - which one is the first name? I'm wondering if Margherita is and if so, is that the English version of Margaret?

2) Is there a way to get the FAQ and other things on this site to switch over to English? I don't see an American flag to click on and I'm not sure what a British flag looks like.

Thanks, again. Jean
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Re: Need Help Reading This Italian Army Paper

Post by ricbru »

Faletto is laste name of Margherita, yes it is the italian version of Margaret

I do not think Archivio di Stato di Torino has a FAQ to click or an english version of the site

to request it just write like this (read below), I hope it helps bye Riccardo

-------------------------

Egregio sig. Direttore,
mi chiamo (your complete name) e scrivo da (place where you live)
Con la presente le chiedo di potere ottenere la copia integrale del foglio matricolare del mio bisnonno

Giacomo RIVA
figlio di Giovanni e FALETTO Margherita
nato a Pertusio, provincia di Torino
il 26 Marzo 1873

Chiedo che il tutto mi venga spedito all'indirizzo di cui sotto
Rimango in attesa di riscontro e porgo distinti saluti

your name

your name
complete home address
zip code
town state country
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JeanR
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Re: Need Help Reading This Italian Army Paper

Post by JeanR »

Thank you, richru. I really appreciate your time and expertise in helping me.

Jean
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Re: Need Help Reading This Italian Army Paper

Post by ricbru »

it was my pleasure
good luck for your research
and let us know if there is any reply
bye Riccardo
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Re: Need Help Reading This Italian Army Paper

Post by uantiti »

Hi Jean,
I can see that Riccardo did the translation for me. He knows military terms better than I do. I just wanted to add a little thing for your knowledge. There is a physical description of your ancestor in the back page which says:

Height: 1.67 (there is a hole but I can guess a 7. Don't know in feet but he wasn't very tall) Hair and eyebrow: chestnut, Eyes: Grey, Forehead: low, Nose: Grecian, Completion: Rosy, Teeth: healthy,

Distinguishing marks: a mole on his chin.

If you look at the link I sent you about Pertusio and click on the second option on your right for Photos and Map, you will see, on the map, very close to "Case Riva" there is also "Case Falletti" which could be the place your grandmother Margherita came from. The name is slightly different but names have this sort of adjustments in the years from dialect to Italian.

There are 3 RIVAs and 20 FALLETTIs in Pertusio on the telephone directory.

Good luck.

Ada
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Re: Need Help Reading This Italian Army Paper

Post by ricbru »

uantiti wrote:Hi Jean,
There is a physical description of your ancestor in the back page which says:

Height: 1.67 (there is a hole but I can guess a 7. Don't know in feet but he wasn't very tall)
167 centimeters of height is 5 feet and 47 inches

I hope it helps
bye Riccardo
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Re: Need Help Reading This Italian Army Paper

Post by JeanR »

uantiti wrote:..... There is a physical description of your ancestor in the back page which says: Height: 1.67 (there is a hole but I can guess a 7. Don't know in feet but he wasn't very tall) Hair and eyebrow: chestnut, Eyes: Grey, Forehead: low, Nose: Grecian, Completion: Rosy, Teeth: healthy, Distinguishing marks: a mole on his chin.
ADA: Thank you adding this translation! I was 3 when my grandfather died so I didn't know he had grey eyes. Now we know where my niece's grey eyes came from---the rest of us all have brown eyes. The mole on his chin was interesting, too, because my dad had one on his chin as well.
uantiti wrote:If you look at the link I sent you about Pertusio and click on the second option on your right for Photos and Map, you will see, on the map, very close to "Case Riva" there is also "Case Falletti" which could be the place your grandmother Margherita came from. The name is slightly different but names have this sort of adjustments in the years from dialect to Italian.

There are 3 RIVAs and 20 FALLETTIs in Pertusio on the telephone directory....
I did follow your link and found the cases Riva and Falletti. I'm so excited. I can't wait to share all this stuff with my family when I get all my documents and new-found information on my genealogy blog. http://riva-alaria.blogspot.com/ What methods do people here prefer to use to share their finding with family?

RICCARDO: Thank you, also, for the additional translation.


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Re: Need Help Reading This Italian Army Paper

Post by ricbru »

JeanR wrote:

RICCARDO: Thank you, also, for the additional translation.


Jean
It was my pleasure
bye Riccardo
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