Italian Land Records Question

[vairanoPatenora]

I received these land records from the Caserta state archives that detail land that was owned by my great-grandfather and his family. They lived in Vairano Patenora, Caserta.

I'm not entirely sure what they mean. It appears from across these documents that the family owned 7 parcels of land at one point but the handwriting is hard for me to make out

Here is my best guess:

cescuià - Vallosse
bosco - "
ceoaarba - Centrosie
oliveto - Porta
pascolo - Monticello
cartagueto - Ludelna
aratorro - Selverrio

I know bosco means woods, oliveto is olive grove and pascolo is pasture. Monticello is the only place I could find (a small village that is part of the town of Castel Morrone).

If anyone could help me out I would greatly appreciate it!

https://imgur.com/a/N9nzaTN

[mmogno]

Cesina - Vallone
Bosco - " (= Vallone)
Ces(in)a arb(ustat)a - Centrone
Oliveto - Porta
Pascolo - Monticello
Castagneto - La Selva
Aratorio - Selverino

Cesina = deforested area

[vairanoPatenora]

Thank you!!!

Do you see anything of particular interest to be gleaned?

My great-grandfather was the only surviving child (his older brother Michelangelo died young in 1917). He came to the United States in 1924, so I wonder what happened to all this land and why he left.

[Italysearcher]

It is possible to learn if he still is named as the owner.

[vairanoPatenora]

It is possible to learn if he still is named as the owner.

How would I go about doing that? That would be incredibly shocking if it were still in the family! My great-grandfather's living children (my great-uncles and great-aunt) have no real recollection of this property and have never been to Vairano — so this land is not currently claimed by anyone I know in my family.

[joetucciarone]

Hi - You have an interesting record, and I'm trying to get an idea of the location(s) listed in your family's document. The distance between Vairano Patenora and Castel Morrone is about 30 kilometers, or about 20 miles. Near the center of the following map (made between 1862 and 1876) is a hill labeled "Monticello." You can see Castel Morrone about 4.4 kilometers southeast of this Monticello, near the bottom-right edge of the map:

https://maps.arcanum.com/en/map/europe- ... Hr4fqtJbhk

I hope this is useful in some way. Your document is too small for me to read your family's name - are you comfortable giving it here?

Joe

[vairanoPatenora]

The names are Tomaso Santagata (my great-great grandfather), his third wife Luigia Fillipone, and Tomaso’s two sons (by his disceased second wife) Michelangelo and Elviro (my great-grandfather).

Tomaso died in 1914. Michelangelo died in 1917 (age 18). Elviro left Vairano for Providence, RI in 1924.

[joetucciarone]

Thanks for posting your family surnames. I haven't found anything relating to them yet, but I have found something of possible interest. The following is part of the 1862-1876 map, showing the area north and east of Vairano Patenora:

https://maps.arcanum.com/en/map/europe- ... Hr4fqtJbhk

Near the bottom-left corner of this view is the town of Vairano Patenora. Due north of it, near the top of this view, is "Massa. della Selva." It's my experience that "massa." or "mass." is the abbreviation for masseria, which is a fortified farmhouse. So, "Massa. della Selva" is the "fortified farmhouse of the forest." This region has many names that incorporate the word "selva" in their names. For example, on the far right edge of the above map you can see "Molino della Selva," which is the "mill of the forest." These features might be relevant to your search since one of the lines in your document is "Castagneto - La Selva." Finally, look very carefully at this view:

https://maps.arcanum.com/en/map/europe- ... Hr4fqtJbhk

Near the middle-top part you can see the town of Vairano Patenora. Near the middle-bottom you can see a hill labeled Monticello, and just to its right is the label "S. Pasquale." Could there be a connection with these two labels and the line from your document that says "Pascolo - Monticello"? In other words, is it possible "Pascolo" is some local variant of "Pasquale"? Finally, just a little to the right of center in the above view is the label "Massa. Castagneti," which might be interpreted as the ""fortified farmhouse of the Castagneti family." This name is very similar to "Castagneto" on your document.

To give you an idea of the scale on this second view, it's only 7 kilometers (a little over 4 miles) from Vairano Patenora to the hill labeled "Monticello."

This is an interactive map; you can click, drag and zoom around the region. If you do this, you might see other names relevant to the names on your document.

Good luck!

Joe

[vairanoPatenora]

Thank you so much!!

Do you know in general what the documents are saying?

"Rendita Netta" is the income that was produced from the property, I assume? (They sold what they grew there?) But then amounts are nominal - these would be in lire, right? They are all 1 lira or less - I calculated to adjust for inflation and we are still talking about amounts less than $10 in today's USD.

[ccameli]

Hello. I am trying to find land records in the town of Contesse, province of Messina. I do not have a parcel number. On the birth/death/marriage records of my ancestors in Contesse, no address was provided. After WW2 most of the old estates were leveled for construction of condominiums. There is not a local government. I have family photos of the estate. My intention is to find out the history of the sale of the land starting around 1800. Is that possible?

[joetucciarone]

I'm sorry, but Italian isn't my native language so I can only tell you how the Google translator interpret the headings:

-nature of crops and properties
-denomination of the properties or the places where they are located
-extension of the lands
-net income
-call numbers of the seller or buyer
-loading and unloading reasons

And each page is titled:

-half sheets of the provisional land register

But you probably already know all of this.

[mmogno]

..... Near the middle-bottom you can see a hill labeled Monticello, and just to its right is the label "S. Pasquale." Could there be a connection with these two labels and the line from your document that says "Pascolo - Monticello"? In other words, is it possible "Pascolo" is some local variant of "Pasquale"?
....

You are completely wrong. In the land register the destination of a land ("Pascolo" = pasture) is totally distinct from the place where the land is located ("Monticello"). The type of land, and its measure, are the basic elements for determining the value of the land itself for the purposes of taxation. The label "S. Pasquale" is the name of a locality and has nothing to do with "Pascolo", which is a type of land.

[joetucciarone]

Thank you for the information, mmogno. Italian is not my native language, otherwise I might not have made that mistake.

Joe