Births/Deaths/Marriages certificate office in Rome?

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vanessam
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Births/Deaths/Marriages certificate office in Rome?

Post by vanessam »

Hello,

I am wondering if there is a government body/office in Rome where you can request and buy birth certificates of relatives who were born in Italy. For example, in Australia this is called the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registery and every state has one, but you can access certificates for family members who were born anywhere in Austalia.

Basically, I will be in Rome and need to get a copy of my grandmother's birth certificate. For some reason, the agency I used (and have used before with success) came back to me with a 'no records found' response. I thought since I am going to Rome anyway I would just check it out myself. She wasn't born in Rome though. Would I need to go to her place of birth?

Any advice is appreciated!
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Re: Births/Deaths/Marriages certificate office in Rome?

Post by johnnyonthespot »

vanessam wrote:...

She wasn't born in Rome though. Would I need to go to her place of birth?
Birth, marriage, and death records in Italy are maintained by the comune (town/city) where the event took place. Without knowing your grandmother's exact place of birth, you will find this task nearly impossible. Once you have determined the place of birth, you will need to visit or write to that comune to request certificates.

Did she emigrate to Australia? If so, try searching the Australia National Archives; you may find records which include her place of birth (maybe even a copy of her birth certificate). Go to http://naa12.naa.gov.au/scripts/SearchOld.asp?O=NS Enter her surname in the Family name box and select Immigration and naturalisation records from the Category list. Australian immigration & Naturalization records I have seen in the past are very complete and always include a copy of the applicant's birth certificate. Sometimes these records are already digitized and available for instant download/viewing; other times you must order a copy for a reasonable fee.
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Re: Births/Deaths/Marriages certificate office in Rome?

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Thank you - I was dreading that may be the answer! It's very strange, I asked her and then had a look at her passport/ship documents, copied it exact and then recieved a 'no records found' response. It was very disappointing. I am claiming citizenship from my mother, not grandmother, so this hold up is very frustrating. On my mother's birth certificate, my grandmother's first name is the shortened version and therefore doesn't match up with other certificates where the full version is given. I was told by the consulate in Melbourne that this wouldn't be accepted and needs to be amended. Which, is understandable, but frustrating at the same time - it's the last little glitch I reallllly don't need!
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Re: Births/Deaths/Marriages certificate office in Rome?

Post by johnnyonthespot »

You have possession of her Italian passport? What does it say for her place of birth ("Nato a ___")?
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Re: Births/Deaths/Marriages certificate office in Rome?

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I don't have it with me right now (at work), but the information I gave the agency was "City: Dinami Province: Catanzaro" which I copied from her old passport, but I know this information itself is incorrect....right? The province is not Catanzaro having looked up all the information for Dinami.
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Re: Births/Deaths/Marriages certificate office in Rome?

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You should be able to do this by contacting the comune directly. Try writing as follows:

28 giugno 2011 [giugno is June; month names in italian are written lower case]

[your name]
[your address]

AUSTRALIA


Ufficio dello Stato Civile
Comune di Dinami
Rione Palazzi
89833 Dinami VV
ITALY

Egregi Signori,

Mi chiamo [your name here], ed abito negli Australia all'indirizzo sopradetto.

Vi scrivo affinché mi aiutiate a reperire:

* Estratto Per Riassunto Per Atto Di Nascita

per il mia nonna:

* [grandmother's full maiden name, last name first, all caps] nato nel Comune di Dinami, in data [date of birth or 'circa 1884' for example], paternità [her father's given name if you know it else 'incerto'], maternità [her mother's full maiden name if you know it "SMITH JANE" else 'incerto']

Vi prego di farmi sapere quanto dovuto per il servizio e per i costi di spedizione.

Distinti saluti,

[your signature]

Birth/marriage/death photocopies of original registry pages are called: Copia integrale dell'atto di Nascita/Matrimonio/Morte. These are more difficult to read but contain lots of additional useful information compared to...

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

Most comuni do not charge for these documents. Do send a large, self-addressed (but not stamped) envelope if possible; be sure to put "AUSTRALIA" in the final line of your address. It is also a good idea to include a copy of your ID (driver's license, for example) as many comuni will not process requests without it. Also, be sure to include a photocopy of all pages of your grandmother's Italian passport; this will discourage the comune from blowing off your request with a "no record found" report.
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Re: Births/Deaths/Marriages certificate office in Rome?

Post by vanessam »

Thank you so much - very kind of you to go to the trouble to do that.

Do you think it is worth taking this written document to the office in Dinami myself? I am going to Italy anyway and have set aside a week to get this sorted.
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Re: Births/Deaths/Marriages certificate office in Rome?

Post by johnnyonthespot »

.

If you can get to Danami, for sure, do so. Be prepared for the likelihood that no one in the comune office will speak a word of English. :D
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Re: Births/Deaths/Marriages certificate office in Rome?

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Naturally. I can understand everything but can't speak very well so it shall be interesting to say the least....
Thanks again.
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Re: Births/Deaths/Marriages certificate office in Rome?

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If you need it for citizenship be sure to request estratto plurilingue, if you want it for genealogy purposes take your passport and ask for a fotocopia. Be prepared to pay a bollo of 14.52 euro (they may send you to the tabacchiaia for this as not all Commune's have them avaialble and not all Comune's even ask for them.
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Re: Births/Deaths/Marriages certificate office in Rome?

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vanessam wrote:I don't have it with me right now (at work), but the information I gave the agency was "City: Dinami Province: Catanzaro" which I copied from her old passport, but I know this information itself is incorrect....right? The province is not Catanzaro having looked up all the information for Dinami.
I missed this earlier.

To put your mind at ease, "The Province of Vibo Valentia (Italian: Provincia di Vibo Valentia) is a province in the Calabria region of Italy, set up by a national law of 6 March 1992 which came into effect on 1 January 1996, and formerly part of the Province of Catanzaro." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Province_of_Vibo_Valentia).

Dinami was a part of Catanzaro prior to the creation of Vibo Valentia in 1996. Your passport was correct at the time it was issued.
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Re: Births/Deaths/Marriages certificate office in Rome?

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Italysearcher wrote:If you need it for citizenship be sure to request estratto plurilingue, if you want it for genealogy purposes take your passport and ask for a fotocopia. Be prepared to pay a bollo of 14.52 euro (they may send you to the tabacchiaia for this as not all Commune's have them avaialble and not all Comune's even ask for them.
Plurilingue (multi-language) would be nice but is certainly not a requirement. The document, after all, is to be presented right back to an Italian official at an Italian consulate. I think it safe to presume that the consulate's citizenship officer can read an Italian birth estratto. :D
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Re: Births/Deaths/Marriages certificate office in Rome?

Post by vanessam »

Hello!

I'm in Rome sightseeing and will leave for Catanzaro next week. Is there anyway to find out whether the office there will be open? I just had a horrible thought: many offices are closed over Aug aren't they?
Eeeek!
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Re: Births/Deaths/Marriages certificate office in Rome?

Post by Italysearcher »

If you go to the anagrafe office in Rome you had better take a written request as they do not take 'walk-ins'. I assume you want something over 100 years old?
Comune di Roma
VIA PETROSELLI 50
Roma, RM 00186
For current records I believe you have to go to the Campidoglio
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Re: Births/Deaths/Marriages certificate office in Rome?

Post by johnnyonthespot »

I think she was referring to the offices of Catanzaro.

I don't imagine that they are totally shut down for the month, however the hours and days of operation may be severely restricted. Perhaps a good idea to call in advance.

Here is the comune's telephone directory:

Image
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