Genealogy research services       

TRANSCRIPTIONS AND TRANSLATIONS

Almost every family has one. It is that old box full of letters inherited from grandparents or great-grandparents, often completely indecipherable. Yes, because handwritten Italian can be really hard to decipher. And if it is not a letter, but an ancient document written by hand, perhaps in Latin ... well, you may need the help of an expert! As a genealogist I also deal with transcribing ancient letters and documents, from Italian or Latin. I can also translate the text into English or French.

ANCESTRY TOURS

Imagine walking, literally, in the footsteps of your ancestors. I am a licensed tour guide and, with our ancestry tours, I can take you to discover the town and where your ancestors originated from. I will tell you about the traditions of the place and I will show you the artistic and natural beauties of the area, but also the places directly connected to the life of your ancestors: the church where they got married, the place where their home was, the cemeteries where they were buried.

GENEALOGY RESEARCH

Maybe you want to reconstruct your family tree, or maybe you want to know everything about that ancestor of yours who first left Italy to seek a new life.

As a member of the APG (Association of professional genealogists), through genealogical research, onsite and online, I can help you reconstruct the puzzle of your family history. My goal is to make my research unique by reconstructing a story. I studied creative writing and this has also influenced the way I intend genealogical research: for me it is not just about providing information such as dates and names, it is about putting together the pieces of a family saga. For this reason, my research includes - whenever possible - documents such as passenger lists, censuses, newspaper articles, city chronicles: in short, all those sources capable of "making the past speak".

THE RESEARCH STEP BY STEP:

1) Let's find a starting point - tell me what you know and what you would like to find out about your family history;

2) Free preliminary consultation - after evaluating the databases and sources available, I will provide you with a research plan and a free quote;

3) Search for ancient documents online and onsite - the research, based on the availability of sources, can be carried out via online databases or in physical archives (State Archives, Diocesan Archives, parish archives, newspaper libraries). I am available to carry out onsite research in western Sicily, Turin and the surrounding provinces, but I can travel to Liguria and Lombardy if necessary. While when it comes to online archives I deal with all the Italian regions. Normally, it is always possible to go back in the past to the 19th century; based on the availability of sources, it could be possible to go back in the research to the 17th century.

4) At the end of the research I will provide you with:

- a detailed report (in Italian or English) that explains in detail the various phases of the research carried out;

- copies of the original documents recovered with translations testifying the reliability of the research;

- your family tree chart