since my document request was received by the comune. I included 2 int'l reply coupons. It was a request for 2 birth documents and one marriage. I used a form letter, so hopefully it was clear what I was requesting! My appointment with the consulate to apply for citizenship is 18 August and I am getting nervous. My Italian is not fluent enough to carry on a phone conversation in any but the most caveman-like of ways. Any advice on how to proceed? Thanks in advance!

Well 7 weeks is not tooo long.I have waited up to two months or more. But I think a follow up is needed. Whether that be a phone call or letter, it needs to be done.

Hopefully someone here can help you because you really don't have much time. The form letters are not my favourite letters in the world either. I also found it better to write my letter in English and have someone here translate it in to Italian for me. This way it was perfectly clear what I was requesting. A few times I did get the wrong document when I used the form letters. This of course is just my thoughts on this.

I am wondering if they even got my mail, because I had no street address on it. However, this is how I always sent them.

I noticed that when carole told me the addresses, they had a street address for the town.

I am going to resend one to the town and one to the province and ask for only one document. I am debating if I should send any money again. Believe it or not, they once sent back my money when they wouldnt do a search that involved too many years.

Ya know, its so frustrating when you have to write there..and they choose not to respond. I wish these records were all online. It would save them the trouble..and me the trouble..lol

I sent a letter to the Comune di Caulonia almost four months ago and have not as yet received a reply. As well, I sent a letter at the same time to a possible relative still living in Italy but have heard nothing. Not sure what I'm going to do next...

Lynne..you definitely need to resend your request. Eleven, I don't think the street address matters too much but you may want to resend. I wouldn't send money again though.

Remember though, alot of people are on "summer hours" in Italy and come August, almost EVERYTHING shuts down for a couple of weeks so if you're going to resend something either do it now or wait until September. Unfortunately this is not an option for rosiebird.

When I was doing my own application for citizenship, I used an agency called Tramitesital to track down my great grandfather's birth certificate. If you are in a rush you might find them useful.

nuccia wrote:

Lynne..you definitely need to resend your request. Eleven, I don't think the street address matters too much but you may want to resend. I wouldn't send money again though. Remember though, alot of people are on "summer hours" in Italy and come August, almost EVERYTHING shuts down for a couple of weeks so if you're going to resend something either do it now or wait until September. Unfortunately this is not an option for rosiebird.

Hi Nuccia,

Would I send the original letter again and just change the date of the letter? Do I need to send anything else? I was requesting a copy of the birth certificates of my MGGF and MGGM...is this correct?

As always, I appreciate your help. Grazie.

rosiebird wrote:

since my document request was received by the comune. I included 2 int'l reply coupons. It was a request for 2 birth documents and one marriage. I used a form letter, so hopefully it was clear what I was requesting! My appointment with the consulate to apply for citizenship is 18 August and I am getting nervous. My Italian is not fluent enough to carry on a phone conversation in any but the most caveman-like of ways. Any advice on how to proceed? Thanks in advance!

lynne wrote:

I sent a letter to the Comune di Caulonia almost four months ago and have not as yet received a reply. As well, I sent a letter at the same time to a possible relative still living in Italy but have heard nothing. Not sure what I'm going to do next...

Hi ladies... sorry I was so late in answering your queries - but here goes...


A few pointers for you both that might throw some light on your problems and might help you decide your next moves....

1. International Reply Coupons are not accepted (or known about) by some smaller Comunes. The larger town/city Comunes will have probably seen plenty of them. There is usually no charge for certificates unless you are requesting the big one with all the annotations on. In that case they will tell you what the charge is. That will be in Euro's.

2. Many Comunes are having financial difficulties and so you will often get a reply a bit quicker if you enclose ITALIAN postage stamps see the >Gente Stamp Service<. Two €0.85c (US$1.20) stamps will usually ensure a reply is sent ... but when they are ready!

3. Cash is never a good idea - for a variety of reasons. If you send (for example) a $5 bill it is worth just €3.53 and to change it in a bank would cost more than the bill is worth - so dollar bills - unless large - are really worthless. It is also illegal to send cash through the post, but having said that I have, on occasion, provided euro banknotes (€10 and €20) to people in the USA by posting them wrapped in foil, together with stamps: The foil ensures that the metal strip on the note is not seen if scanned. These bills were for people who wished to donate some money to a church to thank a priest for his help in providing documents/certificates.

4. Nuccia is right - Italy takes it's annual holidays in August and many towns, shops, factories etc. are empty. Comunes cannot close - but they will only have a skeleton staff on duty to deal with emergencies, but even when they are fully manned, genealogy requests are always seen as very low priority...

5. I am always willing to make a telephone call to a Comune to ask them for their help. Calls of this nature have had both rapid success and NO success at all. Where there has bee no success, a call to the town Mayor is sometimes fruitfull.

Obviously any help has to be paid for, and by that I mean that I only ever charge for my out of pocket expenses - i.e. stamps, cash, phone calls - but my time is always free. I don't do it to make money, but to help. I have a PayPal account and send an invoice for the costs. If I can help any of you ladies - or anyone else - just send me a PM and we'll see what can be done!

I just wanted to add something Carole. I always order the long birth acts and have yet to be charged for them, if that helps at all.

Also, to add to the above, and I don't know if this is common practice across Italy, but when I visited the Anagrafe in Agrigento, Sicily, the officer who assisted me with finding an entry for one of my ancestors would not release a copy of the entry to me unless I could prove that the person was my ancestor (which I could not do at that time). Is this possibly also a reason for the delay in sending documents abroad?

The law here says that the only person who can have a photocopy is an 'interested' person (relative). If you just want a certificate they will usually do that without too much fuss unless it is within the last 70 years. The law that covers the anagrafe is very vague as to the 70 year privacy rule and some clerks interpret it to mean anything in their possession even if it has been microfilmed by the Mormons from the State archives.

nuccia wrote:

I just wanted to add something Carole. I always order the long birth acts and have yet to be charged for them, if that helps at all.

Nuccia,

What is "long birth act" in Italian?

Hi Lynne,

Lets see if I can explain it correctly because I always screw up the name but basically here is a "long Birth act" ..

mofrad.net/ardore/Nati/1895/069.jpg

It is the Act of the birth as recorded. It states a lot of information like who recorded it, the Comune, the parents names and sometimes grandparents names and whether or not they were alive at the time of the birth. It also gives the age of the father, and sometimes the age of the mother. The older birth acts contain baptism info. It will also list where they were iving at the time of the birth, who reported the birth (the father, grandfather, mid wife, etc) and who were witness's to the birth. Much of this info will allow you to trace your family back another generation. It is a copy of the actual recorded act.

The "birth certificate" is basically an extraction of the info done by the town clerk who handles the request and you don't get nearly as much detail.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for the explanation, Nuccia. I'd love to get my hands on a copy of those relating to my MGGF and MGGM. If I were to request a copy of the "long birth act," what is it called in Italian? (In my original letter to the Comune, I asked for copia integrale della nascita.)

You asked for the right thing. I always put (fotocopia) after it just so they know exactly what I want and still I don't always get one.