Genealogy in Rocca di Mezzo
Tracing your Italian roots back to Rocca di Mezzo (in L’Aquila province, Abruzzo region) begins with understanding which records and documents exist and where they are preserved. On this page you’ll find a clear guide to the civil, parish and historical sources available for genealogy in Rocca di Mezzo.
How to research your ancestry in Rocca di Mezzo
Through its network of local experts, ItalianSide has extensive experience in genealogical research in the province of L’Aquila. For this reason, over the years it has become a reliable reference for those wishing to reconnect with their Italian roots and could be a key partner in the success of your research too. You can read feedback from our customers on our testimonials page
Our experts in Abruzzo region, conducted genealogy research on historical families from Rocca di Mezzo, involving many surnames traditionally found in the town, including branches of the following families: Martini, Tiberio, Micheli, Colarossi, Valente, Argentieri, Benedetti, Giusti, Rosa, Del Giudice, Lucantonio, Bassi, Scoccia, Giuliani and others.
Much of the information available about families and individuals in public and private local archives include, in addition to names and dates, further information such as occupations, the address where the family lived (a valuable info if you plan to visit Rocca di Mezzo!), and key social relationships within the community in past centuries.
The information in genealogy research derives from the archives available for on-site research in Rocca di Mezzo and Abruzzo. In previous research projects, our local genealogists have reconstructed family trees, cross-referenced family relationships, traced occupational and residential histories, and deciphered or translated historical documents useful to add information now forgotten to the history of your family.
Research activities may include all major sources available at municipal, provincial, and regional level:
• civil records
• parish registers
• emigrants database
• notarial archives
• military records
• cadastral and property records
• historical and photographic sources available in private archives
Direct access to local archives and a deep understanding of the local context allow for more complete and accurate results. Research may be carried out using all available sources in both public and private archives.
ItalianSide research: Beyond Names and Dates
Italian genealogy is deeply local. It can’t be reduced to collecting birth and death dates.
In Abruzzo, every municipality — including Rocca di Mezzo — has its own archival history, record‑keeping traditions, and unique documentary sources. This is why Italianside is able to help you in your Italian ancestry research, through a national network of local experts, each specialized in the archives of their specific territory.
Our researcher who works in Rocca di Mezzo and in the Province of L’Aquila knows how to navigate local civil, parish, military, and notarial records, uncovering details that go far beyond basic dates. By combining national coordination and methodology with deep local expertise, our researcher will bring your ancestors’ stories back to life within the history of the Rocca di Mezzo community.
Civil Records (Stato Civile) in Rocca di Mezzo
In towns and villages of Abruzzo and in L’Aquila province, civil registration offices were established in 1809. This means you can often find your ancestors’ civil records in the Town Hall archives of Rocca di Mezzo from that year onwards.
(If your goal is to obtain Italian citizenship and you need official certificates from Rocca di Mezzo, please follow this link.)
If you know that your ancestors lived in Rocca di Mezzo during the past centuries, the City Office of Rocca di Mezzo is usually the first place to start your family research. Our local expert can access these records on your behalf and interpret them correctly.
- Professions: discover what your ancestors did for a living.
- Addresses: find the street or house where the family lived in Rocca di Mezzo.
- Family links: identify parents, witnesses and neighbours that appear in the records.
- Signatures and notes: see how your ancestors signed and read any marginal annotations.
If you prefer to contact the Town Hall by yourself, we suggest reading our genealogy tips for Italy. They include practical advice for research in Abruzzo and specifically in Rocca di Mezzo.
Rocca di Mezzo Emigrants Database
Looking for ancestors who left Rocca di Mezzo? Explore our Rocca di Mezzo Emigrants Database to discover people who emigrated from this municipality, their destinations, travel details, and other available records. The database is continuously growing thanks to historical sources and contributions from our visitors. Browse the emigrants database from Rocca di Mezzo
Street names in Rocca di Mezzo
The names of the street in Rocca di Mezzo, can help identify ancestral addresses found in civil records, parish documents, and old family papers.
At today, some of the main streets in Rocca di Mezzo are: PIAZZA PRINCIPE DI PIEMONTE, VIALE TENENTE ITALO D’ERAMO, VIA ANTONIO DEL FANTE, VIALE VENTIQUATTRO MAGGIO, VIALE DELLE VITTIME NOVE MAGGIO, VIA DELLA CORTE, VIA ORFEO VINCENZO SCOCCIA, VIA FRANCO NUSCA, VIA DEI GAROFANI, VIA FALSETTO, VIA BARBERINI, LOCALITA’ COLLE BELVEDERE, VIA VINCENZO GABRIELE, VIA LEUCIO GIULIANI, VIA AVIGNONE, VIA PORTA DELLA MORGE, VIA CANDIDO GIULIANI, VIA COLLI DELLA MULA, VIA DEL RANCONE, VIALE ANTONIO MARTINI and others.
If you want help to identify street names connected with your ancestors in Rocca di Mezzo just follow the link below.
Population trends in Rocca di Mezzo
The chart below shows the demographic trends in Rocca di Mezzo from the Italian Unification (1861). Understanding how many people lived in the town over time is useful when interpreting migration and family movements.
Church Records in Rocca di Mezzo
Church archives in L’Aquila province often preserve information that predates civil records. Parish registers include baptisms, marriages and burials and sometimes allow you to push your family tree back into the 1700s and 1600s.
In many areas of Abruzzo, parish registers began around the 1500s. These manuscripts are not easy to access from abroad and can be hard to read without specific training.
Our local genealogists, with backgrounds in history and archival studies, can consult the parish archives of Rocca di Mezzo on your behalf and reconstruct your family history through the centuries.
If you want to visit churches, these are the addresses of parishes active today in Rocca di Mezzo:
S. MARIA AD NIVES – 67048 ROCCA DI MEZZO AQ
S. PIETRO – Via della Chiesa, 1
Planning a visit to Rocca di Mezzo
From our experience, if you plan to visit Rocca di Mezzo we always recommend starting the research months before your arrival. This way you avoid spending your holidays in offices or churches dealing with bureaucracy.
Remember that archives are not open to the general public and officers or priests are not required by law to grant direct access to the records.
Thanks to the findings gathered by our genealogist before your trip, and the help of our local guides, you’ll have more time to plan the exact locations (family homes, churches, streets, cemeteries, etc.) you’ll visit during your stay in the city.
This way, you can enjoy the city and its surroundings, following in the footsteps of your ancestors for an unforgettable journey back to your roots.
Notary records and other historical sources
Another important source of information is represented by notary documents, which preserve wills, dowries, property sales and contracts. These records are usually kept in provincial and State Archives and can provide valuable details on the social and economic life of your family.
Military records
Conscription lists and service records documenting physical descriptions, dates and places of enlistment, units and ranks held, periods of service, military postings, transfers, and movements, often providing detailed insight into an individual’s life beyond civil registration.
Cadastral and property records in Rocca di Mezzo
Historical cadastral and land records used to identify property ownership, track real estate transfers over time, and confirm the historical presence of families within Rocca di Mezzo. ItalianSide provides professional assistance in accessing and interpreting these records, where available.
Historical and photographic sources available in private archives
Historical photographs, prints, and documents from private collections—including ItalianSide’s archive of vintage images from Rocca di Mezzo and Abruzzo region are available. Old pictures add significant value to your family history research and offer a real sense of the places where your ancestors once lived.
Need help finding information about your ancestors in Rocca di Mezzo?
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Ask our local Genealogist
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Looking for Alberto Liberato Buccimazza. We are not sure about the first and middle name. He would reverse them we have found out after coming to the US, so not sure which is the birth given name. He was born 8 April 1893 in Rocca-dimezzo, Italy. We have no other information except he came to the US in around 1904. All we are looking for is a photo of Mr Buccimazza. This is my step fathers father we just found out by DNA.
Hello!
We are in Italy (we live in the US) until the 28th, Sep. My family is from Fonteavignone, but there are a few relatives that were born in small villages in the area of Rocca di Mezzo. The family names are D’Ascenzo and Lucantonio. My GG Grandmother Teresa Gialloreto is said to be born in Rocca Di Cambio in ? ? 1824, but I don’t know where she is buried (d. 11 May 1906). Also, another is Francesca Marinangeli born in ? ? 1831 and died26 June 1886 in Fonteavignone, Rocca Di Cambio. Maria Rosa De Francesco is said to be born in Campana in ? ? 1745 and died 24 May 1800 in Fonteavignone. Teresa Gialloreto’s father is Angelomaria Gialloreto, but I don’t know where he was born or where he is buried. Angelomaria’s wife, Lucia Mancini (born about 1800) is also a mystery. There is also Drusiana Carmina Aloisio di Carlantonio born in 1768 San Nicandro, Prata, D’Ansidonio, L’Aquila.
If there is any help you can help me in the research of the questions we have of these, it would be so wonderful for our family! I hope to spend a couple of days in Rocca di Mezzo around the 25, Sep.
My grandfather, Stefano Paglialunga, immigrated to the United States from Rocco di Mezzo. His father’s name was Venassio (sp?) Paglialunga. He had a brother “Patsy” and a sister Filomena. I believe his mother’s name was also Filomena. There are a number of “Filomena” women in the Italian family.
Stefano and “Patsy” immigrated to the United States through Ellis Island in the 1890’s. Filomena their sister stayed in Italy, probably in Rocco di Mezzo, but of course she would no longer have the “Paglialunga” surmname.
At Ellis Island, Stefano Paglialunga became “Steve Long”. He eventually married yet another Filomena, Filomena Pizza, and they had ten children, eight of whom survived. My father, Victor Long born in Wappinger Falls, New York, in 1902, was one of their sons. Victor died, aged 64, in Oakland, California, in 1966.
Filomena (Pizza)Paglialunga/Long died at the ago of 40 in Oakland, California, USA. Stefano died in his early 60’s, also in Oakland, California, the casualty of a drunk driver who hit a truck on which running board Stefano was standing.
Family lore has it that Vennazio Paglialunga, Stefano’s father and my great grandfather, had been ordained as a Catholic Priest and that he had given refuge to either a criminal or someone fleeing mobsters or partisans of some ilk. Allegedly, Stefano was tortured by those seeking the fugitive by having his fingers cut off, so that he had only thumbs on each hand. he left the priesthood and perhaps even the Church and married Filomena Di Angeli. So goes the story. These were the parents of Stefano, “Patsy” and Filomena.
My sister, Kathleen, visited Rocco di Mezzo a few years ago and saw a street bearing the name “Paglialonga”. It caused us to wonder whether any descendants, perhaps the children’s children of Filomena, the one that was Stefano and Patsy’s sister and who remained behind in Italy, might still live in Rocca di Mezzo or whether the story of Vennazio and the fugitive might remain in local lore.
The immigrant Paglialunga/Long family arrived in New York, and “Patsy” had a farm in upstate on the Hudson River close to the famous West Point Military Academy. His descendants remain in the upstate New York area.
Stefano Paglialunga/Long’s family moved progressively west through Colorado finally settling in Oakland, California. This branch (all of Stefano and Filomena (Pizza) Paglialunga/Long’s children married and had children of their own) live in Northern California in the area around San Francisco.
All but one of the second generation are still living, the oldest being 91.the youngest 70.
We would LOVE to know if anyone is left there and to know where Vassanio and Filomena (Di Angeli) are buried and whether they have a proper tomb stone.
How wonderful it would be to be in contact!
The correct name is VENANZIO and probably is PAGLIUCA that is a common name there.
Now i found one Venanzio (maybe i’ll find others) died before 1809 that married….child: Angelo 1748/1750 died 5.6.1809 at 60 years old he married…. child: Crescenzo e Domenico
contact me with more informations
Hi Sharon I’m related to Stefano , My grandfather was Vernal Paglialunga/Long
His dad was Vince /Vincenzo
I’m in Sacramento. My grandfather is from Oakland and then settled in Danville CA. He passed away a few years back.
My great grandfather was pasquale paglialunga married maria maniacci
Our family lived in marlborough/marlboro NY
i heard the same priest story but not about fingers
Also story was the his brother had a family in italy and in NY
They worked at Stoneco in Wappingers falls NY then moved to marlboro NY his brother moved to Hudson NY area
Hello there
I would like to find out more about my Grandfather.
He was said to be born in Rocca di Mezzo, his name was Romeo Marziani. He was in World War 2 and was captured and brought over to South Africa as P.O.W.
Are you able to find any information on this surname in the area for me?