Region: Basilicata Province: Matera
Tracing your Italian roots back to Valsinni, in Matera province, Basilicata region?
This comprehensive guide empowers you to understand the records available in Valsinni, unlocking your family’s rich history.
Where to Begin Your Ancestry Journey in Valsinni
If your ancestral trail leads to Valsinni, Italy, their vital records are likely housed in two key locations:
- Valsinni City Hall Archives: Established in 1809, these archives hold civil registry records like births, marriages, and deaths for Valsinni residents since then.
- Valsinni Parish Churches: For records pre-dating 1809 or for religious ceremonies, exploring Valsinni’s parish church archives might be necessary.
Civil Records in Valsinni
In towns and villages of Basilicata and in Matera province civil registry offices were established in 1809: it means that you could find your ancestors records in Valsinni Town Hall archives as of that date.
(If your goal is to get your Italian Citizenship and you need official certificates from Valsinni Municipality, follow this link).
So, if your ancestors lived in Valsinni during the past centuries, then you should start your family research from the City Office of Valsinni to know more: our local expert is ready to help you in your research!
With his deep knowledge of people and local history he will assist you not only finding names and dates (births, marriages, deaths) but he will reveal to you many other precious information on the life of your ancestors available in the old registers.
- Professions: do you know what your ancestors did for a living? Our genealogist will be able to give you this info!
- Addresses: the house where your family lived (a great information if you intend to visit Valsinni !)
- Churches: where they were baptized or married
- Signatures: if your ancestors knew how to write, he will be able to show you their original signatures.
(If you can’t visit Valsinni, our researcher will give you the necessary info to find by yourself the relevant places on the maps available online)
Next picture shows the demographic trends in Valsinni from the Italian Unification (1861).
This is a necessary info to understand how many people lived in the town in the past.
To go on quickly in your research is important to know if the last name you are investigating is a frequent surname in Valsinni. As more your surname is common, as more it could be difficult to find the right branch of your ancestors family in Valsinni archives, expecially if you have not exact dates (there could be cases of homonymy).
It’s useful for you to know that the most common surnames in Matera province are:
Andrisani, Bianco, Bruno, Carbone, Carlucci, Cifarelli, Colucci, Coretti, D’Alessandro, Di Cuia, Di Lecce, Di Pede, Ferrara, Festa, Fiore, Fortunato, Gaudiano, Giordano, Grieco, Guida, Iacovone, Lamacchia, Lauria, Leone, Manicone, Martino, Matera, Montemurro, Montesano, Nicoletti, Olivieri, Padula, Paolicelli, Papapietro, Quinto, Rinaldi, Rizzi, Romano, Rondinone, Rubino, Ruggieri, Russo, Sacco, Salerno, Stigliano, Tataranni, Venezia, Vizziello.
Church Records in Valsinni
Church archives in Matera province may store even older information. You will find religious records of the same events (births, marriages and deaths) but, most important, you could go further back in time!
So in case you would like to go back in centuries, it’s good for you to know that the parish registers in Basilicata started during 1500!
Parish archives are far less accessible expecially from abroad and very hard to read and decipher if you are not used and skilled.
But our local genealogists, are graduated in history and archivistics so, with their expertise, they can research the church registers of Valsinni on your behalf to gather info about your family history during centuries.
For our experience, if you plan to come here to visit Valsinni, we always suggest to start the research months before the arrival.
This because a comprehensive genealogy research is time consuming!
Starting from home, you will have time to get a complete research avoiding to waste your holidays in the offices or in the churches dealing with italian bureaucracy .
(Remember that archives are not open to public and officers and priests are not required by law to give you access to the local archives)
With the results gathered by our genealogist and translated in your language before your arrival, you will have the possibility to plan carefully your visit.
In this way you will have more free time to enjoy your tour to the roots on your ancestors footsteps.
Another important source of information are the notary documents available to expert researchers in the State Archives of Matera.
If you need a professional help from our local genealogist in Valsinni area , write to valsinni@italianside.com or fill the form here.
Our expert will study your request and will reply to you with a plan and a quote for your family research.
If you think to contact the town hall by yourself, we suggest you to read our tips for your search. They are useful advices to search in Basilicata and of course in Valsinni too.
Here below you can read the messages received from other visitors in Valsinni forum:
if you only want to discuss with other people interested in genealogy in Valsinni feel free to leave a message below.
My Mothers maiden name is Oetrigliano. Her Mothers maiden name was LIONETTI Thank you. GRAZIE!!!
I assume your mother’s maiden name was Petrigliano. My grandfather had two half-brothers, Santo and Giuseppe Petrigliano. Santo (Sam) married Rosina Lionetti here in the USA. They had three sons and three daughters. You may contact me if you wish.
my maternal grandfather was a Lionetti. His name was Vincenzo and his parents lived on a farm of some sort, (i dont know their first names nor my great grandmothers maiden name, Grandfather Vincenzo had a twin sister who unfortunately I never knew-not even her name–but SHE had a daughter named Philomena-who i met only once long ago. I think she lived in northern New Jersey and I think she had at least one daughter living there as well. Vincenzo had other brothers and sisters as well. I never knew or met any of them.
Vincenzo married my grandmother, Isabella Angiolillo, who was born in Noepoli, Province of Potenza. I believe they married in the US and in Italy as well-though not sure whether it was in Potenza or Matera or both.
I know so little about the Lionetti side (and not as much as i would like about the Angiolillos) Any information would be appreciated
My half great aunt, Maria Giuseppa Rinaldi married Giuseppe Lionetti, youngest brother of Vincenzo, in 1906 in Valsinni. the came to the US in 1907 and I know nothing more of them. I am looking for any information about them. They may have changed their names to Joseph and Josephine.
Since that last post in 2018 I have learned that my maternal grandfather, Vincenzo Lionetti was born on Jan 15, 1879.
By 1904, probably even a bit earlier than that, Vincenzo, a tailor, was living somewhere in New Jersey, possibly In the East New York, NJ area (a guess based on one of my aunts being born there in 1912 or so)
Also understand that he and my grandmother made several trips back and forth from America back to Valsinni. Some of my aunts and uncles were born there – others here. I think that my grandfather may have suffered with depression and the trips back home to his native environment were Believed to be beneficial. Also he was not only called Vincenzo. He was also known to use the name James or Jimmy.
Hi, I am looking for records on my great Grandfather, Vincenzo Stigliano born November 10 1882 in the Valsinni area. Most of my Stigliano relatives were from Pescapagano and immigrated to the US early 1900’s Vincenzo married Marie Vittoria Digirolomo born August 21, 1882 somewhere in southern Italy and they had a son Michele In Italy around 1900. I am interested in my Italian citizenship. My Paternal grandfather Thomas Stigliano(Vincenzo’s son) born in the US in 1908 started the first Chiropractic clinic in Salerno in 1976 or 1977 and used to contribute to Casa Materna (orphanage) in Portici Naples. I would appreciate any help in my search. Thank You! Lisa Craney
Well several years later and further into my geneology research I have found out that the Stigliano’s were born in Valsinni and the Digerolomo and Miele side of the family were from Pescopagano. Still looking for Stigliano relatives in Valsinni, Guiseppe and VIncenzo were from Valsinni , a Barber and a Tailor. Guiseppe went back and forth, but Vincenzo worked in Jersey City and Died young at 37 in East orange NJ. Any input welcome. I believe we were all decendents of Don Antonio from Nova Siri abt. 1810 he had 5 or 6 Children and we have traced Guiseppe back to him, but am wondering about Pietro Stigliano 1830? who was also a tailor in Valsinni. His brother Fabbiano was the county Sheriff/debt collector and lost his life trying to collect a debt. Guiseppe and Concetta worked their farm in Valsinni even after they came to the US. Thanks Lisa