Genealogy in Campagna
Tracing your Italian roots back to Campagna (in Salerno province, Campania region) begins with understanding which records 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 Campagna.
Campagna family history at a glance
- Region: Campania
- Province: Salerno
- Record types available: civil and parish records
- Civil registration: began in 1809 (when this area was part of the Kingdom of Naples)
- Parish registers: usually earlier than civil registration (sometimes dating back to the 1600s)
Research experience on families in Campagna
Over the years, ItalianSide has conducted genealogy research on historical families from Campagna, involving many surnames traditionally found in the town, including branches of the following families: Busillo, Caponigro, Cerrone, D’Ambrosio, De Luna, Glielmi, Guarnieri, Letteriello, Magliano, Maglio, Mirra, Moscato, Stabile, Trotta, Vitale and others.
Many records relating to families and individuals are already stored in our databases and include, in addition to names and dates, further information such as occupations, residential addresses, and key family and social relationships within the Campagna community in past centuries.
Part of the information used by ItalianSide in genealogy research derives from a proprietary archive of on-site research conducted over many years in Campagna and by our experts. This archive includes studies, family trees, and data not available online, such as cross-referenced family relationships, occupational histories, deciphered or translated documents, residential patterns, and visual documentation.
Research activities may include all major sources available at municipal, provincial, and regional level:
• civil records
• parish registers
• notarial archives
• military records
• historical and photographic sources
Direct access to archives and a deep understanding of the local context allow for more complete and accurate results than research conducted remotely or based on partial sources alone. Research may be carried out using all available sources in both public and private archives.
Genealogy in Campagna
If your ancestors came from Campagna, in Salerno province (Campania region), the first step is to identify the local archives where records are kept. Most family history research starts from the civil registry office at the Comune and continues in parish and notary archives.
Where to begin your ancestry journey in Campagna
Vital records for people born, married or deceased in Campagna are usually preserved in:
- Campagna City Hall archives: civil records (births, marriages and deaths) available from 1809 onwards.
- Campagna parish churches: in Campania, parish registers that can trace family lines back to the 1600s, and in rare cases even earlier.
Civil Records (Stato Civile) in Campagna
In towns and villages of Campania and across Salerno province, civil registration offices were established after 1809, following Napoleonic reforms in the former Kingdom of Naples. This means you can often find your ancestors’ civil records in the Town Hall archives of Campagna from that year onwards.
(If your goal is to obtain Italian citizenship and you need official certificates from Campagna, please follow this link.)
If your ancestors lived in Campagna during the past centuries, the City Office of Campagna 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 Campagna.
- 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 Campania and specifically in Campagna.
Population trends in Campagna
The chart below shows the demographic trends in Campagna 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 Campagna
Church archives in Salerno 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 Campania, 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, graduated in history and archival studies, can consult the parish archives of Campagna on your behalf and reconstruct your family history through the centuries.
In case you want to visit churches, these are the addresses of parishes active today in Campagna:
S. MARIA DOMENICA – C.da Camaldoli
S. GIUSEPPE E S. MICHELE ARCANGELO – C.da Quadrivio
MADONNA DEL PONTE – C.da S.Maria del Ponte
S. MARIA LA NOVA – C.da S.Maria la Nova
S. MARIA DEL BUON CONSIGLIO – C.da Serradarce
SS. TRINITA’ NELLA SS.ANNUNZIATA – Corso Umberto I
SS. SALVATORE – Largo G.C. Capaccio
S. MARIA DELLA PACE – Via Duomo
S. NICOLA DA TOLENTINO – Via Provinciale per Puglietta, 135
S. BARTOLOMEO APOSTOLO – Via S.Bartolomeo Apostolo
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.
Planning a visit to Campagna
From our experience, if you plan to visit Campagna 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.
With the results collected by our genealogist before your trip, you will have more time to enjoy the town and its surroundings, walking in the footsteps of your ancestors.
Professional help for research in Campagna
If you need professional support from our local genealogist in the Campagna area, write to campagna@italianside.com or fill the form here. Our expert will study your request and reply with a research plan and a quote tailored to your family history.
Messages from other visitors in Campagna
Here below you can read messages from other visitors in the Campagna forum. If you simply want to discuss genealogy in Campagna with other people, feel free to leave a message.
Grandfather passed in 2008. I don’t know where to begin with a church. He came to America when he was 18. In. 1905. I have the manifesto with his marriage certificate but he was married in BY
I wanted a copy of him his Baptism papers so I could perhaps see where he lived in Campagna. His name is Emilio Avallone. Feb 21,1889
We will be in Naples in May and plan a private land tour to visit his town.
I will be visiting campagna in two weeks and would like to visit the church my grandparent were married in if I can figure out which one. If not I would like to try to find the cemetery that my great grandparents would have been buried in. How can I research?
Thank you in advance
I am interested in any information about the Caleo and Paradiso families from Campagna. I am most interested in finding ANY information – birth, marriage, death, parentage – of Carmela Paradiso married to Paolo Caleo (1850-1918). They were my great-grandparents. I believe she passed away in Italy sometime between 1892 – 1900 and never emigrated to the United States with her husband and children. Her daughters were born approximately 1890 and 1892 or 1894. Sometimes, the smallest fact can be a clue. I also welcome any suggestions of where to write for this information. Thank you.
My husbands family came from Campagna back in 1903 their names were Antonio Tamaccio and his wife Alfina Muro they had 4 children when they sailed to the U.S. I only know that Antonios parents were James n Teresa Tamaccio,I cannot find anymore information on his family,I am hoping someone there can help me find information about the family,Thank You
My grandfather was Beradino Solimeo born in Campagna in 1882. My great grandfather was Emedio Solimeo born in Campagna in 1853. Both traveled to US in 1889 and lived in Philadelphia. Beradino’s brothers born in Campagna were Alfonso, born 1880, and Umberto born in 1889. My great grandmother was Apalia Castagna but I do not know where she was born. Any information on the Solimeo heritage in Campagna would be appreciated and/or who would I contact for such information. Thank you.
I will be in Campagna in March 2017 doing research on my maternal grandparents Pasquale and Lavina (Bello) Longobardi. I have information on his parents and grandparents, hoping to find out as much as I can while there. Should I start at the church archives?
My grandfather married his arranged wife Guardino in Palermo and left for the US in about 1898. She was alleged to have been from Trabia, Sicily. He from “up North” possibly a fisherman. I have the marriage certificate from the church in Palermo and his photo and date of birth but nothing else but nothing else except that he may have been wearing a military uniform in his photo. Any suggestions on where to search next?
Hello,
two years ago when visiting Campagna I located my grandfather Giovanni tommasiello birth certificate and a family distant cousin residing there by the name of Gelsomino Sessa. My grandfather Giovanni mother (my great grandmother) was married to Maria Magaro. Her sister Philomena Magaro was the great grandmother of my cousin Gelsomino Sessa. I want to return to Campagna in October 2016 to learn more of the family tree and to apply for citizenship. Can you help direct me to the right sources to make this happen for me. Thank You….Ciao!
looking for relatives in campagna. last name police. my great-grandparents were born there. also, great grandmother ceriale.
I am very interested in my Italian family tree. My grandfather’s name is Rae Campagna. My mother’s Radine Campagna.
I will be visiting Campagna in September. My fraternal grandparents both were born there. I want to find any relatives I may have still residing in the area. How do I contact a researcher?
I am interested in starting research on my Caputo side of family. All I know is they Arrived in the United States in 1908 from Campagna, Italy.
Felix (or Phillipe) Caputo Family Wife Mary Louise Colia (sp ?)
Eight children – Tony, Minnie, Angelina, Rose, Victoria, Libretta, Cecilia, James