Genealogy in Bassignana
Tracing your Italian roots back to Bassignana (in Alessandria province, Piemonte 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 Bassignana.
Bassignana family history at a glance
- Region: Piemonte
- Province: Alessandria
- Type of records: civil and parish records
- Civil registration: in the town hall from 1866 onwards
- Parish records: often older than civil records (in some cases from the late 1500s)
Research experience on families in Bassignana
Over the years, ItalianSide has conducted genealogy research on historical families from Bassignana, involving many surnames traditionally found in the town, including branches of the following families: Taverna, Omodeo, Pagella, Cazzola, Lenti, Scantamburlo, Spigariol, Boveri, Leva, Spiga, Moretto, Pavese, Barzizza, Fracchia and many 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 Bassignana 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 Bassignana and Piemonte 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 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.
Genealogy in Bassignana
If your ancestors came from Bassignana, in Alessandria province (Piemonte 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 Bassignana
Vital records for people born, married or deceased in Bassignana are usually preserved in:
- Bassignana City Hall archives: civil records (births, marriages, deaths) from 1860 onwards.
- Bassignana parish churches: in Piemonte religious registers, which can often take your research back to the 1600s and sometimes as far as the 1500s.
Civil Records (Stato Civile) in Bassignana
In towns and villages of Piemonte and in Alessandria province, as Bassignana, civil registry officially began on january 1 1866.
A first civil registry system had already been introduced during the Napoleonic period (1806–1814). This means you can often find your ancestors’ civil records in the Town Hall archives of Bassignana from that year onwards.
(If your goal is to obtain Italian citizenship and you need official certificates from Bassignana, please follow this link.)
If your ancestors lived in Bassignana during the past centuries, the City Office of Bassignana 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 Bassignana.
- 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 Piemonte and specifically in Bassignana.
Street names in Bassignana
The names of the street in Bassignana, can help identify ancestral addresses found in civil records, parish documents, and old family papers.
At today, some of the main streets in Bassignana are: VIA ROMA, VIA VALENZA, VIA SAN ROCCO, VIA ALESSANDRIA, VIA GIUSEPPE VERDI, VIA GIUSEPPE MAZZINI, VIA SAN LORENZO, CORSO ITALIA, VIA TRIESTE, STRADA SERRA, VIA QUATTRO NOVEMBRE, VIA DEI CESARI, VIA GIUSEPPE GARIBALDI, VIA CAVOUR, VIA MUGARONE, VIA DELLA VITTORIA, VIA SAN PAOLO, VIA VENTICINQUE APRILE, VIA DANTE ALIGHIERI, VIA DEL CASTELLO and others.
If you want help to identify street names connected with your ancestors in Bassignana just follow the link below.
Population trends in Bassignana
The chart below shows the demographic trends in Bassignana 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 Bassignana
Church archives in Alessandria 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 Piemonte, 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 Bassignana 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 Bassignana:
BEATA VERGINE ASSUNTA – Via della Chiesa, 1
S. MARIA DELLA NEVE – 15042 FIONDI AL
Our experts could search registers and historical religious documents collected and kept at the diocesan archive:
Archivio Diocesano di Alessandria – Via Vescovado, 1 – Alessandria
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.
The provincial archive is:
Archivio di Stato di Alessandria – Via Giorgio Solero, 43 – 15121 Alessandria
Historical and photographic sources available in private archives
Historical photographs, prints, and documents from private collections—including ItalianSide’s archive of vintage images from Bassignana and Piemonte 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.
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 Bassignana
Historical cadastral and land records used to identify property ownership, track real estate transfers over time, and confirm the historical presence of families within Bassignana. ItalianSide provides professional assistance in accessing and interpreting these records, where available.
Planning a visit to Bassignana
From our experience, if you plan to visit Bassignana 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 Bassignana
If you need professional support from our local genealogist in the Bassignana area, write to bassignana@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 Bassignana
Here below you can read messages from other visitors in the Bassignana forum. If you simply want to discuss genealogy in Bassignana with other people, feel free to leave a message.
Hi, I am looking for family surname Annaratone, Facelli and Gaia. Specifically, Francesco Annaratone who died in the area in 1975 and was born 1899. I believe he had a son, Giuseppe and a brother or cousin, Pietro.
Any information on Francesco or other related Annartone family members would be helpful.
My great grandfather’s (Dominico/Dominick, surname Soro, born 1892) immigration record from December 1920 lists Bassignana as his place of birth. His final destination was Memphis, TN, where he joined his brother Pietro and eventually entered into what the family has always called an arranged marriage with Frances Omodeo, daughter of Giuseppe and Rosa Omodeo, both of whom lived in Bassignana. We don’t know much else about them, except that they remained in relatively close proximity to many other families (surnames Barzizza, Bursi, Lenti, Locardi, Robilio, Sampietro, etc.) from Bassignana. Anybody know why all these families from this tiny village ended up in Memphis?
Holley,
My Grandfather, Gino Omodeo, was also from Bassignana. My Grandmother Rosa Ceranti was from Rivarone, a small village near Bassignana. She came over with her family as a child in 1908. My Grandfather did not come over until 1911. The ship manifest shows he was coming here to stay with a friend, Pietro Vescovo, and was a farm laborer. After he married my grandmother, they operated their own produce farm In Memphis. Someone told me that they came to this area because of the available farming opportunities in Tennessee and Mississippi. I would also like to know who first came to this area from Bassignana.
Did your great grandfather have any sisters ?
My family also settled in Memphis. My father was a TORTI but we are also related to the Orsi and Bursi families.
I was told many Italians settled in this area because they followed the Mississippi River south. My Big Momma was first married to a Mr. Sylvestri who was an orchestra conductor in New Orleans. He died very young, 26 I think, and my Big Momma married my Big Poppa TORTI. My dad was from Memphis but moved to Mississippi when he married my mother.
I’m looking for the parents of my grandfather, John Canepari, born approximately 1884, in Bassignana.
I have two possible names from another geneology site but I don’t know how accurate it is.
Giuseppe Canepari 1853-1926
Marcellina Carlotta Scaparra 1853-1945
Hello. I have been searching for information about my ancestry for years now. I was wondering if anyone may know of anyone with the surname of Bursi. My great grandfather was from Bassignana. His name was Carlo Bursi. Thank you in advance ☺️
I have a Charles Bursi in my family tree. He was born in 1895 and died in March 1977. He was married to Josephine Cigalina (1902-1999), whom my mother called “Aunt Josie.” Josie was the younger sister of my great aunt Lena who died in Memphis in 1977. “Charles” is the English translation of Carlo.
I feel confident that he was from Bassignana, as most of my family was from there.. My tree does not go back along Charles’ line, but I can take you back a little along his wife’s line. I’m happy to share, if this is of help.
Hi,
I am looking for information regarding my fathers side of my family, last name of “Casone”. I do know that many of our family members immigrated to Memphis,Tennessee in the early 1900’s, but I don’t have much information beyond that.
Pauline Bursi was my great grandmother. She was married to John {Giovanni) Robilio. Angelo Robilion was my grandfather.
Good afternoon. I am looking for information on Eufrasio Tosi, born 8 January either 1895 or 1896. He immigrated to the United States in January 1913. I believe there was an older sister Camilla or Carmella – I have seen it spelled both way. As well, there was an older brother, Eugenio.
hi i just found recently after 29 years that i have my grandfather was burried in bassignana ,for every one who live in bassignana please i just want to know where exactly he was burried see his grave just for one time ,i have all information please for every one i need to know what cemetery he was burried in, bassignana thank you
Hey Nancy,
My grandfather was Giovanni (Johnny) Goggio and he settled in Fayetteville, NC. I visited New York about two weeks ago and to Ellis Island where they all came in. I was able to gather a lot of information if you’re still interested. Shoot me an email and I’ll be happy to share.
Could you please tell me where to send requests for marriage and birth/death records of my Great grandparents (Omodeo family), and how much money I should send with this and should I send cash or a money order?
I wanted to thank those on this website who put together excellent tips on finding ways to reach officials in Italy about genealogy searches. I followed the instructions and tips from this website. In Feb 2015, I began writing to Civil Officials in Sannazzaro di Burgundi about my great grandparents. Several letters went back and forth, and yesterday, I received extracts of birth, marriage, and death records for 10 family members. What an exciting experience. I learned the maiden names of my great-great grandmothers which no one in my family knew before yesterday. Now, I want to know more!
Thank you.
Vicki
Hello –
I am looking for information on my Italian roots. My great-grandfather Joseph Grillo born 18 OCT 1869 Bassignana Italy, and my great-grandmother Louisa Gaia Caviglio born 04 JAN 1868 Bassignana Italy immigrated in the early 1900s to the United States. Do you know if there is a way to write to officials in Bassignana for copies of birth records, for them and their parents and siblings?
I had some luck writing to officials in Sannazzaro for other relatives, and would like to explore how I might find the right people to write to in Bassignana.
Any help is appreciated.
Vicki
I believe my grandfather Giuseppe Cervetti was from Bassignana. He came to the U S between 1902 and 1907 to Memphis, TN. He married I believe in 1908 to Mary Gaia. He returned to Bassignana in 1910 with his wife and year old son to visit relatives. They returned to the US in 1910. I understand he returned to Bassignana sometime around the beginning of World War I and was drafted into the Italian Army. After the war he remained in Italy and I understand died there in an accident around 1928. He would have been born around 1881 or 1882. Also his middle came may have been Enrico
Thank you for any help you can give in this matter
Joseph Cervetti
i am searching for info about the PARENTS of my grandfather, Luigi Fontana. Born approx 1884 in Bassignana, Italy. Died May of 1958. Buried in Bassigana. He immigrated to the U.S. about 1907 and returned to Bassignana about 1955. I believe he lived with his cousin, Marina Fontana at the time of his death. Thank you
I am doing some research for my husbands family. His last name is Goggio. His grandfather came to America in 1922. His first name was Frank. I would like to take my husband to visit his grandfather’s homeland. Are there still Goggios in that area
Hallo Ginia, my great-grandmother was Maria Luigia Goggio, born in Bassignana in 1820.
Hi. My last name is Goggio. My grandfather was Louis/Luigi Goggio. His family migrated to Memphis TN from Bassigana. I’ve been trying to get as much details as I can about my father’s side of the family. My grandfather was born in 1915. Apparently, he lied about his age when he was 16 to get enlisted in the Air Force. I was born in 1983 so he was almost in his 70s by the time I came around. He never told me or even my dad that he was born in Italy. I had to find out about a decade later through some research. I know Johnnie/Giovanni was the oldest, Theresa/Teresa was the only sister, and Frankie/Francisco was the first Goggio to be born in America. I am really interested in finding out more about my grandfather’s parents, especially his mother’s side. All I know is Amelia passed away early in my grandfather’s life. I have many photos of my grandparents and their life before they settled down to have my dad. I even have pictures of Frankie as well 🙂 My grandfather was mostly closer to his sister how stay in Memphis. I know his family spread out to NC and FL. If you get this or anyone that is wanting info or photos for this Goggio family, I can supply them.