Genealogy in Capannori

Tracing your Italian roots back to Capannori (in Lucca province, Toscana 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 Capannori.

Genealogy in Capannori

If your ancestors came from Capannori, in Lucca province (Toscana 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 Capannori

Vital records for people born, married or deceased in Capannori are usually preserved in:

• Capannori City Hall archives: civil records (births, marriages, deaths) from 1866 onwards.Before (1808–1865), Civil Status registers are preserved in historical archives.
• Capannori parish churches: in Toscana religious registers, which can often take your research back to the 1600s and sometimes as far as the 1500s.

Civil Records (Stato Civile) in Capannori

In towns and villages of Toscana and in Lucca province, as in Capannori, civil registration offices were established in the Napoleonic era around 1809, continued under the Grand Duchy until 1865, and then merged into the unified Italian Civil Status after national unification.
Thus, the earliest modern registers for Tuscany date from 1808–1865, while records after 1866 belong to the Italian Civil Status.This means you can often find your ancestors’ civil records in the Town Hall archives of Capannori from that year onwards.

(If your goal is to obtain Italian citizenship and you need official certificates from Capannori, please follow this link.)

If your ancestors lived in Capannori during the past centuries, the City Office of Capannori 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 Capannori.
• 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 Toscana and specifically in Capannori.

Surnames in Capannori and Lucca province

It is important to know whether the surname you are researching is frequent in Capannori.

The more common the surname, the more challenging it can be to identify the correct family branch, especially if you do not have precise dates.

The following gives an overview of some common surnames in the province:

some of the most common surnames in Lucca province are:
Baldacci, Barsanti, Bianchi, Biagioni, Del Chiaro, Fabbri, Galli, Giannini, Guidi, Lazzarini, Lombardi, Martinelli, Nardi, Orsi, Pardini, Rossi, Santini, Simi, Tomei, Venturi.

Church Records in Capannori

Church archives in Lucca 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 Toscana, 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 Capannori 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 Capannori:

S. MICHELE – 55018 MATRAIA LU

S. MICHELE – Via Nuova

S. MICHELE – Via Chiesa Colognora di Compito

S. MICHELE – Via per S. Andrea, 39

S. MARGHERITA – Via Chiesa – Santa Margherita

S. LUCIA – Via Chiesa, 70 Coselli

S. LORENZO – Via Chiesa

S. LORENZO – Via Chiesa, 47

S. LEONARDO – Via di Borgo, 31

S. IACOPO – Via Lombarda, 169

S. GIUSTO – Via di S. Andrea S. Giusto di Compito

S. GIOVANNI BATTISTA – Via di Tiglio alla Chiesa

S. GIOVANNI BATTISTA – Via della Chiesa, 26

S. GIORGIO – Via Traversa I – Parezzana

S. GINESE – Via Casteldurante S. Ginese

S. GENNARO – Via di S. Gennaro

S. FREDIANO – Via di Valgiano, 1 – Valgiano

S. FREDIANO – Via Chiesa, 4

S. COLOMBANO – Via della Chiesa, 2

S. BARTOLOMEO – Via Aldo Mei, 14

S. BARTOLOMEO – Via Chiesa Badia di Cantignano

S. ANTONIO DA PADOVA – Via di S. Antonio

S. ANDREA – Castelvecchio di Compito

S. STEFANO – Via Chiesa – Tassignano

SANTI DONATO E BIAGIO – Via Chiesa, 1

SANTI MARIA ASSUNTA E GIOVANNI EVANGELISTA – Piazza Don Carlo Matteoni, 9

SANTI QUIRICO E GIULITTA – Via Carlo Piaggia, 3

SANTI VINCENZO E STEFANO – Via Chiesa Verciano

SS. VERGINE DEI DOLORI – Via dei Bocchi, 3

Planning a visit to Capannori

From our experience, if you plan to visit Capannori 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.

Messages from other visitors in Capannori

Here below you can read messages from other visitors in the Capannori forum. If you simply want to discuss genealogy in Capannori with other people, feel free to leave a message.