The project
The Italian Ancestors Map grew out of Italy Surname Map. Italy Surname Map shows where the families bearing a surname live today; the Italian Ancestors Map adds the dimension of time and shows where the bearers of that surname lived in past centuries, from 1000 to the present day.
Following a surname through time shows where it started, which areas it reached and when, and helps those searching for their roots understand which archives are worth searching.
How to read the maps
Each map is an animation. Each frame corresponds to a historical period, shown at the bottom left together with the surname and the number of places where the surname is recorded in that period. The captions on the maps are in Italian: PERIODO means period, COGNOME means surname, PRESENTE IN ... LUOGHI means found in ... places.
Each red circle marks a place; its size, according to the legend at the top right, shows how many times the surname appears there in the sources for that period.
Older sources are less complete and less consistent than recent ones: whole areas may be poorly documented in a given period. The absence of circles in an area therefore does not mean that the surname was not there, only that we have not yet found it in the available sources.
Source of the data
The archive has been built from public historical documents:
- historical family archives;
- historical censuses;
- parish sacramental records (baptisms, marriages, burials);
- cemetery records;
- conscription lists;
- registers, lists and other public records, including recent ones.
From these sources we use only the surname, the place and the period. The maps show aggregated data, with approximate positions, and do not allow individual people or families to be identified. To ask for data concerning you to be excluded, see the Privacy Policy.
Reports sent in by users are added to these sources. The archive is constantly growing: maps may change as new documents are added.
Contribute to the project
Help us rebuild the history of Italian surnames!
We are collecting information about ancestors who died more than 50 years ago. Every report adds a point to the historical map of the surname.
No registration is required: you can send your report by filling in the form at the following link:
👉 Report an ancestor
Every contribution helps enrich this collective memory.
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