Guide to Cosenza Province ancestry, family history and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, parish registers, and military records.

• Cosenza 1920 Kitsempty Spaces The Blog -
• Cosenza 1920 Kitsempty Spaces The Blog Example
• Cosenza 1920 Kitsempty Spaces The Blog Free
• Cosenza 1920 Kitsempty Spaces The Blog Archive

• 1History
• 4Civil Registration (registri dello stato civile)
• 5Church Records (registri ecclesiastici)
• 7Tips for Finding Your Ancestor in the Records

Most of your genealogical research for Cosenza, Sicily will be in two main record types: civil registration (registri dello stato civile) and church records (registri ecclesiastici). This article will teach you methods for locating and searching these two record groups.

History[edit | edit source]

Cosenza Province (Wikipedia)

City of Cosenza[edit | edit source]

Over the centuries, Cosenza maintained a distinctive character, which marked it out among the cities of the region. It became an important stopover on the Roman route via Popilia, which connected Calabria to Sicily. During the Roman Empire, although merely a colonia, the town benefited from municipal privileges.
By the first half of the eleventh century, Lombard Calabria became a feudal dukedom of the Normans, with Cosenza as capital. The town soon rebelled and was only recaptured after a long siege.
From 1806 to 1815 Cosenza fought hard against French domination. The local riots of 1821 and 1837 heralded the Risorgimento. They were followed by the uprising of 15 March 1844. In 1860, some months after the rapid and overwhelmingly heroic deeds of Garibaldi’s troops, a plebiscite proclaimed the annexation of Calabria to the new Kingdom of Italy.

Island Park, New York. Jun 5, 1947 – Nov 9, 2019. Plant Memorial Trees Opens send flowers url in a new window. Cosenza, known as the City of the Bruzi, is one of the most ancient cities of Calabria and is situated on seven hills in the valley of Crati, where it meets the Busento River. Due to its cultural past, it was known as the Athens of Italy; today, it houses the largest university campus in the nation. The old city is characterized by steep and narrow alleyways and, during recent years is.

Cosenza (Wikipedia)

Municipalities in Cosenza[edit | edit source]

Acquaformosa, Acquappesa, Acri, Aiello Calabro, Aieta, Albidona, Alessandria del Carretto, Altilia, Altomonte, Amantea, Amendolara, Aprigliano, Belmonte Calabro, Belsito, Belvedere Marittimo, Bianchi, Bisignano, Bocchigliero, Bonifati, Buonvicino, Calopezzati, Caloveto, Campana, Canna, Cariati, Carolei, Carpanzano, Casali del Manco, Cassano all'Ionio, Castiglione Cosentino, Castrolibero, Castroregio, Castrovillari, Celico, Cellara, Cerchiara di Calabria, Cerisano, Cervicati, Cerzeto, Cetraro, Civita, Cleto, Colosimi, Corigliano Calabro, Cosenza, Cropalati, Crosia, Diamante, Dipignano, Domanico, Fagnano Castello, Falconara Albanese, Figline Vegliaturo, Firmo, Fiumefreddo Bruzio, Francavilla Marittima, Frascineto, Fuscaldo, Grimaldi, Grisolia, Guardia Piemontese, Lago, Laino Borgo, Laino Castello, Lappano, Lattarico, Longobardi, Longobucco, Lungro, Luzzi, Maierà, Malito, Malvito, Mandatoriccio, Mangone, Marano Marchesato, Marano Principato, Marzi, Mendicino, Mongrassano, Montalto Uffugo, Montegiordano, Morano Calabro, Mormanno, Mottafollone, Nocara, Oriolo, Orsomarso, Paludi, Panettieri, Paola, Papasidero, Parenti, Paterno Calabro, Pedivigliano, Piane Crati, Pietrafitta, Pietrapaola, Plataci, Praia a Mare, Rende, Rocca Imperiale, Roggiano Gravina, Rogliano, Rose, Roseto Capo Spulico, Rossano, Rota Greca, Rovito, San Basile, San Benedetto Ullano, San Cosmo Albanese, San Demetrio Corone, San Donato di Ninea, San Fili, San Giorgio Albanese, San Giovanni in Fiore, San Lorenzo Bellizzi, San Lorenzo del Vallo, San Lucido, San Marco Argentano, San Martino di Finita, San Nicola Arcella, San Pietro in Amantea, San Pietro in Guarano, San Sosti, San Vincenzo La Costa, Sangineto, Sant'Agata di Esaro, Santa Caterina Albanese, Santa Domenica Talao, Santa Maria del Cedro, Santa Sofia d'Epiro, Santo Stefano di Rogliano, Saracena, Scala Coeli, Scalea, Scigliano, Serra d'Aiello, Spezzano Albanese, Spezzano della Sila, Tarsia, Terranova da Sibari, Terravecchia, Torano Castello, Tortora, Trebisacce, Vaccarizzo Albanese, Verbicaro, Villapiana, Zumpano

Locating Town of Origin in Italy[edit | edit source]

In order to research your family in Italy, it is essential that you have identified the place where they came from. You must know the city, town, or parish that they came from. A few records are indexed, but many records will require going directly to photocopied local records, which are only available by town name. it will be difficult to identify the place of origin by going directly to Italy sources. Therefore, you will need to search in United States (or other country of arrival) sources first. See Italy Gathering Information to Locate Place of Origin to learn how to search for the Italian place of origin in United States records.

Civil Registration (registri dello stato civile)[edit | edit source]

• Civil registration records (registri dello stato civile) are government records of births, marriages, and deaths.

• Dates: In southern Italy, registering births, marriages, and deaths began in 1809 (1820 in Sicily). In central and northern Italy, civil registration began in 1866 (1871 in Veneto). After this date, virtually all individuals who lived in Italy were recorded.

• Contents: For detailed descriptions of the information you might find in each record, see Information recorded in civil registers.
  

• Language: The records were almost always kept in Italian, except for records kept during the rule of foreign powers such as France and Austria. In the northern regions, many records are in French and German. Some church records were transcribed into civil registration records in Latin. Don't worry; you will be able to search these foreign languages by learning just a few typical words such as those for mother, father, born, name, bride, groom, married, etc. More help with this is given later in this article.

• Accessing the records: Civil registration records were and are kept at the local registrar’s office (anagrafe) in each town or city. A copy of each record is sent to the tribunale (district court).
  

• Determining the locality: You must determine the town where your ancestor lived before you can find the records. Your ancestor may have lived in a village that belonged to a nearby larger town. Large cities may have many civil registration districts. You may need to use maps, gazetteers, and other geographic references to identify the place where your ancestor lived and the civil registration office that served that place. See Italy Maps and Italy Gazetteers for information on how to find civil registration offices.
  

• State of the Family (Stato di famiglia): A civil record unique to Italy is the stato di famiglia, or state of the family certificate. The comune keeps a record of each family and updates each change, including births, marriages, deaths, and emigration. All individuals in a household are included. Some households include more than one family. Historical states of the family (stato di famiglia storico) are kept at the provincial archive (ufficio dello stato civile). These records document past generations of families. Not all areas have kept this record, but where they exist, they are a valuable research tool.

• To learn more about Italian Civil Registration, read Italy Civil Registration- Vital Records.

1. Online Digital Records for Civil Registration[edit | edit source]

For some localities, digital copies of civil registration can be searched online. For Cosenza, these three municipalities are available in FamilySearch istorical Records:

• 1866-1910 - Italy, Cosenza, Castrovillari, Civil Registration (Tribunale), 1866-1910,free, browsable images. Records will eventually be indexed online.
• 1866-1910 - Italy, Cosenza, Paola, Civil Registration (Tribunale), 1866-1910,free, browsable images. Records will eventually be indexed online.
• 1866-1910 - Italy, Cosenza, Rossano, Civil Registration (Tribunale), 1866-1910, free, browsable images. Records will eventually be indexed online.

• Archivio di Stato di Cosenza - hosts many birth, marriage, death records.
  

'Nati' are births. 'Matrimoni' and 'allegati' are marriages. 'Morti' are deaths. 'Indici decennali' is the 10-year index.

2. Microfilm or Digital Copies of Civil Registration Records in the FamilySearch Catalog[edit | edit source]

a. Click on this link to see a list of records for Italy, Cosenza.

b. Click on 'Places within Italy, Cosenza' and a list of towns and cities will open.

c. Click on the town or city you wish to search.

d. Click on 'Civil Registration' topic. Click on the blue links to specific record titles.

e. Choose the correct event and time period for your ancestor.

f. Some combination of these icons will appear at the far right of the microfilm listed for the record. . The magnifying glass indicates that the microfilm is indexed. Clicking on the magnifying glass will take you to the index. Clicking on the camera will take you to an online digital copy of the microfilm.

3. Writing for Civil Registration Certificates[edit | edit source]

If the records are not online or microfilmed, civil registration records in Italy can be obtained by writing to the local civil registry. This is also necessary for more recent records. Recent records are covered by privacy laws, so they are not released for microfilm or online. But relatives are allowed request them for genealogy. Civil officials will generally answer correspondence in Italian. Your request may be forwarded if the records have been sent to the tribunale or the provincia.

Address list for municipalities of Cosenza
Format for address for local office: use this address as a guide, replacing the information in parentheses:

Sindaco

Comune di (name of the locality)

(Street address, if known)

(postal code) (city) (Province abbreviation:CS)

Italy

• Find the Italian postal code here.
  

Address for provincial office:

Ufficio dello Stato Civile

Provincia di Cosenza

Piazza XV Marzo n.5

87100 Cosenza CS

Italy

After you have determined what office has jurisdiction over the records you need, write a brief request to the proper office. Write your request in Italian whenever possible. For writing your letter in Italian, use the translated questions and phrases in this Italy Letter Writing Guide. Send the following:

• Cashier’s check or international money order (in local currency) for the search fee. See How To Send Return Postage and Money.
• Full name and the sex of the person sought.
• Names of the parents, if known.
• Approximate date and place of the event.
• Your relationship to the person.
• Reason for the request (family history or medical).
• Request for a complete extract of the record

If your request is unsuccessful, search for duplicate records that may have been filed in other archives or search in church registers.

Church Records (registri ecclesiastici)[edit | edit source]

• Church records (registri ecclesiastici) are vital records kept by priests and are often called parish registers or church books. They include records of christenings (baptisms), marriages, and deaths (burials). In addition, church records may include confirmations, first communions, and church census records. The Roman Catholic Church is traditionally recognized as the state church because most Italians are Roman Catholic. Nearly every person who lived in Italy was recorded in a church record during the last 200 to 300 years.
  

• Church records are crucial for research before the civil government started keeping vital records, which began about 1809 to 1820, and in some provinces, 1866 or 1871. After that, church records continued to be kept but often contain less information. It can be helpful to search both types of records, particularly if your ancestors' information seems to be missing from one or the other. Of course, in some cases you will find only church records online for a locality, which are therefore more accessible than writing for civil registration. However, they usually contain fewer details.

• To learn more about church records, see Italy Church Records.

1. Digital Online and Microfilm Church Records in the FamilySearch Catalog[edit | edit source]

There are some microfilmed records available. Currently, they are being digitized, and plans are to complete that project by 2020. Check back occasionally to see if your records have become available. In the meantime, some of them might be available at a Family History Center near you. To find a microfilm:

a. Click on this link to see a list of records for Italy, Cosenza.

b. Click on 'Places within Italy, Cosenza' and a list of towns and cities will open.

c. Click on the town or city you wish to search.

d. Click on 'Church Records' topic. Click on the blue links to specific record titles.

e. Choose the correct event and time period for your ancestor. 'Battesimi' are infant baptisms, which are used for birth information. 'Matrimoni' are marriages. 'Morti' are deaths.

f. Some combination of these icons will appear at the far right of the microfilm listed for the record. . Clicking on the magnifying glass will take you to the index. Clicking on the camera will take you to an online digital copy of the microfilm.

2. Writing to a Catholic Priest for Church Records[edit | edit source]

Baptism, marriage, and death records may be searched by contacting or visiting local parish or diocese archives in Italy. Italy has no single repository of church records. Write your request in Italian whenever possible. This method is not always reliable. Officials might or might not respond.

Write a brief request in Italian to the proper church using this address as guide replacing the information in parentheses:

Reverendo Parroco

(Street address, if known: consult The Catholic Directory)

(Postal code) (City) (Province abbreviation:CS)

ITALY

Write your request in Italian whenever possible. For writing your letter in Italian, use the translated questions and phrases in this Italy Letter Writing Guide. When requesting information, send the following:

• Cashier’s check or international money order (in local currency) for the search fee. See How To Send Return Postage and Money.
• Full name and the sex of the person sought.
• Names of the parents, if known.
• Approximate date and place of the event.
• Your relationship to the person.
• Reason for the request (family history or medical).
• Request for a complete extract of the record

Reading the Records[edit | edit source]

• You do not have to be fluent in Italian to read your documents. Genealogical records usually contain a limited vocabulary. Use this Italian Genealogical Word List to translate the important points in the document. If you find that the records are written in German, French, or Latin, click on that language link in this sentence.

• Online interactive slideshow lessons are available to help you learn to read these records:

• Reading Italian Handwritten Records Lesson 3: Reading Italian Records. In this lesson, you will explore several types of Italian genealogical records, including birth, baptismal, marriage, and death records.

Tips for Finding Your Ancestor in the Records[edit | edit source]

Civil Registration Tips[edit | edit source]

• In many areas during the earliest years of civil registration, records were indexed by the given names. Therefore, you must search every entry in the index to make sure you find every individual who had a certain surname.

Cosenza 1920 Kitsempty Spaces The Blog -

• Eventually, however, indexes were alphabetized by surname. Women are always found in the indexes under their maiden names.

• Births were generally registered within a day or two of the child’s birth, usually by the father of the family or by the attending midwife. Corrections to a birth record may have been added as a marginal note. In later records, marginal notes' are frequently found, providing marriage and death information.

• After 1809 Napoleonic law required that the marriage ceremony be performed first by a civil authority and then, if desired, by a church authority. At first, some people resisted this law and had their marriages performed by church authority only. Later when it became legally necessary for their children to be recognized as legitimate, a civil ceremony was performed. In rare cases, you may find a marriage record for a couple in their 50s who were actually married 30 years earlier. In most cases you may find marriages recorded in both civil and church records.

Cosenza 1920 Kitsempty Spaces The Blog Example

• Marriages were usually performed and recorded where the bride lived.

• Do not overlook the importance of death records. Death records are especially helpful because they may provide important information about a person’s birth, spouse, and parents. Civil death records often exist for individuals for whom there are no birth or marriage records.

Church Record Tips[edit | edit source]

• Effective use of church records includes the following strategies:

1. When you find an ancestor’s birth or baptismal record, search for the births of siblings.
   
2. Search for the parents’ marriage record. Typically, the marriage took place one or two years before the oldest child was born.
3. Search for the parent’s birth records. On the average, people married in their early 20s, so subtact 25 or so years from the marriage date for a starting year to search for the parents' birth records.
4. If you do not find earlier generations in the parish registers, search neighboring parishes.
   
5. Search the death registers for all known family members.

• If the original church records that you need have been lost or destroyed or are illegible, you may be able to find a duplicate church record. Unfortunately it was not standard practice to keep duplicate records until the 1900s. But some dioceses started making duplicates as early as 1820. Duplicates, when they exist, are normally located at the curia vescovile (diocesan archives).
• In Italy, the parish priest was often required to collect taxes. He would sometimes record information about his parishioners and the tax in church censuses (stato delle anime or status animarum). If the censuses do exist for your parish, the registers list all family members living in a household and their ages or birth dates. Deceased children were not listed. Married children, if living in the same household, were recorded with the family but as a separate household. Familial relationships and addresses were also noted.

The Archivio di Stato di Cosenza has begun to post their birth records online. This link was found to have some challenges working for unknown reasons, when it is not working please check back later to see if it is working again. Free access in English for towns in the Province of Cosenza. This archive should eventually cover all the towns in the province of Cosenza. You can search your town for your surnames, in English.

Websites[edit | edit source]

• Archivio di Stato di Cosenza - hosts many birth, marriage, death & military records
  
• Archivio di Stato di Cosenza - Catasto Onciario records (tax records)
• Cosenza Exchange - hosts vital & church records for several comuni (towns) in this province.
  

The province of Cosenza (Italian: provincia di Cosenza) is a province in the Calabria region of southern Italy. Its capital is the city of Cosenza. It contains 150 comuni, listed at list of communes of the Province of Cosenza.^[1]

The province of Cosenza contains a community of Occitan language (also known as Langue d'oc) speakers in Guardia Piemontese: it was formed by Vaudoi or Waldensian movement members, who moved to Cosenza to avoid religious persecution, in the 13th and 14th centuries.^[2] Many of the Arbëreshë Albanians of Italy live in the province, since arriving in the 16th century to flee the religious persecution undertaken by the Ottoman Empire.

History[edit]

The first traces of human settlement in the area date from the early Palaeolithic period. These sites include the Romito Cave at Papasidero, including wall paintings of bovidae.^[3]

Cosenza began as a settlement of the Italic Bruttii tribe, and became their capital before the Romans invaded the area. The town was conquered by the Romans in 204 BC and was named Cosentia. Starting from the 8th century BC, the current provincial area became part of the so-called Greater Greece. Greek cities, including Sibari and Pandosia, were mostly located on the coastal area and at the foot of the Pollino massif.

King of the Visigoths Alaric I conquered the region during the later stages of the Western Roman Empire and according to legend, Alaric I is buried in Cosenza along with a large treasure hoard. Later Cosenza fell under the rule of the Byzantine Empire for a brief period of time, before being conquered by the Lombards, as part of the Duchy of Benevento. Roger II of Sicily made it the capital of Terra Giordana in the 12th century.

In Modern times, as part of the Kingdom of Naples and later of the Kingdom of Two Sicilies, the province remained mostly a rural area devoted to agriculture and animal husbandry. Feudalism was abolished only in the 19th century. The area was also seat to several forms of brigandage during the centuries.

Religion[edit]

The main Religion in The Province of Cosenza is Roman Catholic. To the west of the main city of 'Cosenza' is a town called Laurignano which is one of the prominent homes of the 'Madonna Della Catena' (A Mother Mary Figure) A Catholic Church called 'Santuario Basilica della Madonna della Catena' is in the heart of the town of Laurignano.

References[edit]

1. ^'Provincia di Cosenza'. Tutt Italia. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
2. ^'Occitan in Italy'. Euromosaic. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
3. ^Reina, Gaetano (1989). La Calabria. Milan: Mursia.

External links[edit]

• Official website(in Italian)

Cosenza 1920 Kitsempty Spaces The Blog Free

Cosenza 1920 Kitsempty Spaces The Blog Archive

Coordinates: 39°18′N16°15′E / 39.300°N 16.250°E