Tracing Ancestry Through Medieval Italian Records
Family History: How Far Back Can You Go?
As professional genealogists one question we are often asked is, “How far back can you take my pedigree?” While we’d all love to have a pedigree documented back to the beginnings of mankind, this just isn’t possible. And creating an accurate, documented and sourced family tree cannot be completed in the span of an afternoon–answering one of our other most frequently received questions–How Long Does It Take to Build a Family Tree?
Genealogical records generally don’t exist before the 1500s. Records dating from the 1500s to the late 1700s may not exist or be available, especially in North America, Ireland, and Eastern Europe. Wars and political unrest, natural disasters, and neglect have taken their toll on these precious, ancient records. Those that have survived are priceless treasures.
Medieval Italian Records
One of our Italian onsite agents recently worked on a project that allowed him the opportunity to view and handle medieval Italian records from the late 1500s to the early 1700s. The following photographs are records from the archive in Bassano del Grappa, north of Venice, which they have graciously allowed us to showcase here.
How to Prevent Genealogy Record Deterioration
To keep the rate of deterioration as low as possible, the documents are stored at an even temperature—18° Celsius/ 64.4 ° Fahrenheit.
Believe it or not, these records at the archive in Bassano del Grappa are available for patrons to search, under a few conditions:
- Use of Gloves: If the paper you are going to be touching is known to be easily stained, then gloves must be used. In general, though, they are not required.
- Handling: After filling out the proper paperwork, patrons to the archive may use the materials. The materials are delivered to patrons in the Study Room which is monitored by the archive staff, and video recorded. Taking pictures is allowed for personal use but not for commercial purposes. Photocopying must be carried out only by personnel due to the delicate and fragile nature of the materials.
As you can imagine, great care must be taken to search delicate records such as these. This isn’t information that can just be quickly looked up. And as most of these records are not microfilmed or digitized, each page must be carefully handled while searching for the desired information, a time-intensive endeavor.
As genealogists and family historians, we are so appreciative of the efforts made by those who seek to preserve these ancient documents. Each one is a priceless treasure allowing some of us to be able to trace our ancestry maybe not back to Adam, but to some of the earliest available records.
Would your research efforts benefit with onsite access to archive collections? Legacy Tree Genealogists has developed a worldwide network of onsite researchers that can assist in accessing the documents necessary to extend your family history as far as possible. Contact us today for a quote!
Special thanks to our onsite researcher, Francis, for facilitating our obtaining these wonderful photographs!
[1] SASBASS, NOTAI DI ASOLO-CASTELFRANCO, b 137, atti del notaio Dotto Girolamo 1597-1621. b 307, atti del notaio Spinelli Girolamo 1656-1702.
[2] SASBASS, NOTAI DI ASOLO-CASTELFRANCO, b 137, atti del notaio Dotto Girolamo 1597-1621. b 307, atti del notaio Spinelli Girolamo 1656-1702.
[3] SASBASS, NOTAI DI ASOLO-CASTELFRANCO, b 137, atti del notaio Dotto Girolamo 1597-1621. b 307, atti del notaio Spinelli Girolamo 1656-1702.
Kim - Legacy Tree Genealogists Project Manager
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