Italy records (Antenati)

The loop on your desktop kit

1. Write what you know in Documents — name, rough year, comune or region.
2. On Find, click Build search links.
3. Click an Antenati row under Open & check — it opens in your normal browser with località, tipologia, and anno pre-filled when Atto has them, then hands off to Documents so you can capture what you find.
4. When you find a match, save a note or screenshot back to Documents on your computer.
5. Anything that becomes a tree fact still goes through Approve — only you can add it.

Mac and Windows are both desktop kits; Linux builds are on the download page. The same find-plan loop applies wherever the desktop kit runs.

Search-registry deep links

Atto prefers Antenati’s search-registry URL — the form at antenati.cultura.gov.it/search-registry/ — over a blank home page. Typical parameters:

• località — the comune (see località).
• tipologia — Nati, Matrimoni, or Morti.
• anno — birth, marriage, or death year when known; try ±1–2 years if empty.
• lang — often it on the form; you can switch the site to English after it opens.

Example shape (values filled by Atto from your note):

https://antenati.cultura.gov.it/search-registry/?localita=Sellia&tipologia=Nati&anno=1892&lang=it

If the comune is missing, Atto may fall back to a broader search pointer. Tighten your Documents note with the town name and rebuild the plan.

National vs regional archives

Antenati (national) aggregates scans from many state archives (Archivi di Stato) and some civil series. Coverage is uneven by province and year — some comuni appear for the 1800s, others stop earlier or never landed online.

Regional portals (Lombardia, Toscana, Veneto, and others) sometimes hold different batches or better indexes for their area. Atto’s find plan may include regional pointers when your note mentions that region; you still open and search them yourself.

When Antenati has no scan, you are not stuck — you may need a letter to the comune or an on-site archive visit. Atto tracks requests in the citizenship checklist; it does not mail forms for you.

Find scan ≠ copia integrale

An Antenati image is a research scan — invaluable for proving lineage and reading names — but it is not the filing-grade copia integrale stamped by the comune. Consulates and comuni often want freshly issued civil copies, sometimes with translations and apostilles on related US records.

Use Antenati to identify the act, year, and register details, then order the official copy from the competent office. Atto’s checklist helps you track Identified → Ordered → Received; it is not legal advice and never files for you.

Full comparison, with the atto, estratto, certificato, and copia integrale forms: Copia integrale vs Antenati scan. Vocabulary: Italian words.

Practical tips

• Start with Nati when chasing a birth year; widen the year before you change comune spelling.
• Handwriting varies — compare given names across siblings’ acts in the same register.
• A frazione on the manifest is not the search name; use the parent comune.
• A cognome is spelled differently across acts — record each variant. See Surname variants.
• Pair Antenati with US hometown records to pin dates before you order Italian copies.

Related guides

Italian words US hometown ladder All guides