Italian records

[64aussie]

I am beginning research on an Italian branch of the family.  Can anyone tell me if there are official birth, death and marriage records available to view?  I am looking for records of birth in Tuscany in 1878 and any help would be appreciated.
Cheers.

[Calpe 1704]

Although i haven't started, my mother in-law has an Italian surname in her side of the family - Risotto.
I too would like to know from where Italian records can be sourced.
 

[sami]

I'm also interested in pursuing an Italian line. But perhaps this question would have a better response if it was moved to the Europe board in the Research in Other Countries section of Rootschat.

[Calpe 1704]

Maybe the moderators can do this? 

[CV-S]

Hi everyone,

This doesn't directly answer your question but may be of help. I used this site: http://www.italiangenealogy.com/

To ask some questions about my Italian ancestors. Someone put me in touch with a local expert, and he soon sent me several emails full of original records and documents!

Of course, this won't happen for everyone, but it's a really helpful site, much like Rootschat, and you can use English.

[Calpe 1704]

Thanks for that, i certainly try that web site 

[prizzi]

I do not know if the LDS Church has as yet digitized their records for Tuscany, but you might want to check familysearch.org and see if any records have been digitized for what you are looking for.  It is a free site.

[jorose]

You need to first establish where (exactly, not just the province) and when.  No freebmd equivalent.  In many cases figuring out exactly which town to search for is the sticking point. http://www.italiangenealogy.com/ is a great forum, but if all you have is "Italy" you're some way from providing the information someone would need to assist, unless with a large dollop of luck the record you are looking for turns up on some existing database.

It's also important to figure out if the surname you have has been changed from the original and if place names on records have been anglicized - i.e. Tuscany vs. Toscana.

What records are available for which years differs depending on the region. 
Read through: http://www.italywgw.org/guides

[prizzi]

familysearch.org has been putting some of their Italian records on their site.  If you are lucky they have digitized the records you are looking for.  Good luck!