If you search your ancestors in Maniace, in the province of Catania, Sicilia region, the documents about your Italian family are stored in the City Office archives and in the parishes in the town.This is where to start your family history research.

Civil Records in Maniace

In towns and villages of Sicilia and in Catania province registry offices were established in 1809: it means that you could find your ancestors records in Maniace town hall archives as of that date.

(If your goal is to get your Italian Citizenship and you need official certificates from Maniace, please follow this link)

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So, if your ancestors lived in Maniace during the past centuries, then you should start your family research from the City Office of Maniace to know more: our local expert is ready to help you in your research!

Otherwise, if you think to contact the town hall by yourself, we suggest you to read our tips for your search. They are useful advices to search in Sicilia and of course in Maniace too!

Next picture shows the demographic trends in Maniace from the Italian Unification (1861).
This is a necessary info to understand how many people lived in the town in the past.

To go on quickly in your research is important to know if the last name you are investigating is a frequent surname in Maniace. As more your surname is common, as more it could be difficult to find the right branch of your ancestors family in Maniace archives, expecially if you have not exact dates.
It could be useful for you to know that some of the most common surnames in Catania province are:
Arena, Barbagallo, Caruso, Catania, Cavallaro, Coco, Corrao, Consoli, Di Bella, Di Mauro, Di Stefano, Fichera, Finocchiaro, Giuffrida, Grasso, Greco, La Rosa, Leonardi, Leotta, Licciardello, Lombardo, Longo, Marino, Marletta, Maugeri, Messina, Musumeci, Nicolosi, Nicotra, Pappalardo, Patanè, Pennisi, Platania, Privitera, Puglisi, Pulvirenti, Raciti, Rapisarda, Rizzo, Russo, Sapienza, Sciacca, Sciuto, Scuderi, Spampinato, Strano, Torrisi, Trovato, Zappalà.

Church Records in Maniace

Church archives in Catania province may store even older information. You will find religious records of the same events (births, marriages and deaths) but, most important, you could go further back in time!
So in case you would like to go back in centuries, it’s good for you to know that the parish registers in Sicilia started during 1500!

They are far less accessible expecially from abroad and very hard to read and decipher if you are not used and skilled.
But our local genealogists, are graduated in history and archivistics so, with their expertise, they can research the church registers of Maniace on your behalf.

In case you want to visit churches, these are the addresses of parishes active today in Maniace:

S. SEBASTIANO MARTIRE – Piazza Comitato Cittadino, 25

Anyway for our experience, if you plan to come here, we always suggest to start the research months before the arrival.
In this way you will avoid to waste your holidays in the offices or in the churches dealing with italian bureaucracy .
(Remember that archives are not open to public and officers and priests are not required by law to give you access to the local archives)
With the results gathered by our genealogist before your arrival, you will have more free time to visit the town and surroundings on your ancestors footsteps.

Another important source of information are the notary documents available to expert researchers in the State Archives.
If you are in Sicilia and you are able to decipher old italian handwritten documents you can reach the archive here:
Archivio di Stato di Catania
Address: via Vittorio Emanuele, 156 – Catania
Phone: +390957159860
Days and opening hours: monday 08.00 – 19.00 tuesday 08.00 – 19.00 wednesday 08.00 – 19.00 thursday 08.00 – 19.00 friday 08.00 – 19.00 saturday 08.00 – 13.30 weekly closing: Sunday; no reservation

or
Archivio di Stato di Catania. Sezione di Caltagirone
Address: via S. Maria di Gesu, 90 – Caltagirone
Phone: +39093326380
Days and opening hours: monday: 8.00 -14.00 tuesday: 8.00 -14.00; 15.00 -18.00 wednesday: 8.00 -14.00 thursday: 8.00 -14.00; 15.00 -18.00 friday: 8.00 -14.00 weekly closing: saturday and Sunday; no reservation

If you need a professional help from our local genealogist in Maniace area , write to maniace@italianside.com or fill the form here.

Our expert will study your request and will reply to you with a plan and a quote for your family research.

If you want to read this page in other languages:
– Italiano

– Espanol

– Portuguese

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