Gente di Mare Italian Genealogy

Posts Tagged ‘Reggio Calabria’

One of my absolute favourite resources that was only recently published online is the Albo dei Caduti della Grande Guerra which is the list of Italian Soldiers killed in Italy during World War 1. The site is completely written in Italian but is still very easy to navigate if you follow the instructions below.

1. Go to the blue link Cerca negli Albi
2. The list is arranged by groups of provinces. For example 9 is for the Provinces of Reggio Calabria (RC), Catanzaro (CZ) and Cosenza(CS)
3. Click on the blue link Caduti Grande Guerra in the second column.
4. Scroll down and you will get a group of buttons A-Z
5. Click on the first letter of the surname of the person who you are researching.
6. Use the list of names like you would the telephone book (remember to check the page before and after as well and alternative spellings of the surname). This is a great way to see if your surname has changed through the years.

Using this site I was able to locate several missing ancestors and the dates and causes of their deaths. For soldiers killed from Ardore, Reggio Calabria see Calabria Exchange: SEARCHING THE ARDORE WW1 DEATHS DATABASE IN ONE STEP

Ever thought of testing your DNA? If you’re from the Reggio Calabria area of Italy, and more so from Martone, Gioiosa Ionica, or Grotteria then you may want to read about the Calabria DNA Project.

Here’s a bit about the Project Goals which have been taken directly from the website:

Calabria DNA Project
Project Goals

The Calabria DNA project has two main goals:

One is to investigate the ethnic and genetic diversity of Calabria as shown through the DNA of the descendants of those born in Calabria. In most cases project members are the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of Calabrians. But, through the genetic story told in their yDNA and mtDNA, we can discover the heritage of Calabrians over the centuries. We hope that some of what we learn through the results of this project can contribute to the knowledge of human migrations being studied by population geneticists.

The second goal, especially as we recruit more members, is to actually establish connections – a common ancestor – between some members. Genetic genealogy is a new tool in genealogy research that can supplement and help make breakthroughs in traditional records-based research. Once that common ancestor has been discovered, then much more productive research in the records can help fill out family trees.

This is a project endorsed by some of the top geneticists today, including L. Luca Cavalli Sforza of Stanford University and Dr. Michael Hammer of the University of Arizona.

For more information or to join the project, please contact the group administrator, Louis Loccisano at Louis@calabriadna.com