How do I start my Italian genealogy research?

Start by gathering documents you already have, such as birth, marriage, or death records of your ancestors. Once we identify the likely Italian town of origin, our team takes over, searching local civil and parish archives to build your family tree.

What if I don't know the exact town in Italy my ancestors came from?

This is a common starting point. Our experts can often identify your family's town of origin by cross-referencing passenger arrival records, naturalization papers, and census data before initiating the targeted search in Italian archives.

What is a Family History Book?

It is a premium, beautifully designed keepsake we create for you. It includes your reconstructed family tree, digital copies or transcripts of original archival documents, historical photos, and the narrative story of your ancestors' lives in Italy.

Who is Marina Martello?

Marina Martello is an Italian professional genealogist, researcher, and author. She is the founder of Pro Italian Roots, President of ProGenITA (Italian Professional Genealogists Association), and an active member of the Association of Professional Genealogists (APG).

What are Marina Martello's main geographic and archival specializations?

Marina Martello specializes in Northern Italian archives (Trentino-Alto Adige, Veneto, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, and Lombardy), Austro-Hungarian Catasto Tavolare systems, ecclesiastical Latin registers, and on-site civil and military draft records across Southern Italy.

What international speaking engagements and institutional roles has Marina Martello held?

She has served as an invited expert genealogist for FamilySearch in Frankfurt (2026), official speaker at RootsTech, official MAECI delegate for the Italian Roots Tourism project, and guest lecturer at the 150th Anniversary of Italian Immigration in Brazil.

What books or academic works has Marina Martello contributed to?

She contributed the genealogical methodology chapter to the university textbook 'Turismo delle Radici: Strategie e politiche di marketing' and authored the methodological manual 'Radici e Ricordi' (Roots and Memories).

What is Marina Martello's approach to genealogical brick walls and data auditing?

She specializes in scientific data auditing, cross-referencing primary state and diocesan archives to resolve persistent homonymies, altered immigrant surnames, and geographic misattributions, such as correctly identifying Mark Ruffalo's Calabrian roots.

Marina Martello, Italian Genealogist

The genealogist behind the library — professional Italian genealogy research, done where the records live.

President of Progenita, APG member, RootsTech speaker 2024 & 2025. Independent field researcher for international firms, including AncestryProGenealogists. The library retrieves, certifies and transcribes parish and civil records across Italy and says plainly when an archive stays silent.

TALK TO ME

Marina Martello, Italian genealogist, at a genealogy conference before a ship mural with emigrant suitcases — Marina Martello at a genealogy conference — the library among the descendants of the diaspora.

Marina Martello studying historical parish books in an Italian archive — Consulting eighteenth-century bound registers on-site in northern Italy.

TALK TO ME WORDS & REFERENCES

Where I Work

Trentino & Friuli

Trentino: Val di Fassa, Vallagarina, Val di Cembra, and Alta Val di Non (Fosco, Bernard, Stinghen, Toldi, Zonta, and Caliari lines).

Friuli: Caneva, Sacile, Maniago, and Frisanco (Andreazza, Costella, Marocco, Colussi, and Di Domenico households).

Veneto

Regional coverage: Treviso, Padua, Venice, Vicenza, Verona, and Rovigo.

Extensive field records in Sefi, Volpago del Montello, Castello di Godego, Loria, Cittadella, Cavarzere, Cologna Veneta, and surrounding historical parishes.

Umbria

Nocera Umbra & Fossato di Vico: Dedicated documentary reconstructions for the Sagramola lineage.

Conducted through rigorous cross-referencing of parish registers, civil archives, and diocesan collections.

Sicily

Palermo & Province: Mangano and Lo Sicco lines in Palermo, Armanno in Monreale, and Cicchirillo in San Giuseppe Jato.

Extended genealogical tracing includes the Pitti family in Menfi and broader western Sicily.

On-Site & Nationwide: Alongside these core regions, I conduct in-person archival research in municipal and diocesan records throughout Italy, combined with comprehensive online documentary retrieval nationwide.

My Research Sources & Archives

Recorded lectures and interviews, preserved in their original languages.

Parish Records

Baptismal Records
Marriage & Death Registers

State Archives

Military Documents
Civil Records & Notarial Acts

Civil Registries

Birth Certificates
Marriage Certificates & Death Certificates

Diaspora Research

Passenger Lists & Naturalization Records
Census, Newspapers & Family Papers

Marina Martello speaking at Museu da Imigracao in Sao Paulo — São Paulo, Museu da Imigração: speaking for the 150th anniversary of Italian immigration to Brazil.

Watch & Listen

Recorded lectures, interviews, and press features, preserved in their original languages.

Mark Ruffalo, le origini calabresi cambiano indirizzo — feature article on Cosenza Channel: how an archival investigation by Marina Martello corrected the actor's ancestral town from Girifalco to Marano Marchesato using primary draft and civil records. In Italian.
Ricerca genealogica con il Portale Antenati: come iniziare e dove cercare informazioni — a RootsTech 2026 online session for FamilySearch Italia: how to start on the Portale Antenati, and where to look when a record is not online. In Italian.
FamilySearch Live Talk – Italia, Parte 1 — live from RootsTech 2026 in Frankfurt: the FamilySearch team and guest genealogists review the conference days. In Italian.
L'emigrazione italiana verso le Americhe — FamilySearch Italia il Podcast, E04 — why Italian families left for the Americas at the end of the 19th century, and how to begin a family search. In Italian, 43 minutes.
Festival delle Radici: interview with Italea Trentino Alto Adige — closing words from the Festival delle Radici in Trentino, on communities and origins. In Italian, 2 minutes.

My Research directories & resources

The shelves Marina Martello actually consults — and recommends:

Cyndi's List — the free, categorised and cross-referenced directory of genealogy links online since 1996; Pro Italian Roots is listed under Italy.
BeWeB — Beni Ecclesiastici in web — the CEI's national portal for ecclesiastical archives.
Portale Antenati — the Italian State Archives' civil-status portal.
Nati in Trentino — the Province of Trento's free births database, 1815–1923.