I just received an email from AncestryDNA. They have more refined maps. For example, rather than just showing Italy/Greece, it highlights Sicily and the southern tip of Italy, and rather than just showing Ireland/Scotland, it shows a region that I know some of our Irish ancestors were from. Pretty cool.
When I first started researching the Italian side of my family tree, once I had discovered the actual name of my great-grandfather’s hometown of Serradifalco from the botched version my father had told me, a quick google search of “Serradifalco genealogy” turned up the excellent web site on the Coniglio family: http://www.conigliofamily.com
The site is maintained by Angelo Coniglio. His parents, Gaetano Coniglio and Rosa Alessi immigrated to Buffalo from Serradifalco a little over 100 years ago, around the same time as my great-grandparents Angelo Palmeri and Maria Giambrone immigrated to Buffalo.
His web site is filled with wonderful information on Serradifalco, including a partial translation (here) of a history of the town, the original Italian of which I’ve included in pdf form on my site, as well as lots of stories and essays related to his family in particular and to the Sicilian-American experience in general.
At the time when I was starting on my genealogical research, I knew no Italian – I am only now at an intermediate stage – and his excellent translations of various Italian vital records he has posted on his site (for example, here) were simply indispensable to me in trying to read the records I found searching through microfilm.
At some point, Ange emailed me after having found my own web site – this one here – and we corresponded occasionally on Serradifalco, genealogy, and dual citizenship. Ange graciously sent me some records of my family members that he found during his searches.
Given that Serradifalco was a small town and that his parents and my great-grandparents immigrated around the same time to Buffalo, it was likely that they knew each other, but could they have also been related? Were Ange and I cousins? No, at least based on the records either of us had found.
Then sometime last fall, Ange emailed that his DNA and my DNA on AncestryDNA had a small positive match. We could be distantly related.
Just recently, he found a death record with the name Butera. My fourth great-grandmother was Diega Butera – I had it misspelled as “Batera” on my family tree, having mis-read the difficult-to-read script in the records. It turns our that Diega’s sister, Maria Butera, is Angelo Coniglio’s second great-grandmother.
That makes us fourth cousins twice removed; in other words, Ange is fourth cousins with my grandfather, Joseph A. Palmeri (1911-1967). My great-grandfather Angelo Palmeri and his father Gaetano Coniglio, who both emigrated from Serradifalco, were third cousins, so even if they knew each other, they may or may not have known that they were related to one another. I’ve only discovered my own third cousins over the past several years.
Here is the death certificate for Diega Butera, born in 1777:
Since I’m now part of Ange’s family tree, that also means that I get to go back two more generations (our common ancestors) because of his research.
Diega Butera’s parents (my fifth great-grandparents) were Antonino Butera (who died sometime between the marriage of his daughter Maria in 1787 and the death of his wife Onofria in 1817) and Onofria Porto (Patracino) (born abt 1752, died 9 Mar 1817 in Serradifalco).
Antonino Butera’s parents (my six great-grandparents) were Pietro Butera (who died before 1759) and Leonarda (who died after 1759).
Onofria Porto’s parents (my six great-grandparents) were Angelo Porto (who died before 1759) and Carmine (who died after 1759).
Only a few other branches of my family tree goes back this far in time – two on my mother’s side in Scotland and France, and one on my maternal grandmother’s side from Montemaggiore Belsito Sicily.
My wife received confirmation from the Italian consulate in Detroit that her citizenship jure matrimoni had been approved by Rome and that she needs to schedule her giuramento within six months.
I’ve found a few versions of the “oath” (Giuramento) that my wife will need to to take. I think this is the current one:
Giuro di essere fedele alla Repubblica italiana, di osservarne lealmente la Costituzione e le leggi dello Stato.
But I found some other variants. These might be older. But I also read that the oath might vary from consulate to consulate.
Giuro di essere fedele alla Repubblica Italiana, e di osservare la Costituzione e le Leggi dello Stato.
Giuro di essere fedele alla Repubblica Italiana ed al suo Capo e di osservare lealmente le Leggi dello Stato.
Giuro di essere fedele alla Repubblica italiana, di osservarne lealmente la Costituzione e le leggi, riconoscendo la pari dignità sociale di tutte le persone.
She will need to take the oath within 6 months.
Here is a video of what happens:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z34_rCC7VR4
Jan 5, 2013: my wife applied jure matrimoni
Jul 25, 2014: faxed letter to Rome
Jul 25, 2014: “L’istruttoria è completa; la domanda è in fase di valutazione”
Aug 20, 2014: “L’istruttoria è completa; la domanda è in fase di valutazione”
Sep 9, 2014: “L’istruttoria è completa; la domanda è in fase di valutazione”
Oct 3, 2014: “L’istruttoria è completa; la domanda è in fase di valutazione”
Oct 3, 2014: faxed second copy of letter to Rome
Nov 4, 2014: “L’istruttoria è completa; la domanda è in fase di valutazione”
Dec 6, 2014: “L’istruttoria è completa; la domanda è in fase di valutazione”
Jan 4, 2015: “L’istruttoria è completa; la domanda è in fase di valutazione”
Jan 5, 2015: Contacted the Detroit Consulate by email, asking about status
Jan 6, 2015: Consulate responds that it takes more than two years and that once they receive her documentation, she will be contacted.
Feb 20, 2015: “L’istruttoria è completa; la domanda è in fase di valutazione”
Mar 22, 2015: Contacted the Detroit Consulate by email again, asking about status, no response yet
Mar 26, 2015: “L’istruttoria è completa; la domanda è in fase di valutazione”
Apr 27, 2015: “L’istruttoria è completa; la domanda è in fase di valutazione”
Jun 12, 2015: “L’istruttoria è completa; la domanda è in fase di valutazione”
Jun 12, 2015: still no response from the Detroit Consulate, despite a few emails
Jun 18, 2015: “Sono stati acquisiti i pareri – la pratica è in fase di valutazione finale”
Jun 23, 2015: “Sono stati acquisiti i pareri necessari ? il decreto di concessione è agli organi competenti per la firma.”
Jul 8, 2015: “l’istruttoria si è conclusa favorevolmente; la Prefettura curerà la notifica del provvedimento di concessione. Se risiede all?estero, il decreto sarà inviato all?Autorità Consolare.”
Jun 8, 2015: “il decreto di concessione è stato firmato; sarà contattato dalla Prefettura per la notifica del provvedimento e dopo la notifica dovrà recarsi presso il Comune di residenza per il giuramento. Se risiede all’estero sarà contattato dall’Autorità consolare competente.”
So now we’re just waiting for the citizenship approval to be communicated to the Detroit consulate. My wife will need to take her oath and get her passport. I just learned from the Italian Citizenship Message Board that she cannot do these in the same day. After she takes her oath, her citizenship is not effective until midnight. So we are going to look into having her possibly take her oath at a local Vice-Consulate – there’s one in Nashville – and then go to the consulate in Detroit (or possibly another consulate) to get her passport. She’ll need it before we travel to Italy next summer.
Today, my wife’s status changed to “l’istruttoria si è conclusa favorevolmente; la Prefettura curerà la notifica del provvedimento di concessione. Se risiede all?estero, il decreto sarà inviato all?Autorità Consolare.” After waiting 30 months since first applying in January 2013, her application for citizenship jure matrimoni has been approved. Not quite sure what happens next, but I know at some point we will need to travel to the Detroit Consulate for her to take the oath. And we’ll need for her to get her passport before we travel to Italy next summer.
I recently completed a DNA test from ancestryDNA.com.
The DNA test largely confirmed what I knew based on my genealogy:
Italy/Greece 39%
Ireland 35%
Great Britain 13%
There was also trace evidence – meaning either a small amount or a spurious evidence – for the following:
Iberian Peninsula 2%
European Jewish 2%
Europe West 1%
Middle East 4%
Caucus 2%
The most obvious region was Italy/Greece – Palmeri, Giambrone, Millonzi, Parisi. Sicily and southern Italy were settled by the Greeks in the 7th and 8th centuries BC; Magna Grecia – Greater Greece – referred to these areas. Today, some of the best Greek ruins are found in Sicily and southern Italy.
Some of the trace amounts are also consistent with my Sicilian heritage. The three most common other regions seen in natives of Italy and Greece are Caucus, Middle East, and Iberian Peninsula. The Caucus and Middle East DNA could be explained by the Islamic control of Sicily from around 827 to 1061. Muslim Sicilians were living in central Sicily, in the region that includes both Montemaggiore and Serradifalco, well into the 1200s. And from the 1400s to the middle 1800s, Sicily was controlled by the Bourbons of Spain – the Iberian Peninsula.
The other obvious component was my Irish DNA. The Cruice, Wilson, Brady, and Burke families all came from Ireland. This DNA could also include my Scottish heritage, from the Cuthberts and Downies.
The remaining major portion of my DNA is from Great Britain. While I have no English heritage that I know of, the map includes areas of Scotland (Cuthbert and Downie) and areas of France (de Guehery). Also, the Wilsons, from Northern Ireland, who were Presbyterian, could have originally come from England or Scotland.
The last trace amounts are listed as Europe West and European Jewish. Both of these maps cover portions of France (de Guehery) and Germany (Mack). The European Jewish is an interesting possibility. I wonder if there could be some Jewish ancestry, perhaps in the same family tree as the Macks from Germany.
Jan 5, 2013: my wife applied jure matrimoni
Jul 25, 2014: faxed letter to Rome
Jul 25, 2014: “L’istruttoria è completa; la domanda è in fase di valutazione”
Aug 20, 2014: “L’istruttoria è completa; la domanda è in fase di valutazione”
Sep 9, 2014: “L’istruttoria è completa; la domanda è in fase di valutazione”
Oct 3, 2014: “L’istruttoria è completa; la domanda è in fase di valutazione”
Oct 3, 2014: faxed second copy of letter to Rome
Nov 4, 2014: “L’istruttoria è completa; la domanda è in fase di valutazione”
Dec 6, 2014: “L’istruttoria è completa; la domanda è in fase di valutazione”
Jan 4, 2015: “L’istruttoria è completa; la domanda è in fase di valutazione”
Jan 5, 2015: Contacted the Detroit Consulate by email, asking about status
Jan 6, 2015: Consulate responds that it takes more than two years and that once they receive her documentation, she will be contacted.
Feb 20, 2015: “L’istruttoria è completa; la domanda è in fase di valutazione”
Mar 22, 2015: Contacted the Detroit Consulate by email again, asking about status, no response yet
Mar 26, 2015: “L’istruttoria è completa; la domanda è in fase di valutazione”
Apr 27, 2015: “L’istruttoria è completa; la domanda è in fase di valutazione”
Jun 12, 2015: “L’istruttoria è completa; la domanda è in fase di valutazione”
Jun 12, 2015: still no response from the Detroit Consulate, despite a few emails
Jun 18, 2015: “Sono stati acquisiti i pareri – la pratica è in fase di valutazione finale”
Jun 23, 2015: “Sono stati acquisiti i pareri necessari ? il decreto di concessione è agli organi competenti per la firma”
Jan 5, 2013: my wife applied jure matrimoni
Jul 25, 2014: faxed letter to Rome
Jul 25, 2014: “L’istruttoria è completa; la domanda è in fase di valutazione”
Aug 20, 2014: “L’istruttoria è completa; la domanda è in fase di valutazione”
Sep 9, 2014: “L’istruttoria è completa; la domanda è in fase di valutazione”
Oct 3, 2014: “L’istruttoria è completa; la domanda è in fase di valutazione”
Oct 3, 2014: faxed second copy of letter to Rome
Nov 4, 2014: “L’istruttoria è completa; la domanda è in fase di valutazione”
Dec 6, 2014: “L’istruttoria è completa; la domanda è in fase di valutazione”
Jan 4, 2015: “L’istruttoria è completa; la domanda è in fase di valutazione”
Jan 5, 2015: Contacted the Detroit Consulate by email, asking about status
Jan 6, 2015: Consulate responds that it takes more than two years and that once they receive her documentation, she will be contacted.
Feb 20, 2015: “L’istruttoria è completa; la domanda è in fase di valutazione”
Mar 22, 2015: Contacted the Detroit Consulate by email again, asking about status, no response yet
Mar 26, 2015: “L’istruttoria è completa; la domanda è in fase di valutazione”
Apr 27, 2015: “L’istruttoria è completa; la domanda è in fase di valutazione”
Jun 12, 2015: “L’istruttoria è completa; la domanda è in fase di valutazione”
Jun 12, 2015: still no response from the Detroit Consulate, despite a few emails
Jun 18, 2015: “Sono stati acquisiti i pareri – la pratica è in fase di valutazione finale”
I found the death certificate for my third great-grandfather Giovanni Palmeri, who was born abt 1812 and died 18 Dec 1843, at only the age of 38. It lists him as a contadino – a “peasant”. It lists his parents as Giuseppe Palmeri (my fourth great-grandfather) and Diega Batera (my fourth great-grandmother); on the death certificate itself, I can’t really read the first name – it seems like it says Giuseppe, but I can’t be certain. On the index, it seems to be a common abbreviation for Giuseppe. “Giuseppe” would make sense, since the tradition is to name someone’s first son after their father – my grandfather was Giuseppe because his grandfather was Giuseppe, and since my second great-grandfather was Giuseppe, my fourth great-grandfather would then be Giuseppe as well. Following that tradition, my first name should have been Joseph (Giuseppe) as well – linking me directly to an ancestor born in the late 1700s.
Jan 5, 2013: my wife applied jure matrimoni
Jul 25, 2014: faxed letter to Rome
Jul 25, 2014: “L’istruttoria è completa; la domanda è in fase di valutazione”
Aug 20, 2014: “L’istruttoria è completa; la domanda è in fase di valutazione”
Sep 9, 2014: “L’istruttoria è completa; la domanda è in fase di valutazione”
Oct 3, 2014: “L’istruttoria è completa; la domanda è in fase di valutazione”
Oct 3, 2014: faxed second copy of letter to Rome
Nov 4, 2014: “L’istruttoria è completa; la domanda è in fase di valutazione”
Dec 6, 2014: “L’istruttoria è completa; la domanda è in fase di valutazione”
Jan 4, 2015: “L’istruttoria è completa; la domanda è in fase di valutazione”
Jan 5, 2015: Contacted the Detroit Consulate by email, asking about status
Jan 6, 2015: Consulate responds that it takes more than two years and that once they receive her documentation, she will be contacted.
Jan 26, 2015: “L’istruttoria è completa; la domanda è in fase di valutazione”
My wife’s status is at “L’istruttoria è completa; la domanda è in fase di valutazione”, where it’s been for a loooong time. We’ll see how quickly it changes now that we’ve sent the letter intended to prod the process along.
The correct number is + (39) 06 46 529 614 (not the number listed on the previous post).
According to this post:
http://italiancitizenship.freeforums.org/status-timings-for-jm-application-t4831-10.html
… per the Italian law the status should change in every 30 (working days) days period. If your status is not changing for long period you can send a FAX or a mail to notify them it is not moving for long period. But for mail Italian government will accept only PEC mail so it is good to use FAX. Please find the letter I have used. Since I don’t know Italian I got a help from a Italian friend in France to get it done. Try to make use of this letter and after sending this letter my status moved fast and I also received call from Interior Ministry Rome. (If you can speak Italian you can include phone no in the letter otherwise it is better to provide only mail id because the person from interior ministry can speak only Italian). Fax no 00390646549785
Here’s a copy of the letter they faxed:
Al Ministero dell’Interno
Dipartimento per le libertà civili e l’immigrazione
Direzione Centrale per i Diritti Civili, la Cittadinanza e le Minoranze
a.c.a. Dirigente dell’Area IV bis – Cittadinanza – Viceprefetto Cristina Ciciriello
via Cavour, 6
00184 – Roma
per fax +39 06/46549785
Oggetto: Richiesta di informazione e di accesso agli atti relativamente al procedimento di acquisto di cittadinanza per matrimonio (numero di protocollo: K10/C/XXXXXX)
Il sottoscritto
<Name>, cittadino agli stati uniti, nato a [Place of Birth], <Country>, residente a <Place of residence>, <Country>, [Address as mentioned while applying citizenship], tel. [Phone no to contact you], e-mail [email address],
Premesso
– Che in data <Date you have applied> il sottoscritto ha presentato l’istanza per l’acquisto della cittadinanza italiana per matrimonio ai sensi dell’articolo 5 della legge del 5 febbraio 1992, n.°91, presso il Consolato Generale d’Italia a Mumbai;
– Che dal 15/9/2012 circa lo stato della pratica consultabile sul sito Internet del Ministero dell’Interno mediante il SICITT è sempre lo stesso, cioè “<Current Status>”;
– Che il periodo di due anni di cui all’articolo 8 della legge del 5 febbraio 1992, n.°91 scadrà tra meno di quattro mesi;
Chiede
– Ai sensi degli articoli 4 e 5 della legge del 7 agosto 1990, n. 241, che siano indicati i nomi dei funzionari responsabili del procedimento sopra citato e lo stato degli atti relativi al procedimento de quibus;
– Ai sensi degli articoli 10, 22, 23 e 25 della legge del 7 agosto 1990, n. 241, che il sottoscritto possa prendere visione ed estrarre copia degli atti del procedimento sopra citato.
Con osservanza,
<Place>, li 03 Giugno 2013
<Name and signature>
Allegato: copia di un documento d’identità dello scrivente
Here are some more links that describe the process behind the scenes:
https://cittadinanza.interno.it/sicitt/proceduraConcessione.pdf
http://italiancitizenship.freeforums.org/list-of-process-steps-after-jm-app-is-submitted-t4288.html
My wife applied for dual citizenship juri matrimoni a year ago, January 2013, in Detroit. We are now checking on the progress – it is supposed to take about two years.
First, she created an account on this web site:
https://cittadinanza.interno.it/sicitt/registrazione_user
Then she went to this site:
https://cittadinanza.interno.it/sicitt
She needed her K10 or K10/C number, which is usually given to applicants by the consulate. She needed to contact them herself last week and they emailed it to her.
Her current status is:
L'istruttoria è completa; la domanda è in fase di valutazione
Roughly translated as: The investigation is complete, the application is being assessed
It looks like this is an early step of the process, but at least she is in their system:
1- L'istruttoria è stata avviata. Si è in attesa dei pareri necessari alla definizione della pratica
2- L'istruttoria è completa; la domanda è in fase di valutazione
3- L'istruttoria si è completata, l'Ufficio Centrale Cittadinanza sta procedendo alla valutazione complessiva degli elementi informativi.
4- Sono stati acquisiti i pareri – la pratica è in fase di valutazione finale
5- Sono stati acquisiti i pareri necessari ? il decreto di concessione è agli organi competenti per la firma
6- l'istruttoria si è conclusa favorevolmente; è in corso di trasmissione il provvedimento di concessione alla Prefettura che ne curerà la notifica. Se risiede all'estero, il decreto sarà inviato all Autorità Consolare.
7- Il decreto di concessione è stato firmato; sarà contattato dalla Prefettura per la notifica del provvedimento e dopo la notifica dovrà recarsi presso il Comune di residenza per il giuramento. Se risiede all'estero sarà contattato dall'Autorità consolare competente.
Serradifalco (Serradifarcu)
Giuseppe Testa
I was able to obtain a copy of a book on the history of Serradifalco, the home town in Sicily of my great-grandparents, and now the home town of me and my boys. The book is currently out of print and I could not obtain it from any booksellers in the US or Italy. I even asked people in Serradifalco if they could locate a copy, and they could not. If someone else from Serradifalco would like a copy, click here for the PDF files.
There is also a partial translation available from Angelo Coniglio's web site: http://www.conigliofamily.com/SerradifalcoGiuseppeTesta.htm
According to a recent post on the Italian Citizenship Message Board, this is the process for checking the status of a jure matrimoni application:
First you register here: https://cittadinanza.interno.it/sicitt/registrazione_user
After registering, login again (https://cittadinanza.interno.it/sicitt/index2.jsp) and add your husband file with the K number and the date you have submitted in consulate.
Now I just need to figure out what the "K number" is.
After nearly 18 months of work, we stopped at the Italian consulate in Detroit to get our passports. In addition to some paperwork and a few hundred dollars in fees, plus a signature and finger prints for my older son and I, we left with our passports in hand.
