My great-grandmother, Carmela Parisi Millonzi, was born in Montemaggiore Belsito, Province of Palermo, Sicily on 2 Sep 1892. Her parents were Angelo Parisi and Agata Maria Sciolino.
Here is her birth certificate, which I found on a microfilm I ordered through a local Family Research Center at an LDS church in Madison, TN, just north of Nashville. Thankfully, the LDS church records and their microfilm readers are open to anyone. The FRC in Madison is open only a few hours a week, which requires a bit of flexibility to find a time that works for me. Ordering is easy. You pay $6 per microfilm and it arrives in about 2 weeks. You can keep it for about 3 weeks, but they often let them linger for a week or two longer. From what I understand, they are moving the ordering process online (new.familysearch.org) which should make things even easier.
Atti di Nasciti for Carmela Parisi, my great-grandmother
Transcribing these is the tricky part.
First, they're in Italian. I can read only a tiny tiny bit of Italian (but I'm learning). So Google translate is my tool of choice.
Second, they are written in a fairly stylized cursive handwriting. It does take a bit of calibrating to read the text. For example, in "Parisi" the central "s" almost looks like a cursive "f". I've found that after reading them for a while, I can start to pick up on the style. One nice thing is that all the records in a volume are written by the same hand in a very consistent style. Some of those styles are easier than others, to be sure.
Here is my loose translation of the Atti di Nasciti. I haven't been able to figure it all out. But I've been able to pull out what seems to be the most salient information. After I used Google translate I also found some places online where others had translated similar Italian documents (including this http://www.conigliofamily.com/Pa.htm). Unfortunately, google translate doesn't suggest words when there are misspellings.
In the top left corner it gives the birth number for that year and notes Parisi Carmela. I can't read the writing underneath.
I put XXX on the words I just couldn't read and translate.
L'anno milleottocento novantadue addi otto di Settembre a ore XXX meridiane XXX e minuti , nella Casa comunale.
The year eighteen hundred ninety-two on the day eighth of September at XX o'clock am or pm and minutes in the Town Hall.
Avanti di me XX Pietro XXX delegato XXX XXX XXX Stato Civile .
Before me <name and title of the official in the Town Hall> .
Uffiziale dello Stato Civile del Comune di Montemaggiore Belsito
Official of Public Records of the Town of Montemaggiore Belsito
è comparso Parisi Angelo , di anni trenta XXX domiciliato quella? il quale mi ha dichiarato che alle ore XXX meridiane sei e minuti del di cinque del corrente mese, nella casa posta in Via Giardino al numero seidici , da Sciolino Agata di anni trentacinque sua legittima moglie XXX convivente
appeared Angelo Parisi , age thirty , <job description> living in <somewhere> who has declared to me that at six 'clock on day five of the current month, in the house located at Via Giardino number sixteen , by Agata Sciolino age thirty-five his wife living with him.
e nato un bambino di sesso femminile che egli mi presenta e a cui da il nome di Carmela .
is born a baby girl who was presented for me to see, and who was given the name Carmela .
A quanto sopra e a questo atto sono presenti quali testimoni Nafia Rosalia , di anni venticinque , casalinga , e Peri Rosalia di anni ventiotto , casalinga , entrambi reidente in questo Comune.
To the above, and to this record, are present the witnesses Rosalia Nafia , age twenty-five , a housewife , and Rosalia Peri , age twenty-eight , a housewife , both residents of this community.
