I have obtained the processetti of Gabriele Esposito and Rosaria Napolitano. Gabriele later took the name Zingone and it is believed that he was adopted by a Zingone family. This is a big mystery for many families I have been in touch with in several countries so I need some help. I will not ask for an exact translation because I will be posting more documents I need help with. I would like to know what this first document is (it appears to be latin - I think it is a baptism extract) and if there are any clues to the parents of Gabriele and any other pertinent data. Rosaria Napolitano is the daughter of Arcangelo and Chiara Crivaro, whom I descend from. Arcangelo is a big mystery too. I see the frazinones of Vaccarizzo and Santa Maria La Castagna mentioned in these documents. The document is here - Page 1 and here
Please help. Thank you.
Edited to fix links

I could be way off here and I am by no means an expert, but it kind of looks like Gabriele Maria was of unknown parentage. The name Esposito literally means "exposed" and I do know it was often given to abandoned infants.

Donna

Thanks Donna! Yes, he was an orphan. I was looking for adoptive parents or guardians. I should have been more clear.

It's a declaration done on July 22th 1815 by the priest of San Michele Arcangelo Church that he found into the christening's register the notation about the birth of Gabriele Maria Esposito (born by unknown parents on March 16th 1793). The declaration was done for the marriage which had to take place between Gabriele and Rosaria Napolitano.

Ciao
Luca

Thank you so much Luca! I will post the next document tonight!

Cathy, I have a book to recommend for you. Its title is, Sacrificed for Honor: Italian Infant Abandonment and the Politics of Reproductive Control. It was written by David I. Kertzer, a professor at Brown University. I was blown away by the book. There were parts of it that were simply unbelievable. It was a miricle that Gabriele survived. Most babies didn't.

Donna

Here is a nice article about Sacrificed for Honor: Italian Infant Abandonment and the Politics of Reproductive Control
www.thefreelibrary.com...a016351117

Thanks for the link, Tom, that was an excellent article on the book. Kertzer definitely has a beef with the Catholic church and he does push his agenda. Still, the book is meticulously researched, creatively written and well worth the read for the insight into the plight of illegitimate and abandoned children and their mothers.

Carry on.

Donna

Thanks for the book suggestions...they look very interesting. I have saved them to my book list. I was mortified when I read about "the wheel". It is amazing that some of these children survived.
This baby was not abandoned though. He was placed in the care of a family with the surname Zingone. This man later took that surname as did his children. We are all a little confused at the moment about this so I am hoping the documents will shed some light on this story.

Luca wrote:

It's a declaration done on July 22th 1815 by the priest of San Michele Arcangelo Church that he found into the christening's register the notation about the birth of Gabriele Maria Esposito (born by unknown parents on March 16th 1793). The declaration was done for the marriage which had to take place between Gabriele and Rosaria Napolitano. Ciao Luca

Did he have Godparents listed? Was anyone present at the baptism?

Now I have what I believe to be the baptism of Rosaria Napolitano. What I would like to know from this document is any clues about her parents Arcangelo Napolitano (his age and was he alive at this time) and Chiara Crivaro (her parents names and her age). I would also like to know her Godparents names - I see a male Crivaro name but it is in Latin.
I descend from Arcangelo and Chiara and have less information on them than I do their parents (I don't know who anyone in Chiara's family is). Any help is really appreciated.
Rosaria Napolitano baptism?

The last document I need help with is a 3 page document that I think is a family council document that is in Italian so I understand a lot of it. Am I correct?
I do need help with a few things on page 1. Page 1 of the document lists those present in the council.
#1 is Francesco Napolitano brother of Rosaria. It says he lives in Santa Maria La Castagna in the "Rione" of Parantoro. This confuses me. Both Santa Maria La Castagna and Parantoro are sections of Montalto (Uffugo was added after the unification). What does this mean? Was Parantoro part of Santa Maria La Castagna? Or maybe I misunderstood?
# 2 is Antonio Napolitano (I descend from him too). I cannot make out his age (30 - trenta something) or the contrada name...can anyone else make this out?
I understand everything else until I get to the bottom where the page is deteriorating. I need help with what is left of the last 2 lines. I do not understand those words. Thank you so much!
Page 2 and page 3 are a mystery to me - I understand very little on this page. Am I missing anything important?
Thank you so much. I apologize for the length of this and appreciate any help hat can be offered.

Cathy wrote:

...Did he have Godparents listed? Was anyone present at the baptism?

Godmother was Caterina Gentile from Vaccarizio (not sure about the actual name of the town).

Luca

Luca wrote:

Cathy wrote: ...Did he have Godparents listed? Was anyone present at the baptism? Godmother was Caterina Gentile from Vaccarizio (not sure about the actual name of the town). Luca

That is a great clue Luca - thanks! Vaccarizzo is a hamlet of Montalto. Thanks so much again! You totally rock!!

Cathy wrote:

Rosaria Napolitano baptism?

Not at all. Also this document was released from the priest (indeed he called himself Abbot of the Abbey of San Michele Arcangelo and Rector of the Church "della Visitazione della Beata Maria Vergine" of Vaccarizzo) in the occasion of Gabriele and Rosaria's marriage and it is about the death act of Diana Corno, wife of Raffaele Napolitano, who died on January 28th 1777 at the age of 55. She died in her house assisted by the priest of the time and then she was buried in the Church above-mentioned.
In the document it's said that Rosaria is daughter of Arcangelo, so i don't know who Raffaele was... maybe Arcangelo's father.

Luca