I am seeking any information about the Avico family from Pinerolo where my grandfather, Giuseppe Avico was born in 1858. His mother was Anna Maria Visconti and his father Michele Avico, sometimes spelt Avvico. His Godfather was Giuseppe Lansalle and his Godmother was Maria Lucia Avico. I believe that the family did not originate from Pinerolo but may have come from Liguria or Puglia. He came to the UK in 1901, a married man but no sign of a wife and then in 1904 he was a widower who married my grandmother. I hope that someone somewhere may know something??
Christine.

Hi,
I guess you know that Pinerolo is in Turin (Torino) province which is part of the Piedmont (Piemonte) region located in the NW side of Italy.
You can find the surname Avico in Pinerolo and in several towns in Turin province and Cuneo province (south of Turin). According to the Italian telephone directory there are 3 people in Liguria and 0 in Puglia.
Visconti is a quite common name and there is a big concentration of people with this name in Piedmont and can be found also in Pinerolo. In my opinion, if your ancestors were not from Pinerolo, they were from a nearby town.
The surname Lansalle doesn't exist, so it's probably mispelled. The closer existing name is LASALA.
You know is godparents names. Does it mean you have his Baptism act? If so you can request information from the church. If you tell me the name of the church I can give you the address.


Ada

Thank you so much for your useful information. I did go to Pinerolo several years ago, but only had a very little time there. I did get the Baptism certificate there. Yes, I think you may well be right in that they came from near and that could be Liguria. The name of the baptismal church is the Cathedral San Donato. He could well have had brothers or sisters and I should like to discover if his parents were buried there. Also if he married there and if his wife died there when he first came to the UK. I have looked again at the name which I thought read Giuseppe Lansallo but the writing is difficult to read, however on this certificate the name Avico is definitely spelt with two v's. I have added a copy of the baptism certificate for you to see.
Thank you for your reply.
Christine.

The image is not there....


Ada

As said the image is not there but I wonder if the name could be Vassallo. This family name is very common in Piedmont.

If you want you can write to Pinerolo Town Hall and request your ancestor's marriage act. Although you don't know his wife's name, you have his birth date and his parents names and you could ask them to search starting from 1880 (when he was 22) up to 1890.

This is the page on their website:

Ufficio Stato Civile
If you need any help for your letter, tell me.
You could also try with the church and request the marriage act:

Cattedrale S. Donato
Via Parrocchiale, 11
10064 Pinerolo (TO)
Italy


Ada

Thank you Ada for your reply. I have looked again at the writing but still think it begins with an L or possibly a C and will try again to upload it for you to take a closer look. Here in the UK certificates and census entries are often mis-spelled and incorrect.

Thank you also for offering to help with the letter. Would the town hall or the church be best for the marriage act. My Italian is extremely limited and obviously it would be best to write in Italian. Yes, I would also like to ask for the Death Certificate of his parents and would this also be to the church?

You are being very helpful and I really appreciate it. This is furthest I have got to any help in many years!

Thank you,
Christine.

Hi Christine,

Town Halls in Italy started to keep official standardized records a few years after unification, which means around 1866.
As concerns the marriage act, you can request it either to the Church or to the Town Hall, both of them have their own records.
Churches usually accept donations for a search but priests are not obliged to keep old records in order and it's up to their willingness to be helpfull or not. If you want an official record then you must request it to the Town Hall and you will not be charged any fee. The unknown factor is time. You might get a quick answer or wait for a long time.
I would try with the Town Hall first and see if they find the marriage.
You can put down a few lines saying who you are and saying who was your ancestor with birth date and parents names. Ask the officer to look for his marriage assuming that he could have got married when he was 20-25 years old. And add whatever you think useful for the search.
You can post this message here and I'll translate into Italian for you.

Ada

Sorry, I just realized the image was there. Difficult to decide what's the surname of the Godfather. I will think about it.
Meanwhile, other member's opinion (Luca, Livio ) is well accepted.

Ada

Christine,
Your ancestor surname is definitely AVVICO. His Godfather surname does look Lansallo but it's unsual and I never heard it before. It doesn't exist in the Italian White Pages and also changing the spelling I could not find any matching surname. So, either the priest mispelled it or it disappeared as it was very infrequent. Hope other members on this forum give their opinion or I'll send them a PM.

Ada

It could be Lansallo or even Laurello. The certificate was issued in 1949 and the Parrish priest wrote the name that he was seeing on the book register. Maybe asking again the Baptism certificate, the new priest may read it in a different way...

liviomoreno wrote:

Maybe asking again the Baptism certificate, the new priest may read it in a different way...

Quoto.

Uantiti is right: ask for his marriage record (and, moreover, the surname of the godfather it's not so important for your research).

L.

Grazie ragazzi/Thank you .

Well, I had the same thoughts. You have to see if it's worth asking for a new birth/baptism certificate from the Church. The Godfather might have been just a neighbour or a friend not related to the family.

Ada

Thank you all so much for your response and helpful advice. I am extremely busy at the moment but will definitely take your advice and be back in touch soon.
Christine.

Oh my goodness, I cannot believe it is already two years since my last message on this site. I have not forgotten your kindness and hope you have not forgotten me! This year it is my intention to concentrate on my family history, especially the Italian side and from now on I shall keep in touch as I get to grips with it all.
Thank you for your patience.
All the best,
Christine.

Welcome back Christine. We look forwarding to hearing more from you this year and are here to help.