The small city of L’Aquila, Italy, shook during a large earthquake on April 6, 2009. As the epicenter of the earthquake, much of the L’Aquila area was destroyed, and many were killed. The walls and roof of the L’Aquila archive collapsed on its ancient records, and the archivists rushed in during the aftershocks to save them. The archivists felt an urgency to preserve the records and partnered with FamilySearch to digitally preserve and index the records online. You can help preserve the L’Aquila records. When downloading a batch to index at FamilySearch.org/indexing, look for the current project Italia (Antenati Italiani), L'Aquila e Rieti—Stato Civile 1809–1828 [Parte1].
These interesting facts pertain to the L’Aquila project:
• The L’Aquila project includes birth, marriage, and death records.
• The project’s records range from 1809 to 1865.
• With every birth record, you will also find a baptism record.
One of the more difficult fields in this record is the surnames, particularly the mother’s last name. There are many helpful resources available for this project on familysearch.org/search/location/continental-europe/italy. The Italian Surnames by Region is a great tool to help you find and compare the correct surname spelling. When using this tool for the L’Aquila project, choose Abruzzi for the correct region and spelling.
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