How I Searched for my roots in Italy

As a child, I remember hearing my grandma saying lots of expressions in Italian and using her hands a lot while talking. She also cooked very well: pastas, risottos and meats. I often heard stories about her parents have came all the way from Italy in a ship at the beginning of the twentieth century. Growing up, though, whenever I asked more questions about where exactly the family came from, the answers weren’t that cut-and-dried. Nana just didn’t know much detail. She was born in Brazil from Italian parents that had apparently escaped Italy during World War I when they were still kids. They didn’t remember things themselves but their parents and siblings kept their traditions and often told them stories about the loved home country.

In 2005, when I had the chance to go study abroad in Italy, my curiosity increased and I figured I could actually go and find more information about my ancestors myself. However, all the information I had was in my great-grandfather’s death certificate from Brazil with his full name, age, the day he died and the first name of his siblings. My mom stayed in Brazil and in the meantime kept doing some research with relatives to try get more information.