C‘It is a moment, in life, in which the past knocks on the door of the present. We surprise ourselves to ask ourselves: “Who are we really? Where do we come from? “. Sometimes it’s a faded photo, which ended up in an old drawer, which tells forgotten stories. Other times it is the voice of an adult who rekindles curiosity with a detail escaped at the time. Sometimes, it is Simply the need to feel part of something bigger. In recent decades, More and more people have warned the desire to recompose the mosaic of their originspiece by piece, story after history, and to set off in the footsteps of those who preceded them thanks to genealogical research.
«You don’t need illustrious ancestors or natal nobles to get passionate about your dynasty. Each family has a story worthy of being toldeven without pirates or kings »writes Giulia Depamento in her book Dynasty. In search of your family history between secrets and mysteries (Feltrinelli). “To embark on this journey, however, you need an ally: the relative who knows everything.”
Deporter calls him “The omniscient relative”: that figure who holds the memory of the family, Remember the most extravagant nicknames, the dates engraved over time, and above all, that she loves to tell.
Vintage photos of a family (Getty Images).
But to bring to light these fragments serves delicacy. «Some memories are linked to deep emotions, and The past deserves to be evoked without hastein compliance with those who keep it. Sometimes a gesture is enough, like leafing through an old photograph album together. The images can awaken dormant memories, “clarifies the expert. «Even the way they ask the questions makes the difference. Rather than asking: “Can you tell me about when you were little?” It is better to opt for more precise questions: “Where did you find yourself during the Second World War?”. And if the relative divar, do not interrupt it: Among the most disconnected stories, the most precious traces often hide ».
Genealogical research, roots that “speak”
However, there are family stories that leave important gaps behind him. «When memory is not enough, The documents become custodians of the past. For an accurate genealogical reconstruction, the essential sources are the archives: parish, state, municipal, military and cemetery.
Vintage photos that tell families. (Getty Images)
There they are located Registers of baptisms, weddings and deaths, as well as information on military serviceuseful for reconstructing movements and residences »he explains Nadia Spatafora, a genealogist specialized in the search for heirs and in the reconstruction of the kinship linesas well as director of the Coutot-Roehrig company. Although some of these may have been lost for wars, or calamities sometimes find copies or transcripts. “To correctly analyze information and build a reliable genealogy, patience, method and scientific approach is needed,” underlines Spatafora.
Affectionate letter of an American soldier to his wife towards the end of the Second World War (Getty Images).
Today, The web made this research more accessible. The Ancestors portalpromoted by the Ministry of Culture, for example, is a precious starting point: thanks to the “search by name” function, it is possible to enter the desired name and, if the registers in which it appears have been indexed, access the civil status act in which it is mentioned. “I needed my grandfather’s birth extract For a practice, “says Sofia Ricci.” There was no trace of the country’s registry. So I ended up on the ancestor portal. I didn’t understand anything, but after some attempt I found a 1911 register, Written in tight italics. There was: Francesco, born from a unmarried mother.
From there I started to reconstruct. I crossed data, watched hundreds of acts, written at a parish archive to have confirmation of baptism. After a month, a photocopy arrived with a margin note: the name of the father, added six years later. Today I know why my grandfather has changed surname. I also know why it didn’t talk about it. Knowing was like putting something back in place ». Next to this public resource, there are also private platforms such as Familysearch, Ancestry And Myheritagewhich make billions of digitized documents available, expanding research possibilities. But even the most advanced technologies have their reverse of the medal.
Portrait of a family in 1916 (Getty Images).
“Not all data available online are reliable: pre -filled genealogical trees can contain errors” warns Spatafora. “Because of this, Any information must be verified crossing more sources ». Even DNA tests, now increasingly popular, require careful reading. If on the one hand they can reveal unexpected genetic connectionsOn the other hand, their results can lead to hasty conclusions.
Secrets buried over time
“The search for the roots is not just a pastime” He warns Depaventor. «Each family holds stories buried over time which, if reported to light, can offer a new perspective on our history. I am convinced that What we are today is the result of events that preceded usof invisible bonds that continue to intertwine ». Literature has often told the weight of the originstheir ability to influence the present. Writing The lions of Sicilyand retracing the epic of the Florio family, the writer Stefania Auci writes that «The roots are an anchor, but also a chain. They keep you firm, but they prevent you from flying away ». The past always lengthens their hands on the present.
And time leaves indelible traces in the destinies of those who come later. “Each of us descends from their family, inherits survival strategies, some learned informally, others through a real teaching” writes the pedagogist Emily Mignanelli in Forgotten age (Feltrinelli). “We should be equally aware of how family legacy affects us.”
Portrait of a 1960 family (Getty Images)
Mignanelli, following the psychogenenealogy studies of Anne Ancelin Schützenberger (1919-2018), makes this example: «If I was born in a family where hunger has lived and resources were missed, the information that is handed down more or less consciously is to stock up to be prepared in the event of lean periods. Here then I could find myself collecting objects, accumulating food, saving money ».
From here, His invitation to be told the past, where we warn that there are hidden stories in the family. «The memory to be erased is like the dough for pizza thrown into a basket. Inside, in the heat and in the dark, it will rise and tear; And whoever touches it will smell with dirty hands and relationships »clarifies Mignanelli. “Taking one’s life in hand means starting right from here: from an inner archeology that highlights family memories, returning to the trauma ancestors, suspended and interrupted destinies”.
Genealogical research, the truth to bring out
Unresolved issues, the denied memory I am the spring that pushed Nadia Terranova to write What I know of you (Guanda): The protagonist returns to Messina to discover the life of the Venera great -grandmother who, less than a hundred years ago, was interned. It is a journey between omissions, falsifications and forgetfulness; Among fragments of memory that resurface among the folds of an concealed story yet still alive in his dreams.
«The presence of Venera hovered in the house like an unresolved echo, a whisper that insinuated himself into the unrealized wordsin the silences kept with concern. She had become a whisper, a broken phrase, something imperceptible that she wandered without finding off the exit ». Thinking of being able to get rid of it would have been a great blunder. This, perhaps, applies to anyone: when the roots are stuck in the dark, The truth becomes the only remediation tool.
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