The Bergamo State Archive
As you know, the key to performing research to discover details about and to connect families is to have access to old records. Outside of family records, birth, baptism, marriage, military, census and death records are great sources to connect individuals to a specific place at a specific time – which then can help determine family relationships. In Italy, these records are typically kept in one of two places: first, State and Local Archives; and, second, church records.
Since the unification of Italy in the mid 1860’s most of the birth, marriage, death and military records are kept in the State or Local Archives (however, churches may also have birth/baptism, marriage and death records). From about 1815 to about 1866, the Catholic Church was charged with keeping the official records such as birth/baptism, marriage and death. Prior to 1815, records might be church, civil or potentially a combination of both.
Jodie
at the Bergamo State Archive
We have been fortunate to visit the Bergamo State Archive three times now. Our first visit to the Bergamo State Archive was on
June 26 when Andrew (the Family Search employee responsible for camera operations teams in Italy and several other European countries) visited the archive to make arrangements for camera operators to set up their equipment to secure images of some of the records in the Province of Bergamo. (Bergamo is both the name of a Province and a specific City). The digitizing project started in the Bergamo Archive around the first of September and is projected to continue until around March of next year.
Bergamo State Archive sign
Blake
& Jodie at the Bergamo State Archive
The Bergamo State Archive is really state of the art. It is a large, very well organized, clean archive where the records are organized in books shelved on movable shelving in a climate controlled (light, temperature and humidity) environment. We were simply in awe of the number, condition and age of these records. It was a pleasure for us also to meet and visit with the Archive Director and one of her assistants. We hope to be able to help them with a project they are considering that would create metadata for some of the ownership maps that they house at the archive.
Shelving in the archive
A
few photos of the inside of the archive
We next visited the Bergamo State Archive on October 13 for
the Archive’s annual open house and guided tour. On this visit we learned that the Archive is
home to more than just civil records, but it also has artwork, maps and some personal
family artifacts.
During the open house, we were once again able to visit with the Archive Director and her assistant and were pleased that they remembered that we were from Family Search and even seemed to recognize us. They certainly recognized our lack of Italian Language skill and were able to bridge our communication gap by speaking to us in English. During the tour (off to the side apart from the general group) they provided some additional explanation and comments to us in English. Although the guided tour was all in Italian, we were surprised at how much we were able to understand and learn during our visit.
Jodie
at the Bergamo State Archive
Artwork
on display in the research room
Books from 1270-1279 and 1392-1410
Leather covered books
from 1422 and 1421
The Archive Director showing old maps of Bergamo
1813
Map of Alzano Lombardo
Family
artifacts held by the Archive
Examples
of pre-WWII government propaganda campaigns
The
oldest document in the Archive is from 1242
Our most recent visit was on October 17 when we were able to
observe one of the camera operators as she captured digital images of military records.
Camera
operator photographing military records in the Bergamo State Archive
Several books are retrieved from the vault at a time. Each book is opened face up on a stand below a digital
camera in a level position and photographed page by page. The camera operator told us that she typically
captures between 2000 and 2500 images each day.
At the completion of the digitation process, these images along with the metadata (the archive, the book, record type, date, contents, page number, etc) are then uploaded to Family Search. Family Search has agreed to supply a digital copy of these images along with the metadata to the government so that they can publish this information on their website called Portale Antenati (Ancestors Portal) hosted by the DGA (Direzione Generale Archivi). Family Search can then also use these images internally on the Family Search website.
These digital images captured, along with the metadate, become
the content for the Digital Reading Rooms that we will create and return to the
Archive. The beauty of a Digital Reading Room is that it is a standalone copy of the images and metadata that does not require internet access. These Digital Reading Rooms allow people to visit the archive, inspect the records, and capture information
contained therein without having to retrieve books from the shelves and physically
handle these precious ancient books.
Records
contained in the Bergamo State Archive
Once again we are reminded through this and other experiences that the Lord does indeed 'go before our face, is on our right hand and on our left, His spirit is in our hearts, and His angels are about us, to bear us up' (see Doctrine & Covenants 84:88).
We are very blessed and purposely situated to be in Bergamo and to be able to visit this archive. Part of Jodie's family comes from Zambla Bassa (Oltre il Colle) in the Province of Bergamo. Through future visits to this archive we will seek opportunities to locate information about and connect to Jodie's Italian family while we serve here in Italy.
