Those efficient Sicilians

Saturday, the day after Christmas, I received in the mail two envelopes from the town of Scordia, in the province of Catania, in Sicily. The envelopes contained the birth certificates of my paternal grandparents. Actually they look more like extracts from their birth certificates, confirming what I suspected of their dates of birth and the names of their parents.

Then on Monday, December 28, I received another envelope from Italy--a single envelope from the town of Castellammare del Golfo, in the province of Trapani, in Sicily. This one envelope contained a cover letter, two birth certificates and pages of extracts for my maternal grandparents.

I am totally impressed with the speed and efficiency with which the officials in these two towns responded to my requests for vital records.

If I pursue Italian citizenship jus sanguinis, I should be able to use my maternal grandfather's birth certificate, since it seems to be official with a certificate number, etc. If I decide to use my paternal grandfather's material I will probably need to have the folks in Scordia issue a more formal certificate like the one they issued in Castellemmare del Golfo.