Persons wishing to be married in Italy must appear with two witnesses and make a declaration of their intention to marry before the Ufficiale di Stato Civile (Civil Registrar) of the city or town where the marriage is to take place.  At the time of making their declaration the couple must present all required documents.  Following the declaration it is usually necessary for banns, or marriage ammouncement, to be posted at the local comune (city hall) for two consecutive Sundays before the marriage occurs if one of the parties is Italian or if the U.S. citizen is a resident of Italy.

On the fourth day following the second Sunday on which the banns are posted the couple may be married, either in a civil ceremony or a religious one.  A civil ceremony is performed by the Ufficiale di Stato Civile or one of his assistants.

Here is a marriage ban for the sister of my great grandfather Pietro.  Her name was Maria Domencia and below is our translation of what the document says.

Maria Domencia Del Principe's Marriage Bann

Dated on the 9^th of Jul, 1854.  The groom is Samuele Nicola Del Principe, the adult son of Francesco and Beatrica (Crioli) Del Principe. The Bride is Maria Domencia, the adult daughter of Gaetano and Annamaria (Boccia) Del Principe.

My daughter Ashley and I found the bann on micro film that I had ordered from the LDS church in Salt Lake.  It took 3 weeks to arrive in Portland.  The reel is put on a projector  that enlarges the image.  There were  hundreds and hundreds of documents on one reel.  Once I spotted names I recognized, I saved the page as a jpg file and brought the files home.

Almost every document was signed by Nicola Del Principe.

This is the marriage bann of Pietrantonio Amabile Ciolli and Filomena Ursitti.  We believe the translation is “The year of one-thousand, eight-hundred and fifty-four, on Sunday the sixteenth day of July at 1:00 pm, and been posted on the door of the municipal notification within the time prescribed by law for the solemn promise of marriage between Pietrantonio Ciolli the adult son of Raffaelo and of Sparanza, and Filomena Ursitti the minor dauther of Angelico and ??”.  Signature of the Civil Officer of the State.  Nicola del Principe.

Pietrantonio Amabile Ciolli and Filomena Ursitti 1854

If you’d like to view a short video of how the LDS Church archives their records in Salt Lake City click here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAzty9dd6rA