Beginner’s Guide to Researching Your Bagni di Lucca Heritage

This guide offers a friendly introduction for those living abroad who want to start tracing their roots in Bagni di Lucca using online resources. While it’s not exhaustive, it’s designed to help you begin your genealogical journey remotely. I’ll update this guide as new sources and offline records become available.

About Bagni di Lucca

Names Over Time:

Until 1862: Bagno a Corsena
From 1862 to today: Bagni di Lucca

Location:

Comune (Municipality): Bagni di Lucca
Province: Lucca
Region: Tuscany
Country: Italy

Structure of the Comune:
Bagni di Lucca is a municipality made up of over 20 small villages and hamlets, each with its own historical parish. Online, historical records are usually organized at the village or parish level, not just under “Bagni di Lucca.”

Before You Start: Key Things to Know

Changing jurisdictions: Over time, record-keeping jurisdictions shifted from parish-level to the comune level, and record formats changed accordingly. Different archives digitised their collections through various platforms.

Civil vs. religious records: Many civil records (births, marriages, deaths) are available online, but religious records and parish household registers remain held locally by parishes and are not yet online for Bagni di Lucca.

Italian privacy laws restrict online access to civil birth, marriage, and death records from roughly the last 70 to 100 years. Older records are available depending on whether they were kept by parishes or civil authorities.

What Records Are Available Online?

Births, Marriages, and Deaths Before 1866 – Parish Records (Pre-Unification)

Records were maintained at the village/parish level, so knowing the exact village or parish is essential. The municipality name alone is not enough. If no entries exist for a village in a given month, the document skips to the next.
These records are not indexed for Bagni di Lucca, so you need to manually browse images.
Available records span 1807–1812 and 1850–1865 (coverage varies by village and event).
Language: Italian, handwritten.
Searching tips:
- Records are organized by event type (birth, marriage, death), then by month, then alphabetically by village/parish.
- You may need to browse 10–300 images to find your event, as there are no indexes.
Where to access these records: Antenati Archive for Bagni di Lucca/Bagno a Corsena.

See the records available from 1807-1813 (separated by parish)

	Bagno a Corsena	Benabbio	Brandeglio	Casa-basciana	Casoli di Val di Lima	Cocciglia	Crasciana	Fornoli	Granaiola	Limano	Lucchio	Lugliano	Monte-fegatesi	Monti di Villa	Palleggio	Pieve di Controne	Ponte a Serraglio	San Cassiano di Controne	San Gemignano	Vico Pancellorum
Births
1807	X	X		X	X	X	X	X	X	X		X		X	X	X	X	X	X	X
1808	X	X	X	X	X		X	X	X	X	X	X		X	X	X	X	X	X	X
1809	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X		X	X	X	X	X	X	X
1810	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
1811	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
1812	X	X		X	X	X		X		X	X	X		X	X	X	X	X	X	X
1813	X	X		X	X	X			X	X	X	X		X		X	X			X
Marriages
1807	X	X		X	X	X	X		X	X		X		X		X		X		X
1808		X		X	X		X	X	X	X	X	X		X			X	X	X	X
1809	X
1810	X
1811	X
1812	X
1813	X
Deaths
1807	X	X		X	X	X	X	X		X		X		X		X	X	X	X	X
1808	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X		X	X	X	X	X	X	X
1809	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X		X	X	X	X	X	X	X
1810	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
1811	X	X	X	X	X	X	X		X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
1812	X	X		X	X	X		X		X	X	X		X		X	X	X	X	X
1813	X	X		X	X	X			X	X	X	X		X		X	X		X	X
Marriages (PUBLICATIONS)
1807	X			X		X	X		X	X		X				X	X	X		X
1808							X			X	X								X
1809	X
1810	X
1811	X
1812	X
1813	X
Marriages (Publicazioni allegati)
1807
1808	X
1809	X
1810	X
1811	X
1812	X
1813	X

See the records available from 1851-1865 (pooled by comune)

Year	Births	Marriages	Deaths
1851	X	X	X
1852	X	X	X
1853	X	X	X
1854	X	X	X
1855	X	X	X
1856	X	X	X
1857	X	X	X
1858	X	X	X
1859	X	X	X
1860	X	X	X
1861	X	X	X
1862	X	X	X
1863	X	X	X
1864	X	X	X
1865	X	X	X

Births, Marriages, and Deaths from 1866 to 1955 – Civil Records (Post-Unification)

After 1866, a centralised civil registration system was introduced. Records are kept at the comune/municipality level.
You no longer need to know the village/parish to search; records from all villages are pooled together by event and date.
Indexes (usually alphabetical by surname) exist for most years and life events, usually at the start or end of collections.
- Death records are also included in decade indexes listing all deaths alphabetically over three decades.

Common records

Nascite (births)
Matrimoni (marriages)
Pubblicazioni (marriage banns)
Morte (deaths)
Allegati (supplemental documents, such as birth record copies, death records for deceased spouses in case of re-marriage).

Where to access these records: FamilySearch Images for Bagni di Lucca.

See the records available from 1866-1955 (pooled by comune)

1866-1955 (new)

Year	Birth records	Birth supplements	Marriage Records	Marriage proclamation records	Marriage supplements	Marriage banns supplement	Marriage index	Death records	Death supplements	Death certificates	Death record indexes
1866	X		X	X				X			X
1867	X		X	X				X			X
1868	X		X	X				X			X
1869	X		X	X				X			X
1870	X		X	X				X			X
1871	X		X	X				X			X
1872	X		X	X				X			X
1873	X		X	X				X			X
1874	X		X	X				X			X
1875	X		X	X				X			X
1876	X		X	X				X			X
1877	X		X	X				X			X
1878	X		X	X				X			X
1879	X		X	X				X			X
1880	X		X	X				X			X
1881	X		X	X				X			X
1882	X		X	X				X			X
1883	X		X	X				X			X
1884	X		X	X				X			X
1885	X		X	X				X			X
1886	X		X	X	x			X			X
1887	X		X	X	x			X			X
1888	X		X	X	x		X	X			X
1889	X		X	X	x		X	X			X
1890	X		X	X	x		X	X			X
1891	X		X	X	x			X			X
1892	X		X	X	x			X			X
1893	X		X	X	x			X			X
1894	X		X	X	x			X			X
1895	X		X	X	x			X			X
1896	X		X	X				X			X
1897	X		X	X				X			X
1898	X		X	X				X			X
1899	X		X	X				X			X
1900	X		X	X				X
1901	X		X	X				X	x
1902	X		X	X				X	x
1903	X		X	X				X	x
1904	X			X				X	x
1905	X		X	X				X	x
1906	X		X	X				X	x
1907	X		X	X				X	x
1908	X		X	X				X	x
1909	X		X	X				X	x
1910	X		X	X				X	x
1911		X						X	x
1912			X		X			X	x
1913		X	X		X			X	x
1914		X	X		X			X	x
1915		X	X		X			X	x		X
1916		X	X		X			X	x		X
1917		X	X		X			X	x		X
1918		X	X		X				x		X
1919		X	X		X				x		X
1920		X	X		X				x		X
1921			X		X				x		X
1922			X		X				x		X
1923			X		X				x		X
1924			X		X				x		X
1925			X		X				x		X
1926			X		X				x		X
1927			X		X				x		X
1928			X		X				x		X
1929			X		X				x		X
1930			X	X	x			X	x		X
1931			X	X	x			X	x		X
1932			X	X	x	x		X	x		X
1933			X	X	x			X	x		X
1934			X	X	x			X	x		X
1935			X	X	x			X	x
1936			X	X	x			X	x
1937			X	X	x			X	X
1938			X	X	x			X	x
1939			X	X	x			X	x
1940			X	X	x			X	x
1941			X	X	x	x		X	x
1942			X	X	x			X	x
1943			X	X	x			X	x
1944			X	X	x	x		X	x
1945			x	x	x			X	x
1946			x	x	x			X	x	X
1947			x	x	x			X	x
1948			x	x	x			X	x
1949			x	x	x			X	x
1950			x	x	x			X	x
1951			x	x	x			X	x
1952			x	x	x			X	x
1953			x	x	x			X	x
1954			x	x	x			X	x

Other Useful Tips to Search Civil Records

Missing records for the year/location you need?

If you cannot find civil records for a village, don’t forget that local parishes also kept their own records of births (baptisms), marriages, and deaths—sometimes at slightly different times. These religious records sometimes also contain valuable extra details about ancestors, such as nicknames, family relations, or additional context that civil records might lack.

Looking for an exact address?

Civil records typically list only the village or parish where the event happened. In newer records (i.e., 1880 onward), it becomes more common to see the clerk writing down also which part of a village the event took place (e.g., Fondo in Palleggio or Vizzata in San Cassiano di Controne. Death records from around 1910 onwards often include detailed addresses (house number, village section, sometimes whose house the event took place).

Privacy laws in your way?

Original civil birth records after 1910 are not available online due to privacy laws.

Civil birth records until 1920 may be accessible at local FamilySearch Centers but access is not guaranteed. However, birth information from after 1910 may still be found in birth supplements (up to 1920) and marriage supplements (up to 1954). Example: If your ancestor was born in 1915, you won’t find the original birth record online but may find info about their birth and parents in birth or marriage supplements.

Other Resources

Military Records

Arolsen Archives (prisoners, displaced people): Arolsen Archives
WWI Albo d’Oro records (casualties): Caduti Grande Guerra
WWII Ministry of Defence database (casualties and missing persons): Ministero della Difesa
International Red Cross archives: ICRC
Conscription Lists (Liste di Leva): Check with the Comune or Lucca state archives: Lucca Military Service Lists

The Anglican Church in Bagni di Lucca

Records (1842-1953) available via FamilySearch microfilm (must be ordered): FamilySearch Catalog
General info about the church: Bella Bagni di Lucca – English Church
History of the English community in Bagni di Lucca: English Past of Bagni di Lucca
Anglican cemetery details: Significant Cemeteries

Emigration Records and Resources

Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier-21 (Canada) records available online.
Passenger lists from Europe to North America via:
- MyHeritage ($) or Ancestry ($)
Italian travel documents to Brazil (1900–1980): FamilySearch Brazil Travel Records
Grave databases for Italian emigrants worldwide:
- Find A Grave or BillionGraves
- You can request photos of graves not yet photographed, though wait times vary widely.
The Internet Archive is great for searching Canadian newspapers and business directories for the ambitious Italian emigrants who settled in Canada.
Newspapers.com ($) is great for searching U.S Newspapers.
Oldnews.com ($) is great for searching International newspapers from the U.S., France, U.K., Australia, Germany, Canada, Spain and many more, and is hosted through MyHeritage (if you have a subscription on MyHeritage, it’s included) through your account here.

Tip: Immigrants usually listed “Bagni di Lucca” as their hometown, even if from a smaller village. Due to transcription errors, try flexible or “fuzzy” searches for variants like “Vagni di Lucca” or “Bagni de Lucca.”

Other Helpful Tools for Your Research

Old Italian Occupations with English Equivalents:
Ancestry Italian Occupation Terms

FamilySearch Full-Text Search (AI-based tool in development):
Full-Text Search

How to Read Old Italian Handwriting:
FamilySearch Italian Handwriting Help