Learn about and take inspiration from fascinating research projects from San Cassiano and Bagni di Lucca through real stories taking place locally or internationally.
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What we can learn about our Bagni di Lucca ancestors from Mary Shelley and her circle
Summer, 1818 For those of us with roots in Bagni di Lucca and the slopes of Prato Fiorito, the summer of 1818 provides an unusual historical perspective on the valley through the writings of several well-known English visitors. In the summer of 1818, Percy Bysshe Shelley, his wife Mary — author of Frankenstein — together with Claire…
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Update: June 2026
Update — Overview This update contains several major additions to the website’s research resources, including a new three-part surname study, a practical research guide, and the launch of a new digital archive dedicated to the war memorial of San Cassiano di Controne. The genealogy database has also received a modest update with new individuals, data…
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Launch of the Digital War Memorial
Today marks the launch of a new digital memorial dedicated to the children and men of San Cassiano di Controne who were lost during the First and Second World Wars. Built from civil records, military archives, cemetery registers, and international databases, the project brings together scattered traces of lives interrupted by war — and, in…
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Mapping a Surname: A How-To Guide, using the Domenici families of Bagni di Lucca as an example
Every genealogy project starts with a question. Mine began with a woman who carried the surname Domenici, and lived in San Cassiano di Controne in Bagni di Lucca, in the early 1800s. Yet, she was not born in San Cassiano – she had married into the village from surrounding villages, and little information was known about…
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Hunting the Domenici: Reconstructing a Family in Bagni di Lucca – Part 3
Three Andrea Domenici and One Missing Mother At this stage, one major inconsistency remained. None of the known spouses of these three Andrea Domenici were named Giovanna, as recorded in Maria’s marriage and death entries. On the surface, this appears to be a critical mismatch. However, the structure and limitations of the records leave room…
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Hunting the Domenici: Reconstructing a Family in Bagni di Lucca – Part 2
Reconstructing the Families and finding Andrea Domenici The work continues. Building trees. Within Benabbio and Limano, repeated appearances of the same individuals made it possible to begin identifying family units. The same couples would appear at regular intervals, registering the births of children every one to three years, and later reappearing in marriage or death…
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Database and Website Update – April and May 2026
Over the past year, work has been undertaken on a surname-mapping project focused on the Domenici families of Bagni di Lucca. The project has been documented in a three-part blog series, in which the methodology and early findings are outlined. These posts trace the development of the study, from an initial research question to the…
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Hunting the Domenici: Reconstructing a Family in Bagni di Lucca – Part 1
The Mystery and the Method This project began with a gap in the records. I was searching for the parents of my own ancestor, Maria Domenici, who was born in 1822—unfortunately within the narrow range of years for which records are not yet available online. What is known is that she died in July 1858,…
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Women on the Move: How Marriage Patterns Shaped Bagni di Lucca
The women who shaped our villages. In 19th-century Tuscany, it was almost always the woman who moved. When she married, she left her birth village behind and started a new life in her husband’s community; sometimes just a few valleys away, sometimes much further. This tradition, known as patrilocal marriage, was common throughout rural Italy, and…
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When disease came to Bagni di Lucca: The cholera cemetery of Benabbio
If you’re researching your Italian family history, you’ve probably encountered mysterious gaps in records, sudden family relocations, or stories passed down about sickness and loss. The 1855 cholera epidemic that devastated the small village of Benabbio in Bagni di Lucca offers a powerful example of how disease could reshape entire communities—and family trees—in just a…