Record Atlas
9 eras · 1200–2026 · 507 places

Abruzzo and Molise

L'Aquila, Chieti, Pescara, Teramo, Campobasso, Isernia, Termoli. Which empire held this ground in which years — and, the part that matters, which archive that means.

Whose archive this ground was

YearsWho held itWhose archive that means
1200–1442 Kingdom of Sicily under Frederick II, then the Angevin Kingdom of Naples no registers survive

Before registers. Frederick II set up Abruzzo as a justiciarate in the 1230s, and in 1273 Charles I of Anjou divided it at the Pescara river into Abruzzo Citeriore and Ulteriore.
1442–1504 Aragonese Kingdom of Naples FamilySearch

Alfonso V of Aragon took the Kingdom of Naples in 1442; the Abruzzo source dates his conquest 1443. L'Aquila lost political and economic weight to Chieti under the Aragonese.
1504–1714 Spanish viceroyalty of Naples FamilySearch

Spanish control is dated 1503 or 1504 depending on the source. The Apennine earthquakes of 1703 devastated L'Aquila, and an earthquake in 1706 hit Sulmona.
1714–1735 Austrian Habsburg rule (Charles VI) FamilySearch

The Treaty of Rastatt gave Naples to Charles VI in 1714. A Spanish army took Naples in 1734 and Charles of Bourbon was installed as king in 1735.
1735–1806 Bourbon Kingdom of Naples FamilySearch
1806–1815 Napoleonic Kingdom of Naples (Joseph Bonaparte, then Murat) Antenati · Archivio di Stato di Chieti · Archivio di Stato di Teramo · Archivio di Stato di Campobasso · FamilySearch

Napoleonic civil registration was introduced to the Kingdom of Naples in January 1809 under Murat. In 1806 Abruzzo Ultra was split into Ultra I and Ultra II at the Gran Sasso, and Molise's provincial borders were largely set by 1811.
1815–1861 Kingdom of Naples; from 8 December 1816 the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies Antenati · Archivio di Stato di Chieti · Archivio di Stato di Teramo · Archivio di Stato di Campobasso · Archivio di Stato di Isernia · FamilySearch

Civil registration was reintroduced in 1816, and from then to 1865 the birth and marriage acts of the south carry church baptism or marriage details. Abruzzo passed to the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1860 and to the Kingdom of Italy in 1861.
1861–1963 Italy — the region of Abruzzi e Molise Antenati · Archivio di Stato di Chieti · Archivio di Stato di Teramo · Archivio di Stato di Campobasso · Archivio di Stato di Isernia · FamilySearch

Abruzzo and Molise formed one region, Abruzzi e Molise, until they were separated in 1963.
1963–2026 Italy — Abruzzo and Molise, separate regions Antenati · Archivio di Stato di Chieti · Archivio di Stato di Teramo · Archivio di Stato di Pescara · Archivio di Stato di Campobasso · Archivio di Stato di Isernia · FamilySearch

The rings are approximate — deliberately. They exist to shade which filing system a place fell under, not to adjudicate a border. A place near a ring's edge should be checked against both neighbours.

See the whole span, 1200–2026, on the map →

The map takes a range, and a range that crosses one of the rows above is where records get lost: the family never moved, and the archive on the far side of the handover will tell you it holds nothing.

507 places on this ground

The 200 carrying the most collections are listed; 307 more stand on this ground. Every place has them all.

258 FamilySearch collections reach this ground

Ranked with the regional ones first — a collection for a province is usually a better lead than a national index, though the national index is often where a name is actually written down. A free account opens the images.

…and 198 more.

All record regions · The map