Record Atlas
5 eras · 1473–2026 · 75 places

Massa and Carrara — Lunigiana

Massa, Carrara, Pontremoli. 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
1473–1664 Lordships of Massa and Carrara (united 1473), later Cybo-Malaspina Archivio di Stato di Massa · Archivio di Stato di Massa — sezione di pontremoli · Antenati

The Lordship of Massa acquired Carrara on 22 February 1473, and in 1568 Maximilian II made Massa a marquisate and Carrara a principality.
1664–1796 Duchy of Massa and Carrara (from 1664), Este influence from 1741 Archivio di Stato di Massa · Archivio di Stato di Massa — sezione di pontremoli · Antenati

Leopold I raised Massa to a duchy on 22 February 1664.
1796–1814 French rule, then Lucca and Piombino (1806) Archivio di Stato di Massa · Antenati

French troops took the territory in May 1796, and in 1806 Napoleon assigned it to the Principality of Lucca and Piombino.
1814–1859 Este Duchy of Modena and Reggio Archivio di Stato di Massa · Archivio di Stato di Massa — sezione di pontremoli · Antenati

Maria Beatrice d'Este regained the duchy in 1814-1815, and her son annexed it to Modena in 1829.
1859–2026 Kingdom of Sardinia (1859-1860), then Italy (1861) Archivio di Stato di Massa · Archivio di Stato di Massa — sezione di pontremoli · Antenati

After Francis V was deposed, the Modena territories including Massa and Carrara were annexed to the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1859-1860.

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, 1473–2026, 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.

75 places on this ground

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