T e s t i m o n i a l s :

2005 2006 2007  2008 2009 2010   2011

Hi Riccardo,

Yes, I did. I sent you an e-mail several days ago. Thanking you once again for a wonderful presentation Great news about being able to obtain information regarding Santo Stefano di Camastra cemetery.
Thanks for confirming the birth date of my grandmother Regards,

Janet ,USA 16 Nov 2005

JoAnne  sabato 30 luglio 2005 15.43.28

Patrick Manfro 20 Jan 2006 

Raffaella...  ..I received the report.. thank you very much...

Prof. Kenneth L. GOLDSBERRY 27 Jan 2006 

About Torna a Surriento italian song right english translation..

Hello Raffaella
Thank yu for the effort you have done on the translation, I could kiss yu, well hug yu anyway being an acceptable guy thing lol
I’m singing the song, well half of it, and explaining the meaning behind the song
I was told by friends that the history behind the song is…..
Two brothers got together and composed it, because of one of the officials was visiting Surriento, trying to draw attention
to the fact that  the area was run down and needed attention
does that sound right to you?
I’m in new Zealand, where are yu

MICHAEL BOOTH

singer tenor New Zealand  martedì 14 marzo 2006 3.39.56

FranK Di Genova, USA 17 May 2006 4.02

You did a very good job with it and I thank you very much. thanks
again for getting these important documents for me.  You provide an
awesome service for the Italians who no longer live in the old country.

Matthew

MATTHEW MCMILLAN  Ohio, USA, Tue Jul 11 02:46:45 2006

Janet , USA 31-lug-2006 16.05

Anna Davi, Monterey, CA,USA  7-ago-2006 21.30

Kathleen Koszulinski, Cape Coral, FL, USA 8-ago-2006 1.30

Kathleen Koszulinski, Cape Coral, FL, USA 23-ago-2006 4.20

Anna Davi, Pebble Beach, California, USA 23-set-2006 3.07

Hi Riccardo, Today i have received the letter with the birth certificate. Once again i thank you for all.All the luck to you. Many Thanks,

Marcio.

Antonio M Marques de Sá Ardivino, London, UK 29-gen-2007 20.55

Hi Raffaella,

I picked up the documents from the post office yesterday.  Thank you
so much!  I'm sure if it weren't for you, it would've taken me ages to
get them myself, as my Italian is rather poor and I'd probably have
difficulty drafting a letter.  Plus, you're local, so it was even
better.

I would definitely recommend you to anyone (although I'm the only
person I know who's doing this ;)...

.....There aren't many people like you who would help a total stranger on
the internet, and I want you to know how much I appreciate you finding
the ship manifests, etc., when I first posted on italiangenealogy.com
.  You're wonderful.

I'll keep you updated on my progress.

Take Care,
John
John FRUSTAGLIO-New Rochelle,New York , USA-Tue, 27 Feb 2007 12:05:43 

Karen F NERO -Kingman, Arizona , U.S.A.Sun, 25 Mar 2007  01:49:37

Wren Hartley- Houston, Texas, USA 16-may-2007 14.30

Raffaella,

I received the birth Act today - many thanks.  It's great confirming Loretos date of birth and all the other information you've provided.  I can't thank you enough.

Mike Tamburrini, Scotland, UK- 7 giugno 2007 21.05.48

Dear Riccardo,

Many thanks for the exceptional service you provided as guide and interpreter during my recent trip to Trento and Tuenno, Italy.  After browsing Sal Romano’s website about Tuenno and corresponding with him about my trip, I am so happy that I used his referral for your services.  It was quite obvious that you have a passion for genealogy and linking people with their relatives.  We were pleased with your professionalism, impressed with your knowledge, and loved your personality.  Visiting a foreign country can be quite scary, especially when one does not speak the language.  However, my cousins and I felt very safe being around you and we truly enjoyed our trip.  

For more than 20 years, I had a dream of visiting the village in Italy where my grandmother, Maria Valentini, was born and raised.  As a child, I lived on a farm next door to my grandmother in the small town of Wapwallopen, Pennsylvania. In 1961, when my grandmother was 73 years old (I was only 7), she went home to Tuenno, Italy to visit her family. That was my grandmother’s only trip home since her arrival at Ellis Island, New York, on October 20, 1911.  I still remember her telling me that one day I should go to her country to see the beautiful mountains and rolling hills.

 After many years of research, I finally found the names of my relatives in Tuenno.  Through the help of your service, I was able to fulfill my dream and see where my grandmother was born and raised.  The highlight of my trip was meeting my long lost relatives and the surprise you gave me when I arrived in Trento, a copy of my grandmother’s baptism papers.  Again, thank you so much for the wonderful experience Riccardo, the cost was well worth the expense.

Sincerely,

Kathleen Guastavino Tutwiler Mechanicsville, VA, USA  25/06/2007  14.46

Raffaella,
I have been wanting to write you for a while.  Thank you so much for 
all of your help.  My sister and I are so grateful and excited about 
all of the information we have come to discover.
Words cannot express how I feel.... We received the documents.. :)  Thank you.  :)

Have a great day and thank  you again.

Valerie GIACINTO- USA Wed Jun 27 05:15:48 2007

Dear Rafaella !

Thank you so much for your patience ( Pazienza ! ) with the Sicilian civil commune.  I know this was a difficult search as it took me many months of searching just to come up with the small amount of information I could provide you. I feel as though you have brought some closure and wholeness to my family as we now know there is no D'Anna family in the last few generations.  All the names our family heard though out the years are now coming together. I will definitely recommend you to anyone needing research, you are wonderful!
Big Hugs and Kisses,

Marlene Rinella-Caredio-Morgan Hill, California, USA Thu, 28 Jun 2007 08:00:22

Hello Raffaella,

Well, what can I say, you never cease to amaze me - so you have found our man - he was like an eel but you were like a shark!!

I hope you are well Raffaella and thank you for all your attention. take care,

Francesca Corratta  Liverpool, UK 6 aug 2007, 12:06

Molto Grazie! Thank-you very much!

I will stay in touch, and let you know how it all works out. And, I
may have questions that you possibly can answer for me.

Good Day!
Pamela J Fatone New York City, NY, USA 6-lug-2007 14.35

Hi Raffaella

Don Saccomonto Illinois, USA Sat Aug 11  2007

Gina Gentile -Houston, Texas, USA 3-ott-2007 17.01

Hey Riccardo. Today in the mail I received your booklet. What an amazing gift! Thank you so much. That was really really nice and really professional. My father had tears in his eyes when he read it.

You are very kind. Have a great weekend.

Gina Gentile -Houston, Texas, USA 13-ott-2007 1.04

After 3 months with only the name of the wife's deceased father to work from ( even the surname was incorrect) and 50 years since his death this lady Raffaela worked a miracle in eventually tracing the grave where he is laid to rest .She is a caring and professional person and my wife and I thank her for the generous time and attention she gave to this personal matter -

our heartfelt thanks Raffaela,

Nory and Sandy Ireland

Nory  and Sandy Ireland -Dundee, Scotland, UK- Sun Nov 04, 2007 5:30 am    

Mr. Bruno's research was thorough and his presentation of the material on hard copy and orally was complete and understandable.    Truly, it was our pleasure to be in the company of such a fine gentleman who has command of the English and Italian languages and who truly loves his work in genealogical research.  

Tony Gennaro Portales, New Mexico, USA  sabato 10/11/2007 20.07

you have been so great with all my requests and without your help I would have never been able to connect with and learn about my family heritage. Take care. I will send you a letter to transcribe and another letter to translate after the holiday.

Patricia Schimdt- Scottsdale, Arizona, USA 22-dic-2007 16.36

CARISSIMA RAFFAELLA.

GRAZIE, GRAZIE, GRAZIE, HAI ALLEVIATO LA MIA RICERCA DI 100 ANNI LUCE, ERA DA MOLTO TEMPO CHE CERCAVO NOTIZIE  SUL MIO AVO.

È PROPRIO IL MIO NONNO PERCHÉ TUTTO COINCIDE. IO SONO APPASSIONATO DI STORIA E SAPERE LE ORIGINI DELLA MIA FAMIGLIA MI DÀ MOLTA EMOZIONE E ADESSO HO ANCHE LA CERTEZZA CHE SONO ITALIANO. ADESSO DEVO CERCARE DOVE È NATO E PER QUESTO HO BISOGNO DELLA FOTOCOPIA DEL SUO PASSAPORTO CHE SICURAMENTE È NEGLI ARCHIVI DEL PORTO DI LIVORNO. COSÌ IO POTRÒ SAPERE DI DOVE È ESATTAMENTE E CONOSCERE  LA STORIA DEL PAESE. FORSE ABUSO DELLA TUA GENTILEZZA , MA TI VOLEVO CHIEDERE ANCORA QUALCHE FAVORE: OSSIA A CHI MI DOVREI RIVOLGERE PER SOLLECITARE UNA COPIA DEI DOCUMENTI CHE SUPPONGO ESISTANO PRESSO IL PORTO DI LIVORNO E POI A QUALE CHIESA IO DOVREI SCRIVERE PER RICHIEDERE IL CERTIFICATO DI NASCITA DI MIO NONNO.

CARA RAFFAELLA NON HO PAROLE PER DESCRIVERE LA MIA FELICITÀ, TE NE SONO VERAMENTE GRATO E ANCH’IO MI METTO A TUA DISPOSIZIONE PER QUALSIASI NOTIZIA DALLA BOLIVIA.

UN CARO SALUTO

ENRIQUE NERI  Cochabamba – Bolivia 3-giu-2008 0.51

P.S. PENSA SARÒ IO DALLA BOLIVIA  A RACCONTARE  AI MIEI CUGINI DI LONTANA PARENTELA LA STORIA DELLA NOSTRA FAMIGLIA E SENZ’ALTRO CITERÒ ANCHE RAFFAELLA.

Alex Cowan  Sydney-Australia Thu Aug 14 04:16:48 2008

In the past I have tried writing letters to various Italian Archives,
and churches.  Either I got no answer or waited 14 months for a limited
or wrong answer.  I also tried to ask my cousins who live in the area
for help.  And while they tried, many times they have too much personal
baggage with the people who have the information.
I decided to jump on a plane headed to Italy and get the information
myself.  At the last minute, I decided to hire a professional
researcher.  I hired Riccardo Bruno.  The experience of working with
Riccardo versus doing research with my native born Italian cousins,
taught me important lessons.
Whether you are trying to get information from the archdioceses, the
local churches, or state archives, you need to know many things.  First,
you need knowledge of what information is available from where.  I
thought I knew where I needed to go but Riccardo pointed out several
options and I actually ended up with more information as well as more
relevant information.
You also need to know what rights you have under Italian law.  There are
some people that just won't do more than required by law.
This brings us to the most important aspect of research, which is this
is that you need to be able to size up the situation and use all of the
above to get people to respond.  In Italy, getting people to do things
take an understanding of the Italian culture.  If you approach someone
incorrectly, the chances of success are limited.
As Riccardo lived in the United States for a few years, he is fluent in
English.  Riccardo was born in Sicily but lives in northern Italy.  This
diversity is a strength as he is familiar with customs and cultures for
all of Italy.  He has great interpersonal skills which make him highly
effective.  At the Vicenza archives, Riccardo was so effective that a
librarian at the archive dedicated herself solely to our efforts. By the
time we left, I again had a huge amount of information and was able to
find so many new ancestors.  At the Padova archdioceses, he had a great
conversation with the priest who happened to write many historical books
on the area.  This conversation lead to even more information.
In addition to all of the above skills, Riccardo is a good and honest
man.  He will use all of his talents to get you whatever you need and he
will charge you a fair price.  He will not take advantage of you.  I
highly recommend Riccardo.  He can be reached at
www.siciliangenealogyonline.com.
 But remember, my family is
from northeastern Italy and Riccardo was great.

Marilyn Bailey-Illinois USA -2008/10/9

Hi Riccardo,

I can't thank you enough!!This has been a big piece that has been missing from my family tree and I could not have done it without you. You are the best!!
I am at work crying (a good cry).
Many Hugs and many Kisses,
Joann Salvo- New Jersey, USA 2008/10/16

I absolutely could not have gotten the birth certificates of my great grandparents from Italy without Raffaella!  She not only made all the neccessary applications and phone calls in Italy, but when we discovered that the information my family had recorded included wrong place names, dates, etc., she was able to dig deeper and come up with all of the correct names, dates and places - despite having to follow a shaky trail from town to town in Italy, trying to find the exact location of the documents, which had been shuffled around in various political and administrative changes in the late 19th century.  Throughout the process, she kept in constant contact, alerting me immediately as to the status of the search and any new information she discovered.  She also gave me tons of extra family information that she discovered along the way at no extra charge.  She didn't ask for payment until she had completed the whole search and had furnished PDF proof that she had the documents in hand.  And the fees she required are probably the cheapest you can find.  You would be crazy to entrust your Italian genealogy search to anyone else!

Best,
Allison Gianneschi    York, PA, USA-11 dicembre 2008

Hi, Rafaella,

I received the certificate today. Thank you very much! 

Buone Feste!

Sandford Forte -Palo Alto, CA, USA Sat Dec 20 09:13:24 2008

Last year I needed help locating my Grandfather's birth certificate, in Sicily. Raffaella created a small miracle, because I had exhausted all other avenues. Thank you Raffaella, for your professionalism; for your rapid and thorough research skills; and, for your dedication to service and making your customers happy. You're the best!

Sandford Forte -Palo Alto, CA, USA 8 sep 2009, 02:03

Riccardo,

I just wanted to take a minute to thank you for everything you have done to help find my ancestors records... you far exceeded what I had expected. You went above and beyond to locate my great-grandfathers records and refused to give up until you had them for me and I can not thank you enough. In a few months I will be in touch and plan to ask you to look up more records for me... and many more after that.... fantastic work!

Josh Zeno   Atlanta Georgia, USA 2008/12/22

Raffaella Matera has done an excellent job of locating a birth certificate and a marriage certificate dating from the mid nineteenth century in the Campobasso region.  She was very thorough in her research and prompt in her responses and mailings.  She provided not only the necessary certificates, but much additional information as well.  I would highly recommend her.

John LaPorta Connecticut, USA 11  February 2009

All  best.

Laurie J. Churchill Las Cruces, NM USA 19 march 2009

Vincent L. Ferraro Rancho Santa Fe, CA  USA 24 march 2009

Julie Churchill Louisiana USA 21 may 2009, 22:10

Raffaella—good news, I received a copy of Giuseppe’s birth certificate.

 Thanks for your help!

 Warren Zaffuto Florida USA 28 May 2009 00.12

Vanessa B California, USA 2 july 2009, 17:57

 Raffaella-I can't even find the words to thank you.  How much do I owe you?  Thank you so much.  I am in shock.  I have talked to my brothers and they can't believe it.  Thank you Thank you Thank you.

Janice St. Gemme USA 6 aug 2009, 19:38

Raffaella,

Ho appena ricevuta la tua busta. Grazie tantissimo, sono molto contenta!

Danielle Gonçalves Pinheiro   Sao Paulo, Brasil  20 aug 2009, 22:25

My name is Pete Costanzo a Private Investigator in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.  I contacted Raffaella,  alias the Great Suanj, over a year ago to ask if she would assist me in locating any documentation whatsoever on my Paternal Great-Grandparents Giovanni and Maria Raffaella Costanza who emigrated to the America in the 1880’s.  The only information I had was the name of 2 towns in Southern Italy and other information given to me by my Uncle and Cousin.  My original intention was to visit the town when I found out which one it was on my visit to Italy in July, 2008.  Well, I’m here to tell you I’ve had some hard cases in my day but never one that was this hard to crack.  All documents I found in the U.S. indicated they were from “Italy” with no elaboration on exactly where they were from!  The fact that there were so many Giovanni Costanzas who emigrated in that time frame added an additional element of confusion to the search as we couldn’t separate out my Great-Grandfather with any certainty. 

  I’d just about given up when Raffaella’s persistence paid off recently when she located a Marriage extract which indicated they were both from a town called Francavilla Sul Sinni, Potenza, in the Basilicata Region!  If not for Raffaella’s diligence, persistence and  professionalism,  I’m quite certain I would never have located where my Great Grandparents were from in Italy.  I heartily commend and recommend Raffaella to anyone who finds themselves in the same boat as I was in my quest!  God willing, my Family can now visit Francavilla Sul Sinni next Spring and meet our long-lost Cousins!!  It’s a dream come true for us.  As a Professional Investigator myself,  I know a great investigator when I see one and Raffaella is one of the best I’ve ever met in my career God bless her!! 

Pete Costanzo Las Vegas, NV, USA 21 aug 2009 19.06

Raffaella,

Thanks so much for being so professional, so FAST, so reasonable and so nice :-) I will stay in contact with you if that's okay and I will keep you informed of the progress I make toward Italian citizenship. ….Thanks again Raffaella.

Carl

Carl Semencic  New York, NY, USA 18 oct 2009 14:16

Hi Raffaella,

Thanks so much….

David Green Pennsylvania, USA 11 nov 2009 15:15

Dear Rafaella--

 That is great!  Thank you so much!!

Suzanne Brown NJ, USA 17 nov 2009, 16:51

We are ever grateful to you for this valuable information for our family.  Perhaps we shall ask you to find something else in the near future.

Louisa Tingblad -USA 30 nov 2009

Hope your OK...you have been wonderful and I am very fond of you.  My cousin says thank you...

Sheryl Deauville -California, USA-30 mar 2010

Laurie_ Pennsylvania, USA 26 jun 2010

Dear Raffaella,

I received your letter yesterday on returning home from work……
Thanks so much again for your help.

Regards,
Vito Rossi -London.UK 3 july  2010

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.

Joe Manusia- California, USA 11 aug 2010

 McGowan - United Kingdom 21 sep 2010

Riccardo: 

You are like the best friend in the world. I just received and signed for the certificates. I' m so glad I ansered the door or they would not have left them on the doorstep. They are awesome documents. You really are the person that keeps me going when I get overwhelmed because this is a lot of work. I  know and just told my daughter I could  not even have done this without you. The documents are so professional. I just showed my daughter what we are going thru to give her besides me a new wonderful life if she wants to move overseas. and she is just 24. I 'm telling her how lucky she will be if this all works out because she is so young and has her whole life. I  have to fill this new life for me in the next 20 years or so. But 20 is better than zero. Right? Have a nice evening and thanks again. your good friend.

George Miori-Washington,USA 2010/9/25

Thank you for your hard work Riccardo!  You are the best! I'll let you know when I receive them, bye Thea

Thea DiChiara Zagata New York, USA 2010/10/8

Thanks Riccardo. I could not be happier with the outcome. Once all the certificates are amended i will contact you for translations. I see the scanned documents in previous emails . Thanks,

David Stimmer-New York, USA 2010/10/14

Vito Rossi -London.UK -17 oct 2010

Riccardo, That's fantastic news!  Thanks for all your hard work as usual.  I look forward to seeing the document in the mail.
 
Ciao!

Tony Corneto Washington, USA 2010/10/18

Riccardo, thank you so much for all of your hard work.  It is ok to send them to me priority mail.  We are still in the process of collecting documents here in the US.

Scott McAuley -Michigan, USA 2010/10/18

Riccardo:

Hello. I got it today, just tonight actually. I cant thank you enough, the entire process was very smooth! You did it amazingly fast too! Much less than 4-6 weeks. I will keep recommending you when other people need Italian records. Grazie!

Beau Caruso - Connecticut, USA 2010/10/28

Thanks so much

McGowan - United Kingdom -29 October 2010

I got the letter in the mail. I had my appointment today and it went wonderful! My documents will be reviewed then sent to Italy. I just wanted to thank you for your efforts and guidance . Without your efforts and more importantly the advice you have given me I do not think this would have been possible. Thank you so much Riccardo!
Thanks,

David Stimmer NY, USA 2010/12/9

Please accept my heartfelt thanks for all the information you have sent, as well as your helpful interpretations.

Kind Regards,

Jo Sippie-Gora NJ, USA 16 Dec 2010

Raffaella, thanks again for all your help!

I just wanted to let you know that I appreciate everything you've done for us so far. Wish you all the best.

Erik Drueding Utah, USA 28 jan 2011

Karen Christino USA 5 feb 2011

Grazie, grazie mille Raffaella!

Dear Raffaella,

Thank you for your help…

Amanda Lumley Australia 19/03/2011

Raffaella,

thanks for all this.

Craig Allison   USA 26 mar 2011

Raffaella,

Thanks.

Kenneth Adelman  USA 06/04/2011

Raffaella,

thank you!

Michael Viola  CA-USA 18/04/2011

Craig Robinson-USA 18/04/2011

Nancy Maher

Thanks for everything so far!

Nancy D'Amico  -USA 29/062011

Suanj,

You were an excellent help in Italy! Mille Grazie!

-USA

Raffaella

The certificates arrived on Saturday.  Thank you so much for all you help in finding them.  I don't know how I would have gotten them without you.  You did a tremendous amount of research and I can not thank you enough for your time and effort.  .........  Again, I can not thank you enough for all that you have done.

Thank you

Brad

Brad Meyers -OH, USA 26 Sep 2011

Hi Raffaella,

Thank you soooooooooooooooooo much (grazie)!

Roberta Shepherd- NY, USA-28 Oct 2011

email: Italian Origin search  

Raffaella Matera & Riccardo BRUNO

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