Sicilian Genealogy and Heraldry

Sicily boasts the world's best genealogical records, revealing the deep roots of a Sicilian identity and facilitating the construction of many pedigrees into the fifteenth century. Based on the author's thirty years of experience as a foremost expert in the field, this book is the first complete guide ever published in English dedicated exclusively to Sicilian genealogical research.Topics range from parochial, civil and feudal records to DNA haplotyping, religion, rural life, cuisine, ethnography, coats of arms, surname origins and Jewish genealogy, with insightful information on historiography, epistemology and research strategies. Its reading list is a definitive canon constituting a syllabus for Sicilian studies.This is the book professional genealogists consult when researching in Sicily.