We have discovered much about Raffaele and Maria Staiano here and also made contact with some relations. I have recently acquired copies of their Wills which went through probate in England in 1948. However these wills relate only to their property and assets in England. We know they still had a house in Scala. Is it possible to obtain copies of Italian Wills ?

Write to the the Ufficio technico in the town and ask for a historical search of property. They will tell you if it is still in their name. If the Italian government were not notified of the death it will still be in their name unless it was broken into 'paritcelli' and shared among the siblings.

Thanks for your quick response.

Raffaele Staiano was recently widowed and visited his property in Scala and died there. His body was returned to England to be buried with his wife. I would imagine therefore that the Italian authorities would have been informed. He did make a will in the UK dealing with his English Assets so I would imagine he would have done the same in Italy. All his children were born in England so whilst he remained an Italian subject all his offspring were English.

Does this additional information affect your advice.

Not really. Its different here. Property is dealt with according to the law even if you make a will it can be reversed if you didn't follow the law regarding division. If he owned the property outright and did not inherit from his father then the property would pass in equal parts to his children since he was a widower. I am not sure how they would deal with non Italian heirs. In Italian law I think it would pass to his siblings. Only the town office can tell you. To find a will you need to know the name of the 'notaio'.

Apologies, whilst I am a direct descendant, I have yet to Learn Italian.

I assume Notaio is a Notary or Solicitor.

I also assume Ufficio technico is the town hall offices.

I understood with requests for information in Italy you have to pay.
Is there a standard charge which we should send with the letter ?

Sorry, I live here and have still to figure out the difference between a notaio and an avvocato. Both are lawyers but the notaio handles wills, land transactions among other things. He is supposed to be MORE of a lawyer than the avvocato!
The Ufficio technico is a department at City Hall that handles land. There is another department that handles the land taxes called Catasto. Everything here is so complicated and bureaucratic.
Many documents are free. If not then most of the charges are in cents, or could be 5.16 Euro. or even a marca da bollo of 14.62 euro which you have to buy at the tobacconist. I usually call first and ask how much to send. You could just send a 5 euro in cash, and ask them to let you know if it is more.

Many thanks for your advice and help.