Author: Sarah Bringhurst Familia

Procedure for Obtaining Citizenship Jure Sanguinis in Italy

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

From Expat Talk, here it is in detail. I’ll make sure I know where each step is supposed to take place, since it’s a little vague, but these are the essentials:

1) Go to Questura
a. Within 8 days of arrival
b. Bring passport
c. Receive Dichiarazione di Presenza (Declaration of Presence)
2) Go to Comune (or is the Anagrafe?)
a. Bring Dichiarazione di Presenza from step 1
b. Bring copy of Circolare 32 – just in case
c. This starts the procedure to establish residency
3) Wait for visit from Vigili (aka police) at your local residence
a. This takes about 2 weeks
b.… Read more

Believing Domenico 2

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

Tony pointed out that if I’m believing Dominico, I really ought to get right to work at collecting all these documents. Since we’re going back so many generations, there’s quite a lot of work to do. Since we plan to apply in Italy, but I don’t have a list of documents required by Cuneo, I’m using my current consulate’s list as a starting point (Los Angeles), and have included it below. The only difference is that I’m going back one more generation. So actually, I’ll modify the list to reflect what we’re dealing with.

. IF CATEGORY #5 APPLIES TO YOU, YOU MUST OBTAIN THE FOLLOWING:
(for instructions on the proper documents, follow information under Paragraph n.… Read more

Believing Domenico

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

Well, I feel a little chastised. I completely ignored Domenico’s own testimony, as evidenced on the census records, for when he was naturalized. My reason was that on the other side of the family, the census records were completely off. However, I had a change of heart yesterday. I felt as if Domenico were looking down on me, incredulous that I didn’t believe him. It was unfair and judgmental of me to disregard what he himself said on the census. He came from a long line of Christians who were willing to die for their faith (and did on numerous occasions).… Read more

Utah Archives

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

I called the Utah State Archives today to request that they search for Domenico’s naturalization record, if such a record exists. Unfortunately, since at this point I don’t even know whether he naturalized or not, I may need to contact several different agencies. The Utah State Archives website said, for example, “If an individual had completed either part or all of this process in Utah, there are many courts to check prior to statehood (1896). Each county had a County Probate Court until 1896. There are also District Courts which served multiple counties. Furthermore, district court boundaries changed over time (see historical jurisdictions chart), so you may need to check the records of several district courts.… Read more

In the Beginning

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

We did not know we would end up in Italy. In fact, we have not ended up there yet. But we know we will. Providence, as the saying goes, has shifted. The first time I remember being fascinated with Europe was when I was sixteen or seventeen, before I went away to college. I’d always loved poetry, and it probably came from picturing the cliffs of England, standing “glimmering and vast,” or Byron living with the romantics in Italy. I planned my trip to all the great cities of Europe with Frommers guides checked out from the library. I had only two problems.… Read more

It’s the place I reach for heaven . . .

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

. . . and it reaches in return.

There is a way I know that Italy is not just an escapist dream. When I am happiest and most content with my life, I feel close to moving to Italy. When life becomes hectic and cluttered and unharmonious, Italy seems unreachable. It’s just like heaven. When life and love and I feel perfect, I’m practically there already.

Tony tells people sometimes (when it comes up) that we used to live in the Dordogne. We did. If you dream the same dream, it’s real.

Now we live in San Diego again. We spent three days visiting every available apartment in the Golden Triangle.… Read more

Fahrenheit 451

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

I’ve never been a refugee before. Or an evacuee, at least. Two weeks after our move to idyllic San Diego, we came home from Church smelling smoke. Undeterred, we packed the children up in the car for our customary walk along La Jolla Cove. The water was pounding unusually high on the cliffs. The smoke in the air hung down heavier here, and things kept getting in my eyes. I naively wished that the wind would blow it all away. There must be some brush fire in a canyon, and what a pity for it to ruin such a beautiful San Diego evening.… Read more

Seal Lullaby

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

Oh! Hush thee, my baby, the night is behind us.
And black are the waters that sparked so green.
The moon, o’er the combers, looks downward to find us
At rest in the hollows that rustle between.
Where billow meets billow, there soft be thy pillow;
Ah, weary wee flipperling, curl at thy ease!
The storm shall not wake thee, no shark overtake thee,
Asleep in the arms of the slow-swinging seas.
– Rudyard Kipling

I think both of us must have gypsy blood. No sooner do we move somewhere than we start planning our next move somewhere else. We’ve been here in Washington for seven months.… Read more

Raj’s Birth Story

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

Raj definitely chose his own birthday. I had been expecting him for weeks, since his sister came early. But five days after his “guess” date, Tony, Axa and I went to our appointment with Adele, our midwife. I thought I was going to be pregnant forever. She said, “maybe tonight!” Sure enough, at midnight I awoke to regular contractions, quite a bit stronger than the teasers I’d been feeling for months. They were ten minutes apart, and maybe a minute long. I woke Tony at 12:30, and we went downstairs to fill the birthing tub part-way. I had a snack, and then we went back to bed.… Read more

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

Tony and Axa are taking a Sunday afternoon nap. I’m not quite in a napping mood. I found the little journal I was keeping for Axa in the Philippines. I hadn’t written in it since we got back a year ago. So I wrote about what she’s doing now. She’s such a little lady now. Not really a baby anymore at all. We’re thinking about a new baby. We night-weaned Axa a week or two ago. So maybe we’ll have a little surprise sometime soon. I’m afraid I must confess to doing more than a little window-shopping for maternity clothing lately.… Read more