A Sicilian Genealogist's Story
Research by a native Sicilian genealogist
Experience and projects
Learn more about my background, research, and projects.
Genealogy has long shaped the way I study the history of my family and my community. Over the years, my research has uncovered merchants who arrived in Sicily from distant lands, men and women affected by war, and the stories of pioneers and founders.
Today, I apply that experience to client research.
“The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled.” — Plutarch
2012 • Founder of Sicilian Ancestry
I founded Sicilian Ancestry after more than ten years of genealogical research. Since then, the company has served thousands of clients in dozens of countries, all connected by an interest in their Sicilian ancestry.
2017 • Family Book
Four years of research resulted in nearly four hundred pages documenting five centuries of my family's history.
2017 • Who Do You Think You Are (US)
I conducted genealogical research for the U.S. television series "Who Do You Think You Are?", contributing to the reconstruction of a featured guest's family history.
2019 • Sorbello Genealogy
I began by indexing records for people with the Sorbello surname from the late fifteenth to the mid-nineteenth century. This work produced a large reconstructed family tree showing two principal ancestral lines, both rooted in the Etna area and tracing back to ancestors who lived in the late 1400s. The next stage of the project is to investigate where those earliest documented ancestors came from before arriving in Sicily.
2022 • Who Do You Think You Are (AU)
A second research collaboration with "Who Do You Think You Are?", this time for the Australian edition.
2022 • Scientific publication: history of the city of Riposto
In an increasingly data-driven research environment, historical archives, genomics, and big-data methods can be combined to investigate the past from new perspectives. This project used computational methods to identify connections within historical records preserved in the archives of Riposto.
