Is Hiring A Genealogist Worth It In Italy?

You’ve spent hours searching for your Italian ancestors—scrolling through online records, piecing together names, and writing emails to Italian churches that never get answered. But no matter how hard you try, you still can’t find that one missing link.

At this point, you might be wondering: Is hiring a genealogist worth it for Italian ancestry research?

I asked myself the same question. After nearly 40 years of searching for my great-grandfather’s birthplace, I was stuck. I was 99.9% sure I had found his father, but without a record connecting them, I couldn’t be certain. 

That’s when I hired a genealogist—and within days, she found the missing link.

If you’re considering hiring a genealogist to trace your Italian roots, this guide will help you decide if it’s the right investment, how to find the best researcher, and how to avoid scams while keeping costs down.

When To Hire A Genealogist

Trying to find your ancestors in Italy is fun. Most people who are doing ancestry work in Italy enjoy searching the online records and discovering things themselves.  

It’s like looking for a needle in a haystack. But when you keep at it, little by little the records open up and reveal amazing discoveries. Making these discoveries yourself is so empowering. 

However, there comes a point when you have exhausted all the online resources. At this point, you have to either go to Italy, start writing letters, or hire a genealogist. 

In my case, my great-grandfather was born in 1863. This date falls in the period when civil records were not being recorded in most parts of what is now Italy. 

I would have to look for his baptism record in the Italian parish records. The church records were not online so I wrote to the priest twice but I never got an answer. 

That is why I reached out to a genealogist. My original goal was to confirm my great-grandfather’s birthplace. But when I told her my story, she became deeply interested in my great-great-grandfather instead—because he was a foundling. 

She had recently done extensive research on another baby also abandoned at Bergamo Hospital, so she was eager to research my great-great-grandfather’s early life.

At first, I assumed this would lead to the answer I needed. I was 99.9% sure this was the right family. But after she delivered an incredibly touching report about his past, I realized something: I still had no concrete proof that he was my great-grandfather’s father. 

I then emphasized this doubt and she quickly found the missing link—proving within days what I had searched for over decades.

Because she was so interested in my story, I immediately felt a connection with her and knew I was ready to work with a genealogist.  

You are ready to hire a genealogist when:

• You have exhausted all the online resources
• You have a very specific request or research goal
• After you have tried yourself for years 
• You have an impenetrable brick wall
• When the priest doesn’t respond to your written request
• When your ancestor is a foundling (an abandoned baby)
• If you can’t read Italian in old cursive

How To Find A Genealogist For Italy

Once you have decided it is time to hire a professional for Italian genealogy, how do you find one? 

The most important thing is to look for a genealogist who is local to and has experience in the area you are researching. The best professional genealogists have years of experience working with Italian archives.

It’s better to find a local freelancer than to use a big genealogy website. A big company will charge you more and then outsource the job to a freelancer anyway.

One place to start is in a genealogy Facebook group. Ask for recommendations or search “professional genealogist” and see if someone has already asked the same question.

Freelancers often have profiles on Upwork or Fiverr. Search for an Italian genealogist. If they have a profile, this is also a good place to check out their reviews.

A genealogy professional will probably have their own website. Try searching on Google for a genealogist in the general area you are researching. 

You can also look on the APG (Association of Professional Genealogists) website. Filter your search for just Italy.

What Is A Professional Genealogist?

A professional genealogist is someone who has a passion for family history and has decided to make a business out of it by offering genealogical services for a fee.

Their services include: 

• going into archives and scrolling through thousands of pages of old dusty books to find a single name for their client;
• deciphering hard to read cursive handwriting;
• filling in their clients’ family trees with new data;
• Obtaining records through their connections and experience that are not available to most people
• Using multiple paid online databases;
• researching the history of places to contextualize the records into a story;
• Creating reports of these stories and documenting them with photographs of the records, the archives, the streets, and the buildings.
• Offering additional services like ancestry tours to all the places they researched for you.

To become professional, they should:

• Gain experience and knowledge from doing family research for many people;
• Attend conferences to stay informed of developments in their field;
• Continue their education to gain skills in genealogical research;
• Learn the nuances of a wide variety of record types;
• Subscribe to many online databases;
• Follow the Genealogical Proof Standard;
• Learn to manage clients’ expectations.

There is no formal training to become a genealogist. Anyone can say they are a genealogist, so before you hand over your money, make sure they are professional and reliable by checking their website and reviews. The main thing is to feel comfortable with them.

It’s a surprise box:
it may be basic and with no relevant info,
or it may unveil a gorgeous story!

Elena Gissi – e.g. ancestry

What To Expect When Working With A Freelance Genealogist

A freelance genealogist should be able to manage your expectations, but they probably do it in different ways. 

Some might have more formal processes in place with intake forms and contracts. And others might engage in a causal exchange of emails to gather information.

Whatever their style, the important thing is that they can help you set clear expectations of what they can do and what you can expect from them. It’s also important that you are comfortable with them and can communicate with them.

Right away they should give you a quote for an initial scope of inquiry. Asking a specific question with a defined scope will keep the costs down.

I immediately felt a connection with the genealogist I hired. She talked about future ideas for when I am there in Italy next summer, how we can work together, tour ideas, and then narrowed the scope to the immediate request of requesting my great-great grandfather’s foundling’s dossier.

My great-great grandfather was abandoned as a baby at the wheel at Bergamo Hospital. The genealogist had recently researched a different almost identical sounding story from another client.

She managed my expectations by saying, “It’s a surprise box: it may be basic and with no relevant info, or it may unveil a gorgeous story!”

Then she told me the price to get Luigi Forelli’s foundling dossier, which was €250. She gave me clear instructions on how to send the money. I used the PayPal option as it was the easiest. She sent me a receipt for my records.

After that, she went off to work for me and her other clients and I did not hear from her for about a month and a half. It is normal to not hear from your genealogist while they are busy doing the research. It was also pre and post Christmas time in Italy.

Genealogists Create A Story From The Records

When I next heard from the genealogist, I received a wonderful surprise. From the short record in the photo above, she extracted and developed a beautiful and sad story from my great-great grandfather’s birth and the first few weeks of his life.

“In November, in Bergamo, temperatures are very low. Today, the average of the minimum temperature is about 40° F, and the lowest recorded temperature was 19.4° F in 1989. 

The poor baby was abandoned at night, and he only had a torn band to protect him from the cold! It was probably a matter of a few minutes before he would die, but the quick intervention of the hospital nuns saved his life! 

It really looks like the baby was abandoned in a hurry and without much care, except for one detail: the piece of paper with his name Luigi. So, his name was not given by the hospital nuns, it was chosen by his biological mother, or by someone of his biological family! 

Who knows why Luigi? Was this perhaps his grandfather’s name, as per Italian tradition? Did his biological mother call him after her own father? We will never know. 

Another detail that is worth being remarked on is that his name was written, meaning that the person who abandoned him could write, or that she asked someone to write the name. 

If he was born in a family of poor, illiterate farmers, they likely did not have any paper and pen at home, and it is weird to imagine a scene where someone goes to a literate fellow citizen asking him to write down a name on a piece of paper… 

Or perhaps, he was born in a house where someone could write and had pen and paper at disposal.”
~ Elena Gissi, E.G. Ancestry, Luigi Forelli Report, January 14th, 2025

She interspersed the story of his birth with historical explanations about why babies were abandoned and how they were named. She explained how the family often left a sign, like half of an image of a saint, with the baby so that later they could reclaim it with the other half of the sign.

Photos And Maps Make The Story Come Alive

The second part of the document (seen in the photo above) lists the names of the foster families Luigi was sent to and the dates. Again, the genealogist expanded this brief record into a story of his life from when he was sent to his first foster family at two weeks old until he was released from the State’s care at age 14.

She showed how he was “ping-ponged” between his first foster family, the Bergamo hospital, a monastery, and his second foster family. She included maps and photos of all these places and her ideas of why he was being sent back and forth.

From the one page document of 15 lines, she developed a story with historical explanations and wrote it up into a 10 page report. Not only would I never have been able to obtain this document, I would never have been able to understand it without the help of a genealogist.

Going Beyond The Original Scope

The only nagging doubt I had is what if, after all this amazing discovery, Luigi is not my ancestor. 

I was 99.9% sure that this Luigi was my great-great grandfather. But, I still did not have evidence that he had a son named Giuseppe. I still had no record of my great-grandfather Giuseppe’s existence in Italy.

The genealogist was so interested in my great-great grandfather being a foundling because she had recently done extensive research on another foundling also abandoned at the Bergamo Hospital and also sent out to a foster family in Mologno (now called Casazza). What a coincidence!

After thanking her for her beautiful report, I explained my lingering doubt. She then requested and received within days the evidence that Giuseppe was indeed born to Luigi. I finally had my proof of where my great-grandfather came from in Italy. 

Even though this was not technically in the original research request, she got the proof very quickly. I don’t know how she got the record. I think the Priest sent her a photo of the page in the church register. He sent it to her immediately, but he never replied to me.

What a Genealogist in Italy Can Do That You Can’t

Why does a priest or city official respond to a genealogist in Italy but not to you? Simple. They have connections, experience, and cultural know-how that outsiders don’t.

• They’ve built relationships. Local genealogists have worked with the same archives, churches, and civil offices for years. They’re recognized, trusted, and often seen as colleagues rather than just another person asking for old records.
• They know the system. Italian bureaucracy isn’t always straightforward. A genealogist knows which archives hold which records, what documents are restricted, and which offices are more likely to cooperate. They don’t waste time knocking on the wrong doors.
• They speak the language—and the culture. Asking for favors in Italy requires more than just proper Italian. It’s about knowing how to be politely persistent, when to follow up, and even when to slip in an offer of compensation without offending.
• They understand old Italian handwriting. Records from the 1800s and earlier are written in elaborate, unfamiliar cursive styles—sometimes in Latin. A genealogist reads these fluently, so they don’t miss critical details.
• They can show up in person. Many Italian offices don’t prioritize email or mail requests from foreigners. A local genealogist can walk into the office, make a polite but firm request, and leave with the document in hand.

Hiring a genealogist isn’t just about paying for research—it’s about getting insider access to a world of records that would otherwise stay locked away.

How Much Does a Genealogist Cost?

Genealogy isn’t cheap, but you can manage it as you go. Start small, define your scope, and add on as needed. 

A professional genealogist in Italy typically charges at least $100 per hour. But paying by the hour can add up fast, which is why it’s often better to hire genealogy research packages for a fixed project fee instead.

What to Expect When Budgeting

• Small projects (single document requests, quick lookups) – $200–$500
• Medium projects (several records, family reconstruction) – $1,000–$2,000
• Full-scale research (deep dives into multiple generations) – $3,000+

Various Italian genealogy services list their prices on their websites, offering packages for different levels of research. Others prefer to give custom quotes based on your specific request.

How to Keep Costs Down

• Define a clear research goal. Instead of asking for a full family tree, start with one key document or confirmation.
• Work in stages. Genealogy is a long game. You don’t have to pay for everything at once—start with what matters most.
• Compare pricing models. Paying for a project is often cheaper than paying per hour which can add up fast.
• Look for European genealogists. Researchers based in Italy tend to be more affordable than US-based professionals who specialize in Italian ancestry.

Hiring a genealogist isn’t just about spending money—it’s about spending wisely to unlock the missing pieces of your family’s story.

What Is an Ancestry Tour With a Genealogist?

Some genealogists go beyond research—they also offer personalized ancestry tours, bringing your family history to life right where it happened. This will of course cost more.

A tour is perfect if you don’t want to drive to small towns on winding Italian roads on your own. A local genealogist not only knows the area but can also unlock doors you wouldn’t be able to open alone—literally and figuratively.

Your genealogist will plan a custom itinerary based on your family’s history. A typical one-day tour might include:

• Access to parish archives – To research a parish archive, you have to know how to speak Italian and know how to read old handwriting. You have to know which records are available, which info they contain, and how to by-pass brick walls. Besides this, older records are in Latin. This would be overwhelming without help.
  
• Cadastre research – This is an add-on research expense to discover if your family owned a house or small plots of land. Cadastre records are rather difficult to understand, but they are a precious source of info.
  
• Municipality records – the access to these records is usually restricted, but it all depends on the availability and kindness of the mayor or the employees.
  
• A visit to family graves – Walking through the cemetery, searching for familiar names, and leaving messages on tombstones can lead to connections with distant relatives who still live in the area.
  
• A tour of your ancestral town – See the streets your ancestors walked, the churches where they were baptized and married, and maybe even the home or land they once owned.
  
• Documentation – Some genealogists are also photographers and will be documenting the tour as you go and provide a beautifully curated photo album or digital collection after the tour, preserving your experience in a way that brings your family history to life.
  
• A full-day experience – The genealogist will handle all logistics and bring you back to your hotel or apartment in the evening.
  
• Multi-day options available – Some ancestry tours span multiple days and include lodging, meals, and private transportation. If your ancestors came from different towns or regions, a multi-day tour can be arranged to visit each location in-depth.
  
• Typical cost range – Expect to pay €300–€800+ per day for single-day tours and €1,500–€5,000+ for multi-day customized heritage experiences, depending on services included.

A personalized ancestry tour with the genealogist you’ve been working with will make the experience so much more interesting and rewarding than if you tried to visit all the places yourself. But, be careful because this could become very expensive.

Do You Sign a Contract With a Genealogist?

It depends on the genealogist. Some work with formal contracts, while others take a more casual approach.

Here’s how it usually works:

• Flat-rate contracts – Some genealogists offer a set price for a project, covering a specific scope of work over a defined period (e.g., X months of research for a fixed fee). This helps keep costs predictable.
• Hourly contracts – Others charge by the hour but may require a minimum commitment, often 10 hours or more. This structure works best if you need ongoing research or aren’t sure how long your search will take.

Either way, make sure everything is clear before you agree to work together—including pricing, time frames, and deliverables. Even if there’s no formal contract, a written agreement via email outlining expectations can help avoid misunderstandings.

How to Spot a Scam Genealogist

Not all genealogists are created equal. Some are experts with years of experience, while others overpromise and underdeliver. Here’s how to spot a scam and avoid wasting your money.

Red Flags to Watch Out For

• They guarantee results. No genealogist can promise they’ll find exactly what you’re looking for—records get lost, destroyed, or never existed in the first place. A professional will be upfront about that.
• They don’t have a track record. Google them. Look for a website, reviews, or past client testimonials. No online presence? That’s a red flag.
• They avoid specifics. A good genealogist will explain their process and what’s realistic for your research goals. If they’re vague or dodge questions, be cautious.
• You don’t feel comfortable. Trust your instincts. If something feels off, or they seem more focused on getting your payment than understanding your needs, walk away.

What to Look for Instead

• Someone who explains their approach clearly and sets realistic expectations.
• A genealogist who provides references, reviews, or proof of past work.
• A professional who charges fairly—not dirt cheap, but also not demanding thousands upfront without a clear plan.

The best genealogists don’t sell promises—they sell expertise. Choose wisely, and you’ll get real results instead of regrets.

Is Hiring A Genealogist Worth It In Italy: What to Do Next

It was definitely worth it for me and I am now getting ready to go on an roots tour with her next summer. If you’ve hit a dead end in your Italian genealogy research, hiring a professional genealogist could be the key to unlocking your family’s past.

• They have local connections and can access records you can’t.
• They understand Italian archives, old handwriting, and cultural nuances.
• They can guide you on an ancestry tour to walk in your ancestors’ footsteps.
• They offer services at different price points—so you can start small and expand as needed.

But not all genealogists are created equal. Take the time to research, set a clear scope, and hire someone with a strong track record. 

Read More Of My Best Genealogy Tips and Stories:

• Finding Angela – My Italian Genealogy Research Reveals An Amazing Discovery
• How To Start Finding Your Italian Roots From Home
• How To Use Portale Antenati To Find Your Missing Family Member
• Search For Giuseppe – My Lifelong Quest To Find The Italian Birthplace of My Great-Grandfather