Cognome

Petrarca

The strongest concentration of Petrarca in US arrival records points to Molise, with 88 of 180 arrivals (49 percent) originating there.

180

US arrivals
1830 to 1912

35

Comuni of
origin

10

Regioni
represented

4

Notable on
Wikipedia

Arrivals by regioneN = 180
Abruzzo: 64 arrivalsPuglia: 4 arrivalsBasilicata: 3 arrivalsCalabria: 6 arrivalsCampania: 6 arrivalsLazio: 5 arrivalsLombardia: 1 arrivalsMolise: 88 arrivalsPiemonte: 1 arrivalsSicilia: 2 arrivals

Top regione

Molise

88 of 180
49 percent of arrivals

Arrivals
0
< 3
3 to 9
9 to 26
26+

Cittadinanza per discendenza

Could your Petrarca line qualify for Italian citizenship?

The largest share of Petrarca arrivals came from Molise, most often from the provincia of Isernia. If one of them is your ancestor, Italy may recognize you as a citizen under jure sanguinis (citizenship by descent).

The surname alone does not decide it. Each generation between that ancestor and you does: who naturalized, and when. Since the 2025 law, the number of generations matters too.

The checker goes back through your line one generation at a time. It is not legal advice, and it does not search for records.

Check your line
Your lineYou fill this in

Italian-born ancestor

A Petrarca from Molise

Most often from Isernia (IS)

Each generation between

Name and dates

Did this person naturalize before their child was born?

You

A likely outcome

and the documents your line would need

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Distribuzione per regione

Concentration by regione

10 regioni represented

  • Molise8849%
  • Abruzzo6436%
  • Calabria63%
  • Campania63%
  • Lazio53%
  • Puglia42%
  • Basilicata32%
  • Sicilia21%
  • Lombardia11%
  • Piemonte11%

Origini per comune

Arrival records by comune

Each row is a comune (municipality) where at least one passenger named Petrarca was recorded between 1830 and 1912.

Persone notevoli

Notable Petrarca on Wikipedia

Varianti grafiche

Spelling variants worth checking

  • The spelling you know may not be the one in the records. For example, a family remembers Mansini, but the records read Mancini.
  • If your spelling does not appear, a close variant in the list below may be the same family.

Related guide

Myths About Name Changes at Ellis Island

Names were never changed at the border. The spelling here is the original Italian: Giovinelli in the records, perhaps Jovanelli in the family today.

Read guide

Petrarco

7 US arrivals

Petrarce

5 US arrivals

Petrarci

1 US arrivals

Petriarca

2 US arrivals

Petraca

4 US arrivals

Variants are surfaced from the surname index, not from per-name research. None of these is guaranteed to be the same family as Petrarca.