Abandoned children of the Santissima ANNUNZIATA in NAPLES

Since the 14th century, the religious institution of the Santissima Annunziata has had the vocation of taking in abandoned children from Naples. It became sadly knonw for its "ruota", a wooden drum-shaped wheel into which abandoned children were introduced. Indeed, between 2000 and 4000 children passed through it each year! It was used until June 27, 1875, but the orphanage operated until 1975.

Since 2005, in cooperation with the Municipal Archive of Naples and the archivists of the Santissima Annunziata establishment, it has been possible to obtain a digital copy of your ancestor's deposit file.

The procedure is as follows:

1. If you are a member, order this service directly from our search engine from the record of the ancestor found, if it exists,
2. Also send your request by email along with your identity document and any documents relating to your ancestor attesting to his or her origin from the Annunziata of Naples,
3. We then prepare the application form that we send to you for signature, it includes the delegation to the President of the association to carry out the procedure for you.

The success rate of searches depends on the accuracy of the date of birth and the deposit name in the Annunziata. They may not be successful for the following reasons:

• The child was recognized after being deposited at the Annunziata and therefore changed his name,
• The child was not registered in the year of birth,
• The child's name is ESPOSITO, like thousands of others every year, making it almost impossible to find him unless you have a date of birth.