Genealogy in Alpes-Maritimes (06): Archives and Family History

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©️Wikimedia - Claude Villetaneuse

updated: January 8, 2026

Alpes-Maritimes is this little paradise between the Mediterranean Sea and snow-capped peaks, where cosmopolitan Nice is surrounded by perched villages born from Saracen raids, a department carved out of Franco-Italian history that has been overflowing with energy since its attachment in 1860. For us, genealogists, it's a delicious puzzle: Italian families on one side of the Var, Provençals on the other, plus a influx of tourists and workers that has mixed origins like nowhere else.​

Created in 1793 and definitively French after the Treaty of Turin in 1860, this department was born from the County of Nice (Savoyard since the 12th century) and part of the Var, with Nice as its beating heart since the Phocaean Antiquity. Ligurians, Romans, Saracens, Counts of Provence and Dukes of Savoy succeeded each other, leaving perched villages (Èze, Gourdon) born from invasions and a coast urbanized by English tourism since the 18th century.

Alpes-Maritimes is bordered by the Var, the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence , Italy, and the Mediterranean Sea. ​

📜 The archives of the Alpes-Maritimes

Online records

• On FranceGenWeb : « Miscellaneous records » - Weddings - Migrants' weddings - Weddings of migrants from the Alpes-Maritimes - Notaries - Protestants
• Plenty of records by Hélène and Thierry Bianco – Alpes-Maritimes

🧳 Migrations in the Alpes-Maritimes

• Before 1800 : residents moved little, mainly between Nice, Menton, and perched villages. Merchants traveled between Genoa, Marseille, and Piedmont. Parish registers show births and marriages within a few kilometers.​

• 19th century : Italians from Piedmont and Lombardy arrived to work in factories (oil, flowers, chemistry). The English and Russians developed tourism. Many mixed marriages appear in the Nice registers.​

• 1900-1945 : World War I brought hospitals. The Italian occupation (1942) and bombings displaced families. Piedmontese Jews took refuge in the valleys. Archives show cross-border families.​

• 1945-1980 : Reconstruction attracted Poles and Armenians. Algerians arrived after 1954 for construction. Nice and Cannes developed. 

• Since 1980 : Tourism and Sophia Antipolis attract Europeans, Maghrebis, Africans, and Asians. Villages lose residents who move to Nice.

For more information:

• History of immigration in PACA in the 19th and 20th centuries
• History of immigration in PACA
• Immigration in the Alpes-Maritimes in the 20th century
• Italians in the Alpes-Maritimes 1919-1939
• Fascist Italy and the clandestine emigration of Jewish refugees to France (1939-1940)
• Tunisian immigration in the Alpes-Maritimes department 1956-1984
• Illegal Yugoslavian immigration in the Alpes-Maritimes (1950-1970)

🏔️ The Alpes-Maritimes in pictures

Videos

• On the front of the Alpes Maritimes with the French army – 1945
• The Nice Carnival in 1946
• The Nice Cycling Grand Prix - 1946
• The Nice Automobile Grand Prix - 1946
• Various views of Nice - 1947
• La Napoule - 1949
• Cannes - 1949
• Towns in the Southeast - 1949
• Flower battle for the Nice Carnival - 1949
• The wedding of Ali Khan and Rita Hayworth - 1949
• The opening of the film festival - 1949
• The Nice Carnival - 1950
• The plaster battle - 1950
• First swims of the year and water skiing in Cannes - 1951
• Opening of the Cannes Festival – 1951
• Cannes Festival - 1951
• The bees of Contes - 1954
• Village of Andrieux: the omelette festival - 1954
• Floods in Saint Jean de Maurienne and Isola - 1957
• Sir Winston Churchill leaves the French Riviera - 1958
• First swim of the year in Nice - 1959
• The Nice Carnival - 1960
• Urbanism in Nice - 1961
• Call for young volunteer restorers - 1969
• Testimony on Braque in Saint Paul de Vence - 1969
• Menton - 1972
• Saint Paul de Vence – 1975
• The Alpes Maritimes: the Niçoise salad - 1977

Old images and postcards

• On Gallica: the Alpes-Maritimes in pictures
• On Clochers de France: the belfries of the Alpes-Maritimes in pictures
• On Memorial GenWeb: postcards of the war memorials
• On communes.com: old postcards of Nice
• On CPArama: old postcards of the Alpes-Maritimes

Old maps of the department

• From Cassini's villages to today's communes: the department of the Alpes-Maritimes
• On Old Maps Online: old maps of the department
• On Gallica: old maps of the Alpes-Maritimes
• IGN: go back in time

📄 The History of the Alpes-Maritimes

• History of Nice and the Alpes Maritimes over 21 Centuries- 1802
• Journey to the Alpes Maritimes; or natural, agricultural, civil, and medical history of the County of Nice and neighboring countries, enriched with notes of comparison with other countries– 1821
• History of Nice from its Foundation to the Year 1792- 1824
• Guide for Foreigners in Nice- 1827
• Nice and its Surroundings- 1843
• Statistics of the Alpes-Maritimes- 1862
• Analytical Flora of the Alpes-Maritimes Department– 1867
• The Walks of Nice- 1867
• Geography of the Alpes-Maritimes Department- 1884
• The 11th Century in the Alpes Maritimes– 1889
• Raging Wolves in the Alpes-Maritimes- 1919
• The Evolution of the Population of the Alpes-Maritimes from 1936 to 1954– 1955
• The Revolution and Catholicism in the Alpes-Maritimes Department (1792-1799)– 1969
• The Economic and Social Situation of the Alpes-Maritimes from Summer 1944 to Spring 1945– 1976
• The Beginnings of Agricultural Education in the Alpes-Maritimes (1860-1914)- 1984
• The French Popular Party in the Alpes-Maritimes (1936-1939)- 1986
• The Alpes-Maritimes from 1939 to 1945. A Department in Turmoil– 1990
• Italian Fascism in the Alpes-Maritimes (1922-1939)– 1991      
• The Time of Shortages (1939-1949) in the Alpes-Maritimes– 1994
• The Alpes-Maritimes and the Border, 1860 to the Present Day- 1994
• The Italians in the Liberation of the Alpes-Maritimes- 1996
• The Consulate of the Sea of Nice, 1613-1855- 2007
• Espionage on the Borders of the Alpes-Maritimes at the Turn of the 19th and 20th Centuries– 2012
• The Border Man: The Customs Officer in the Mountains of the Alpes-Maritimes (1860-1980)- 2012

On Gallica: the books, the press and the manuscripts to learn everything about the Alpes-Maritimes department

🏠 The 50 most common surnames in the Alpes-Maritimes

Top 10 of the most common surnames in the Alpes-Maritimes: 

• MARTIN
• DALMASSO
• ROUX
• ROSSI
• GIORDANO
• LANTERI
• VIALE
• BLANC
• MICHEL
• FARAUT

The other 40 most popular surnames in the department (according to the INSEE File) : 

• BRUN
• GASTAUD
• GIRAUD
• BAILET
• BRUNO
• CIAIS
• MAUREL
• ROSSO
• LAMBERT
• PELLEGRINO
• BERNARD
• RAYBAUD
• CAUVIN
• MARTINEZ
• GARCIA
• FABRE
• LAUGIER
• SIMON
• MARI
• FERRARI
• FERRERO
• MARTINI
• GIOANNI
• DANIEL
• MARRO
• VERAN
• GIRAUDO
• DUBOIS
• TOSELLO
• GASTALDI
• IMBERT
• BERNARDI
• PASTORELLI
• MUSSO
• AUGIER
• VIAL
• FRANCO
• MILLO
• LOPEZ
• BERTRAND

🖵 Genealogy sites in Alpes-Maritimes

Genealogy circles and associations in Alpes-Maritimes and surrounding areas

• Genealogical Association of Alpes-Maritimes
• Alpes Maritimes Genealogical Help Circle and Beyond
• Cannois Country Genealogical Circle

Genealogy blogs that talk about Alpes-Maritimes

• Genealogy, history, and walks in the former county of Nice
• Sacred Ancestors! 

Accounts to follow on social media

• Facebook : AGAM Genealogical Association of Alpes-Maritimes

Happy researching !

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