That’s often the first question Italian Americans ask one another. Most Italian Americans trace their roots to villages in the Mezzogiorno, or the regions that comprise Italy’s south: Sicily, Campania, Calabria, Basilicata, Abruzzo, Puglia, Molise, and Sardinia.

The Observatory on Italian Roots, which is funded by the AsSud Association, an entity that studies Italian immigration, has launched a research study entitled “Discovering Italian: Roots Travel in Italy” in cooperation with Italy’s Minister of Foreign Affairs.