A DNA test can do two valuable things for an Italian family history: connect you with living relatives—sometimes cousins still in the ancestral town—and confirm the lines you have traced on paper. What it cannot do is name your village or build your tree; for that you still need the records. This hub explains which test to choose and why.
Which test, in one line
The best first test depends on where your relatives are. MyHeritage is the stronger choice if your living cousins are more likely to be in Italy or elsewhere in Europe—it is more international, with more testers still there. AncestryDNA has the largest database, which gives the best chance of finding relatives in Italian-American families. MyHeritage stopped accepting DNA uploads from other companies in August 2025, so the way to fish in both pools is to take a test with each.
Building a tree from your matches? Start a free MyHeritage trial (affiliate link).
The main options
- MyHeritage — strongest for European and Italy-based matches, includes a chromosome browser, and can only be joined by taking a MyHeritage test (it stopped accepting uploads in August 2025).
- AncestryDNA — biggest match database, best for finding cousins, integrated with Ancestry’s trees and Italian record hints.
- 23andMe — health-and-traits focus; weaker for tree-building Italian genealogy, and carrying real privacy considerations (see below).
- FamilyTreeDNA — the specialist for Y-DNA and mtDNA, useful for focused surname-line work rather than general ancestry.
On 23andMe: the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2025; a nonprofit founded by its former CEO (the TTAM Research Institute) acquired its assets and it now operates as a nonprofit, but the episode drew lawsuits over genetic-data privacy and legal scrutiny has continued. Your results would not be wrong, but if long-term custody of your genetic data matters to you, read the current privacy terms and know you can request deletion.
Ready to test? Our recommended kits and current discounts are kept on this DNA hub. New to it all? Start with the best DNA test for Italian ancestry.
A note on Italian DNA
Italian results have their own character. Southern Italian and Sicilian populations show a degree of endogamy—historic marriage within close communities—which can make matches look a little closer than they really are, though rarely to the extreme seen in some other populations. Ethnicity estimates, meanwhile, often split “Italian” into broad regional bands that should be treated as interesting rather than precise. As always, lead with the records and use DNA to confirm and connect.
MyHeritage also offers optional DNA Traits reports (recreational, for a one-time fee) and a DNA 360° kit with health and wellness reports for adults in the US and UK, for informational purposes only. Check MyHeritage for details (affiliate link).
DNA test
Ready to try a MyHeritage DNA test?
See what a MyHeritage DNA test includes, from ethnicity estimates to DNA matches with relatives who have tested too.