Is there any place on this forum where we can research surnames we are looking for and others who may be looking for the same ones?

Hi Charleen,
We have a section of the forum about Genealogy/heritage, you can ask specific questions there: http://my.lifeinitaly.com/forumdisplay.php?f=20

To start, take a look at this article from the Life In Italy site on surnames: http://www.lifeinitaly.com/heritage/surnames.asp

good luck
Justin