L’Italia in Famiglia

Abstract

Italy has traditionally been a country in which the family, as an institution, has had a high profile in the affairs of the nation. In the past, families have tended to be large by Western European standards although in recent years the trend is definitely towards smaller family units. One recent survey indicated that as many as 39 per cent of couples have only one child. Nevertheless, whatever the situation, family ties seem to remain stronger and more durable in Italian society than in many other countries, despite the phenomenon of emigration in the earlier part of this century and the continuing drift away, by young people, from the largely agricultural South to the industrial North.