La famiglia italiana

La famiglia italiana

Family provides the network of the deepest and most important relationships of Italian society. The Italian family has many stereotypes. When we think of the typical Italian family, we of course think of a big, loud, crazy family with the mother and grandmother cooking and eight kids running around. The father comes home and the kids run up to him and greet him, then he greets his wife and goes to wash up for dinner, which is ready for him because his wife and mother have been cooking it all day. Though the role of the wife in a marriage is still similar, in some ways, to this image, everything else has changed. Today, Italian families are much smaller and the women are out working for themselves. Much has happened over the past few decades to make this change in tradition come about; the Italian family is no longer the big, loud, crazy family that we see in the movies.The typical Italian family, although still very close to its extended family, is beginning do distance itself from other family members. Many of the traditions remain, however they are slowly starting to become more relaxed. Families often live in very close proximity to each other, often in the same house. Italian men tend to live at home until they are married.

Another dramatic change in Italian culture is the rapidly declining birthrate. Overall, Italian families are having less and less children, and are therefore the population is becoming older rather than remaining balanced. There are more people over the age of 60 than there are under the age of 20. One of the main reasons for this dramatic decrease in the birthrate is that families can no longer afford to have many children. With the mother working, she does not have as much time to care for the children and also has children later. Because of this, she has less time to have children and the family will only have one or two. Although women are supported by the government during their maternity leave, many employers do not support this and will threaten the women. They will not hire a woman if she is planning to have a child and will go as far as to fire a woman while she is on maternity leave and say that it was for another reason. Even if she were to be granted maternity leave from her job, the standards in hospitals and infant schools were not adequate. For this reason, women are hesitant to have children, because they know it will hurt their careers.

Another reason for the declining birthrate is the introduction of contraception and the legality of abortion. Italian women terminate one pregnancy for every three live births, which totals around 160,000 abortions for 500,000 live births a year. Birth control has also played a large role in the decline of births. While the birthrate is declining, the divorce rate is increasing; the 1974 the divorce referendum, which passed by 59.1%, and the 1975 family reform laws made this all possible. Unhappy couples no longer had to find a guilty party to separate; they could do so on there own basis.

Family values are still the focus of Italian society, and the Italian family has remained a very close social unit. Whether married, single or divorced, all Italians tend to maintain very strong links with their parents, adult children, and other relatives. Often generations share housing; grown children or elderly parents may live with your hosts. Even if they do not share a home, extended families may eat lunch (pranzo) and/or dinner (cena) together every day. Elderly parents are respected and looked after, sometimes on a daily basis, whether they live at home with their children or independently.

Although roles have changed for women in Italy, the mother remains the dominant figure in the Italian home. She typically runs every aspect of domestic life, and you may see her helping her family in ways you consider excessive or unnecessary. To American eyes, it may seem that Italian mothers spoil their children and husbands, or sacrifice too much to please every member of the family. Especially if the mother also works outside the home, the Italian family dynamic can seem unfair and unbalanced. However, Italians themselves believe that it is the mother who keeps the family together, who creates and maintains the familial links, who is the bond that unifies all members. She, in turn, knows she can depend on the rest of her family in her time of need. Generally speaking, the role of mother and home maker is a much respected position in Italian society

Italian families maintain strong bonds over generations. Children, after leaving home to establish new families, maintain strong relationships with their parents. Usually they live very near to one of the two parental families, make daily telephone calls to their parents (mainly the mother), and visit them weekly. Their relationships with their parents typically display strong reciprocal support and exchanges, including childcare, care of the elderly and ill, help with economic troubles, loans, and advice. One of the main characteristics of Italian families is the strong intergenerational solidarity that allows Italians to overcome difficulties, find jobs, look after children, and ask for loans in situations in which the family network provides what, in other Western countries, is granted by public or private institutions. This sense of connectedness explains the great relevance that family as an institution assumes in Italian culture.

Reflection Questions:

How is the typical Italian family similar or different from your own?

Italian families used to have many children. Nowadays, most families have only one or two children. Why do you think that Italian families are having less and less children?

When you think about your future, do you want to get married? Do you want to have children? Would you prefer being single and focusing on your career? If you plan to have children, how many children would you like to have and why?

Do you currently share your home with elderly family members (like you grandparents or great grandparents)? Many Italian families share their homes with elderly relatives. What do you think about this type of living arrangement?

Natale in Italia

Natale e' una festa molto importante e religiosa in Italia. Risponda ai seguenti domande (SU UN FOGLIO SEPARATO - on a separate sheet of paper to be turned in at the end of class)

1. Where did the actual celebration of Christmas most likely originate?http://italian.about.com/library/weekly/aa120600a.htm

2. What is a presepio?http://www.initaly.com/regions/xmas/rosemary.htm

3. Where is the Vatican located? Is it a separate country or part of Italy? (Note that the picture located in this entry is a picture St. Peter's cathedral at the Vatican during Christmastime. A large Christmas tree and a presepio are placed at the center of the large piazza).http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vatican_City

4. According to the article below, what does an Italian Christmas revolve around?http://www.italianfoodforever.com/iff/articles.asp?id=37

5. Name 5 dishes that an Italian family might eat on Christmas Eve or Christmas day:http://www.italianfoodforever.com/iff/articles.asp?id=37

6. Why do Italians eat lentils on New Years Eve (i.e. what do they represent?)?http://goitaly.about.com/od/festivalsandevents/a/newyears.htm