Families "all'italiana": 150 Years of history

In this paper we trace in broad terms the evolution over time of definitions, data sources, conceptual frameworks and strategies of analysis that document changes in family structures and behaviours from 1861 onwards. Then we come back to trends in family patterns at beginning of the new Millennium with a wealth of interpretive tools enhanced by the historiographical sensitivity, and compare the Italian case with the other European countries. We focus on recent data on unions formation and dissolution and show many figures which suggest a growing flexibility of unions and a rising breaking-down of the Italian marriage. We thus contribute to the discussion about the delay and specificity of the “new” family models in Italy providing a dynamic picture in a context of institutional constraints and lack of welfare aids. Finally, we point out the critical issues in management of the different sources of data on population and family events and on the need of new appropriate data to describe and explain the growing complexity of life-courses which characterizes the contemporary Italian society.