Debating Divorce in Italy Marriage and the Making of Modern Italians, 1860-1974

by Seymour, Mark

• ISBN13: 9781403972712
• ISBN10: 1403972710
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-12-12
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

The popular referendum of 1974 which affirmed Italy's recently-won divorce law is widely regarded as a turning point in modern Italian history, but the long story behind that struggle has remained largely unfamiliar. Using the debates over divorce as a lens, this book is a study of the quest to modernize Italy, Italians, and Italian marriage. Although the 1974 referendum settled Italy's 'divorce question,' the issues at the heart of that question - particularly the relationship between individual rights, the state, and religion - remain central to modern politics.

Author Biography

Mark Seymour was born in London and moved to Sydney, Australia, as a teenager. His education continued in the USA and Italy. He teaches Italian and European history at the University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	ix
Introduction: Patria, Famiglia, Liberta!	1	(10)
Making Italians: Marriage and the Family in United Italy, 1860--1878	11	(24)
Unmaking Marriage? The First Proposals for a Divorce Law, 1878--1880	35	(24)
Divorce Italian Style? Marriage Breakdown, 1860--1880	59	(26)
Real Italy versus Legal Italy: Catholic Mobilization, Conservative Traditions, and Divorce, 1881--1900	85	(28)
Divorce between Liberalism and Socialism, 1900--1902	113	(22)
From the Failure of Reform to the Lateran Pacts, 1902--1929	135	(28)
Remaking Italians? From Fascism to the Republic, 1929--1964	163	(26)
Loris Fortuna and the Divorzisti, 1964--1970	189	(24)
Let the People Decide, 1970--1974	213	(10)
Conclusion: Divorcing Tradition	223	(8)
Notes	231	(36)
Bibliography	267	(16)
Index	283