Chapter 13: Country Report: Intergenerational Family Solidarity and Key Life Domains in Italy

The Italian family seems to be poised between modernity and tradition: changes are affecting the set-up of households, the process of starting a family, and the steady aging of the population. Nevertheless, until recently, the country has upheld the social role of the family; indeed, although now in trouble, the family has provided a safety net during the economic crisis that in 2014 has put an estimated one third of Italians at risk of poverty or social exclusion. Since the year 2000, law n. 328 has changed Italy’s welfare system. According to the principle of subsidiarity, said law initiated the pluralization of welfare in the programming of social policy measures and it outlined a vaguely family friendly welfare program. However, the Plan for family policy of 2012 remains largely unapplied.