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.

Autorentext
MARK SEYMOUR was born in London and moved to Sydney 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.

Inhalt
Introduction: Patria, Famiglia, Libertà! Making Italians: Marriage and the Family in United Italy, 1860-1878 Unmaking Marriage? The First Proposals for Divorce, 1878-1880 Divorce, "Italian-Style": Marriage Breakdown,1860-1880 Real Italy versus Legal Italy? Divorce, Catholic Mobilization, Conservative Traditions, 1881-1900 Divorce between Liberalism and Socialism, 1900-1902 From the Failure of Divorce Reform to the Lateran Pacts, 1902-1929 Making Italians from Fascism to the Republic, 1929-1964 Loris Fortuna and the Divorzisti, 1964-1970 The Referendum on Divorce, 1970-1974 Conclusion: Divorcing Traditions