In Italian Divorces, 90 per cent of the time custody of the children is awarded to the mother. If she has the children, she must also have the house, for which the ex-husband must continue to pay, as well as covering the family's other expenses.

Many fathers have nothing left over to provide for themselves, and this month Asdi, an organisation dedicated to helping the divorced and separated, opened a house in Bolzano for fathers who find themselves homeless.

Celebrated operatic tenor Andrea Bocelli, who separated two years ago from his wife Enrica, with whom he had two boys, is spearheading a campaign to change the law to give divorced fathers the right to have a role in their children's upbringing. "It's incredible that we are debating the right of children to enjoy both their parents," he says.

The Independent.UK
By Peter Popham in Rome
19 December 2004

Italy is the country of "mammismo", the hegemony of the dominating mamma. Many children are shackled to their mothers by a virtual umbilicus that can last a lifetime.

Father, on the other hand, often has only a bit part in the family drama. And when the family falls apart, he can find himself with all the financial burden, but no emotional role at all.

But as separations and divorces surge, accounting for a quarter of all unions, Italian fathers are fighting back. The celebrated operatic tenor Andrea Bocelli, who separated two years ago from his wife Enrica, with whom he had two boys, is spearheading a campaign to change the law to give divorced fathers the right to have a role in their children's upbringing. "It's incredible that we are debating the right of children to enjoy both their parents," he says.

And in another step forward, fathers financially crippled by maintenance payments are being offered accommodation in Italy's first ever "refuge" for divorced and separated dads. It opened this month in Bolzano, in the far north.

In 90 per cent of Italian divorces, custody of the children is awarded to the mother. If she has the children, she must also have the house, for which the ex-husband must continue to pay, as well as covering the family'sother expenses. Many fathers have nothing left over to provide for themselves, and this month Asdi, an organisation dedicated to helping the divorced and separated, opened a house in Bolzano for fathers who find themselves homeless.

Separations can "leave the men with an economic burden that is frequently unsustainable," said Elio Cirimbelli of Asdi. "Many ex-husbands find it absolutely impossible to afford a decent home, a place where they can welcome their children."

The Bolzano house has five bedrooms, each with its own bathroom, plus a common living room and kitchen and two large terraces where dads and kids can romp about. Rent is pegged at €200 (£140) a month for residents, whose net income after handing over maintenance to the former partner must not exceed €650.

While it may rescue fathers from desperate straits, it will bring challenges of its own: cooking, shopping and cleaning will all be done collectively. Most Italians live with their families during their student years, so for many of those coming to the refuge it will be their first taste of communal living.

Italy opens its first refuge for divorced fathers
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