The ANNOTICO
Report
But Watch Out.
The Divorce rate is Up, because of Meddling
mother-in-laws, Money troubles, Marrying too young, and Affairs.
Also, it is
getting more difficult to for young men to marry, because
life at home is so sweet, made so particularly by their Mothers.
Interesting note
that while men who have a reluctance to give up their freedom are
considered as Peter Pans, and are commitment- phobic. Women who are reluctant
to wed are considered "independent". Hmmm????
With Thanks
to Italians RUs www.italiansrus.com
Crazy
Love
It's easy to get lost in the arms of Italy
- and an Italian. But modernity and a quickly evolving country are making l'amore downright complicated
Our Paesani: http://www.italiansrus.com/
articles/ourpaesani/ourpaesani.htm
Francesca Di Meglio Email at: FDimeg10@aol.com
Italy is a dangerous lover.
Standing across from the Old Bridge in Firenze
with the spring breeze blowing in your hair, your longing heart can't help but
respond. Sitting in the sand on Maronti in Ischia, you will feel a passion that you never imagined
coursing through your entire body.
In Sicily, you'll lose your
inhibitions amid the history. Even cold Milan
has the power to move all of its chic people with its
couture and Duomo. The only thing more beautiful than
Italy
itself is its people. Really, together - the country and its paesani - can either make or break you.
Countless
visitors fall in love and lose themselves in the land of l'amore.
In fact, many of you have written to me saying you've fallen for an Italian -
or you wish an Italian would fall for you. But love has never been so
complicated for Italians or the people who have desperately surrendered to
them. Consider this a warning.
Last week, the
research institute Eures revealed a poll that showed
divorce happens every four minutes in Italy, a country that considers
itself Catholic. In 2002, about 50,828 couples divorced, a 45 percent increase
from 2000, according to the Observer, a U.K.
publication. The Eures' poll also showed that mamma's
boys - even the ones who marry - tend to divorce
more than others. Meddling mother-in-laws was
right up there with money troubles, marrying too young, and affairs as the top
reasons for parting.
Italy was already having
trouble convincing young men to get married because life at home was too sweet.
Having one of the lowest birth rates in the civilized world, Italy is
already at risk of losing its population in the relatively near future. Now,
the news has arrived that even the mammoni who marry
don't stay married.
Is there hope?
Well, Italians definitely still search for love. Some even take courses to
learn how to flirt and woo better. Recent reports and studies indicate that
Italian patriarchs are starting to do housework - even if just a little bit -
to help their wives and improve their lives. And all of you know how convincing
an Italian can be when he or she wants you. (Wink! Wink!)
Sex still rates
high on the Italian priority list, even for the unmarried. Living with mom and
dad makes it tough to have relations at home, but one town in Italy created a
parking lot where folks could have sex in their cars as long as they covered
the windows. Various reports have indicated that Italian men have fewer
problems performing than those in other countries, and Italian women are
generally satisfied with their sex lives.
If you are in a
long distance relationship with an Italian (like I am), you have hope that
things will work out in the end. These courtships can actually be more stable
and last longer than traditional relationships between people in the same
cities, according to a study by Mary Carole Pistole,
an assistant professor at Purdue University.
In other words, you don't have to beat yourself up for losing your head - and
your heart - on that last vacation to Italia!
Still, make no
mistake about it. Love isn't easy anywhere - not even Italy. Marriage
is even harder. The pope has lost control and the traditional values of
yesteryear are as antiquated in Italy
as the donkeys on old Sicilian postcards. Many Italian men are Peter Pan with
no desire for the commitment or responsibility of marriage. Many Italian women
are unsure of their role - do I go to work or do I stay home? Am I the Madonna
or the whore? Many Italian parents are just fine with all of this because they
can keep their children by their side longer, maybe even for as long as they
both shall live.
Italy - and Italians - might
still inspire romance, lust, and even love. But they might not be able to
sustain it. Through no fault of their own, the world keeps moving around them.
It's hard to keep up with the euro and your heart,
with the invasion of McDonald's and your heart, with college degrees for both
sexes and your heart. It's hard to say good-bye to mamma and even harder to say
hello to independence. It's just plain hard period. That's why even Italy and its
Italians have stopped romanticizing romance.....