La paternità nell'Italia fascista. Simboli, esperienze e norme, 1922–1943 by Martina Salvante, Rome, Viella, 2020, 256 pp., €27.00 (paperback), ISBN 978-88-3313-265-5

Abstract

Calabrese’s examination of these changes highlights that, ‘with more cash circulating, wages increased ..., a largely barter economy shifted to one relying on cash, making the region more capitalistic’ (p. 46). Alongside the emotional cost of migration, remittances from abroad and the fact that, in the absence of their husbands, the wife was commonly the acting head of the household, enabled women to take on ‘a greater legal and economic role’ (p. 51) in their everyday activities, even whilst the law formally continued to limit their agency within precise boundaries. Calabrese also pays significant attention to Church, state, and community. Her analysis of the role and mechanisms of the state in Basilicata demonstrates not only its proximity to the individual, but also that women knew how to engage with it. Indeed, documents demonstrate that ‘women turned to state officials when in need’ (p. xxx) and that the state worked effectively to address their concerns and to ensure spouses abided by their duties to the extent that was possible. Furthermore, the region of Basilicata was made up of small communities in which the Church played a crucial role: on the one hand, it helped shape a sense of community and promoted mutual support; on the other, it kept a watchful eye over the behaviour of the individual. This was particularly relevant in a society like Basilicata’s, ‘an honor culture centered around the values and actions that guided a person to behave in a certain way in order to earn respect and status in the community’ (p. 112). Calabrese powerfully reinforces this point in her examinations of cases of prostitution, infidelity, unwanted pregnancy, abortion, infant abandonment and infanticide, demonstrating that honour and issues revolving around its preservation were complex and multifaceted. The book additionally dedicates a chapter to the female migrants who made up some 20 per cent of all emigrants, and also covers the issue of illegal emigration – compelling evidence itself of the needs and desperation of so many. Italian Women in Basilicata provides a significant contribution to scholarship, revealing how migration changed gender roles and stereotypes and moulded society. In addition, Calabrese’s use of archival sources such as records of requests by women (in the form of, for example, passport applications and petitions to find relatives abroad), court records from the Corte d’Assise, and government bulletins, statistics, newspapers and secondary sources, makes this a strong and convincing study.