No more Hotel Mama
Italian woman charges her mother’s sons out of the house
Fresh pasta from mom? Two Italians can now probably take their make-up off
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For an Italian family, the house blessing could go wrong at Christmas. A mother has asserted in court that her 40 and 42 year old sons must have moved out of the “Hotel Mama” by then.
40 years of “Hotel Mama” – but that’s it now: With the help of the judiciary, a 75-year-old Italian woman has ensured that her two sons, who have long since grown up, finally have to move out of their home. According to a judge’s decision, the two men – one already 40, the other 42 years old – now have until shortly before Christmas to vacate their parents’ house in the small town of Pavia near Milan. The last date is December 18th. The judgment ensures Italy, where young people traditionally like to take a little longer to undress, creates excitement.
The 75-year-old lived according to one Report from the local newspaper “La Provincia Pavese” Since separating from her husband, she has been alone with her sons. In the past few years she has tried several times to get the two of them to leave the “Hotel Mama” somewhat voluntarily. Nothing helped. Eventually the mother decided to sue her own sons. Their lawyer reported in court that the two working men also refused to pay rent or even help with housework.
Judge Simona Caterbi now fully agreed with the mother. The legal justification: Staying in the apartment can be viewed as “justified at the outset” because it is based on the parents’ maintenance obligation. But from a “certain age” onwards, there is no longer such an obligation. The judge did not specify an exact age in the ruling – but at 40 or 42 the limit has clearly been exceeded.
Average age when moving out: 30
In Italy there are traditionally a relatively large number of people who continue to live with their parents well past their 18th birthday. The average age at which they moved out was after one Survey by the EU statistics authority Eurostat last year at exactly 30 years. Mostly they are men. The Italians also have their own vocabulary for this. They are called “Mammoni” (“mama’s boys”) or “Bamboccioni” (“giant babies”). For comparison: In Germany, the average age at which people move out is just under 24.
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There are various reasons for the longer stay. Basically, in southern Europe it is more common to stay with your parents for a while after you reach adulthood: in Spain and Greece people move out later on average than in Italy; In Croatia, men are on average almost 35 years old. This also has to do with the fact that families in the south stick even closer together. If everyone feels comfortable, everything is fine.
Birth rate in Italy is falling
However, the economic situation also plays a role in many cases: unemployment, a lack of training places, high rents, especially in the cities, and inflation overall. The Italian central bank warned in a study some time ago of “serious economic and demographic consequences” if young people put off looking for a job and starting a family for so long.
The concerns are well-founded: Parallel to the verdict, the national statistics authority announced on Thursday that last year fewer children were born in Italy, a country with a population of 59 million, than ever before: 393,000.
Further sources:“La Provincia Pavese” (paid content), Eurostat on age at departure.