Northern and southern Italy are different also as far as divorces are concerned. In our country about 57,284 people pay palimony to their former husband or wife. The average annual amount is of about 5,920 Euros, but only in 5 regions (4 in the north) it is more than 6 thousand Euros: Veneto 8,460 Euros, Lombardy 8.020 Euros, Emilia Romagna 6,860, Piemonte 6,280 and Lazio 6,190. The data was published by the National Association of Tax Consultants thanks to the information given by the Economy Ministry regarding taxes paid by state employees in 2009. This cold data gives a picture of a changing country.

According to an Istat study in 2008 the average duration of a separated couple is 15 years but almost one fourth of separations concern marriages that lasted less than 6 years. Considering the same year marriages lasted on average 18 years and one divorce out of five concerned weddings celebrated less than 10 years before. Ancot underlines that according to the Italian Civil Code, if the wife or husband is not economically self-sufficient, they must receive a monthly cheque, whose amount is established by the judge considering the economic situation of the couple. Italy is divided in two also as far as the number of separations is concerned: in 2008 there were 186.3 separations out of 1000 marriages in the south, against 363.3 separations out of 1000 marriages in the north-east of Italy.

The lowest palimonies are located in Tuscany with 5,610 Euros, Valle d’Aosta with 5,820 Euros, Friuli Venezia Giulia with 5,760 Euros, Trentino Alto Adige with 5,630 Euros, Marche with 5,600 Euros, Liguria with 5,140 Euros, Umbria with 4,800 Euros, Sardegna with 4,640 Euros, Abruzzo with 4,550 Euros, Campania with 4,470 Euros, Molise with 4,270 Euros, Sicily with 4,160 Euros, Calabria with 4,110 Euros, Puglia with 3,990 Euros and Basilicata with 3,920 Euros.

Translated by Chiara Nunnari from John Milton Institute