Help needed to Understand Italian Birth Certificate

DFIL

Hi,

Can anyone help me understand the attached birth record for Francesco FILIPPIN ?

I can understand the basics, Date of birth 20.2.1908 and father is Luigi in Fietta and the address etc.

What I am interested in is what this record says about the mother. From family research we know the mothers name but she is not listed on the certificate. I am wondering if maybe we don’t know the real story.

I can see in the writing the word "donna " (woman) but can’t understand the description.

Any help would be appreciated .

Italy, Treviso, Treviso, Civil Registration (Tribunale), 1871-1941; https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G99H-8969-4?cc=1947831&wc=M8JP-12C%3A248107501%2C248298801

Cousin Vinny

The parents were not legally married. From 1866-1929 in Italy, civil marriage and religious marriage were separate and church marriages were not recognized for legal purposes. The church discouraged the faithful from participating in civil marriage so many couples just had a church marriage, as before. But their children were considered legally illegitimate, so that presented problems for property inheritance purposes, not to mention the possible shame of one of those children eventually being married and being listed as "illegitimate". As a result, most couples would eventually have a civil marriage and their previously born children would be legitimized retroactively.

So that may be the case here, although it's impossible to say - the couple may have had a church marriage, or may not. In any event, because the parents were not legally married, the mother had the legal right not to be named on the birth record, and many women declined to be named, again because of the shame of being listed a having an illegitimate child.

The language describing the mother is "...dalla sua unione naturale con donna non maritata, non parente né affine nei gradi che ostano al riconoscimento." It's legalese - the child was born from the father's natural (read: illegitimate) relationship with an unmarried woman, not related to him by blood or by marriage within a degree that would prevent him from recognizing the child as his own.

The reference is to Article 180 of the Italian Civil Code of 1865:

Non possono però essere riconosciuti

1. I figli nati da persone, di cui anche una soltanto fosse al tempo del concepimento legata in matrimonio con altra persona;

2. I figli nati da persone fra le quali non poteva sussistere matrimonio per vincolo di parentela, o di affinità in linea retta in infinito, o per vincolo di parentela in linea collaterale nel secondo grado.

You may want to look for a civil marriage record between the parents; it would contain a list of children being recognized.

DFIL

Thank you for your reply and insight. Very interesting. I do have their Civil marriage record with all the children listed on it and was confused as the date of this record was years after the children were born. Thanks again for your time, much appreciated.