June 13, 2022, marked the day when the first baby was registered with a double last name in Florence. The child, born in Careggi hospital, has his or her mother’s last name followed by his or her father’s surname. “This is an important turning point for family law that goes in the direction of greater equality,” said the city councilor at the registry office of Palazzo Vecchio Titta Meucci.
This follows two crucial decisions which made history for Italian women, children, mothers and female athletes alike on April 27, 2022. The president of Tuscan commissions for equal opportunities, Francesca Basanieri, spoke out regarding the decisions on the theme of familial obligations and of sports, where men and women are to be considered equal.
Until 2022 children were only legally allowed their father’s last name at birth. A choice did not exist for mothers to grant their children their last name, even lacking the option for children to take both parents’ last names, according to Article 262 of the Civil Code, which has now been deemed discriminatory.
This ruling made by the Constitutional Court will allow both parents to bear equal responsibility for their children, who can now have a double surname composed of both their parents’ last names. Together, partners can decide their children’s last name together, rather than having an automatic legal decision made, which the court recognized as “discriminatory and harmful to the child’s identity.”
