ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author aims to contribute to an ongoing discussion questioning old and new stereotypes and defeating the temptation to take Italian traits and trends, some unprecedented, some timeless, as necessary and sufficient explanations of the country. She explains the four main themes, all intersected by the economic crisis, that addresses using statistical data as well as people’s personal stories: Degiovanimento; Young and old generations in Italy; Family and welfare Italian style; Italian women, men, work and family. The author refers to the “young generation” as the cohort of people who were born after 1965 and therefore include in it Generation X and the Millennials. Italy is also the place where young people are more educated than any previous generation and yet less socially mobile, the place where education matters less than the profession of one’s father for finding work. Italian young people are suffering from a lack of significance from both a quantitative and a qualitative perspective.
