ABSTRACT
The history of humanity presents an inexhaustible repertoire of ways of organizing and attributing meaning to reproduction and to sexuality, to the alliance between groups and individuals, and therefore, an infinite variety of ways of building families. Sociological, demographic and psychological studies and research have clearly identified the range of family models that have always characterized human societies, highlighting how the family assumes different functions and structures, supporting and nurturing itself through different economic systems. The transition from the patriarchal family of the rural world, extended and economically selfsufficient, to that of the nuclear family of the industrial era is a significant example of this variability. Over the past 50 years, the family has undergone a process of radical transformation in its structure, demographic configuration, and internal and social roles, to assume gradually greater complexity and differences, and even more dramatic fragmentation, to such an extent that today it is impossible to refer to the family as a standard unit. We are faced, instead, with a multiplicity of family configurations characterized by increasing complexity and progressive fragmentation, described by Golombok (2015) as modern families. But, in spite of the current family’s increased fragility, uncertainty and instability, it still remains founded on strong inter-generational bonds (which, because of today’s increased longevity, can extend over four generations), where values, long-term love, caring and goods are shared, and children’s growth enabled.
