ABSTRACT
The family provided the core idea behind household arrangements, which were an important element in survival and social advancement for both individuals and groups. The debates concerning familism and the values associated with it tend to assume the existence of an opposition and a distance between the family and society. This view is consonant with a number of anthropological works concerning the political and cultural character of the South. Furthermore, the limitation of women to their role as reproducers was expressed in campaigns in which their maternity was exalted, and in 1938 a system of prizes was set up to honour the more prolific women. A slogan from that period expresses the fascist view on gender and the division of labour: 'Maternity is to women what war is to men.' In the case of Naples, it is clear that the family remains an important institution, notwithstanding the significant changes that have taken place at local and supralocal levels.
