ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author considers some of the practices and ideas which constitute and express the collectivity in the experience of individuals. These practices and ideas can be seen as intersections of individual subjective experience and family life with the sense of recognition of and of belonging to a collectivity. Indeed, Neapolitans' perceptions of the family and of mothers were imbued with the experiences of commensality and the preparation and giving of food. Neapolitan and family traditions undoubtedly play a role in the construction of identity and sentiment. Celebrations which are seen as family celebrations but involve the entire city are governed by a great deal of consensus in relation to the appropriate activities and consumption that should mark that particular celebration. The attributes of motherhood come to represent the integrity of the group - whether this be the family or the community - against the negative effects of systems which operate according to different moralities.
