Montel, Alberto. “Italy: Recognition of Foreign Annulment and Divorce Decrees.” The American Journal of Comparative Law, Vol. 4, No. 3, (1955), pp. 439-443. 1 April 2008.

Alberto Montel’s article, “Italy: Recognition of Foreign Annulment and Divorce Decrees,” provides background information on the progress of divorce laws and the different types of marriage in Italy. There are two ways in which a marriage was recognized in Italy as of the 1950s. One method was the “civil” marriage, which was solely a legal affair. The jurisdiction concerning the validity of this type of marriage lay within the ordinary civil courts. The other method of recognizing marriage was the “concordat” marriage, which was “performed by a Catholic priest in accordance to canonical law” (440). According to a 1929 law, only the Catholic Church had authority to grant annulments when the marriage was of the “concordat” type. Although in the 1950s “divorce [was] not admitted by the Italian law, Italy [was] under international obligation to execute foreign divorce decrees dissolving marriages contracted by spouses belonging to a country where divorce [was] lawfully accepted” (440). Montel states that because of this “concession,” couples who were dissatisfied with their marriages abused the passive and relaxed sentiments of the court and pursued divorce decrees abroad (441).

“Italy: Recognition of Foreign Annulment and Divorce Decrees” is useful in contributing a detailed account about the different types of marriage, as well as restrictions and concessions to getting a divorce as of 1950 for the audience of Divorzio all’Italiana. From reading this article, the difficulty of obtaining an annulment becomes quite obvious: an unhappy couple either needs the civil courts to proclaim their marriage “invalid,” or for the Vatican to grant them an annulment. The latter situation is quite unlikely as up to the 1970s, the Vatican was strongly against divorce. Fefe Cefalu is therefore left with few options end his marriage with Rosalia and in order to marry Angela. In Divorzio all’Italiana, although the priest played a minor role in the movie, he was able to convey the struggle amongst the people, who were in favor of divorce.  The fact that couples were already seeking divorce decrees abroad by the 1950s shows how their were Italian people in favor of having divorce laws. Furthermore, the fact that Italy was recognizing foreign divorce decrees was a sign that the institution of marriage was soon to be weakened by the possibility of divorce and annulments.