Newspapers often refer to the patriarchal culture of Italy and a gender gap that places men high above women. Men are the political leaders, heads of families, decision makers, the marriage partner allowed to roam beyond the marriage bed. Women were subservient in all these areas.
Let me tell you, this may be true of Italy. But once Italian men began emigrating to America and marrying on these grounds, they seemed to have lost many of their natural rights. They became #2 in the family. It was the Italian-American wife who took over. My mother was the head of family, lawgiver, decision maker. She was the boss in the every sense. Men did their jobs, brought home the pay, and then read the newspapers. This was true of the all the papas in our family.
Happy for those families where Mamma was strong. And she usually was.
AgeBuster 
The patriarchal culture of Italy hardily survives somewhere, especially in the South, the Mezzogiorno, where most Italian Americans came from. And even there is challenged. The image that our prime minister Silvio Berlusconi gives of our country is outdated. Here also, inside the family, often the woman is the law-giver. And men read the newspapers.
Dear Man of Roma,
Thank you for your response. I was interested in your saying the patriarchal culture is not surviving in Italy and has lost out even among Italians of middle and northern Italy. Actually, I think in most families, American and European, the man has lost his former position as head of the family. That’s not necessarily a good thing. Women do their job as best they can. Let’s remember that heads of government are usually men, and men should live up to traditional patriarchy and be heads of the family. It’s their fault, they’ve abnegated their job.
Linda Cateura (Agebuster)