Italian Civil Code: 1928-1932

[MaryLF]

Laws about rights of adopted children changed a lot in the years in Italy and you refer to something that happened more than 80 years ago...If you just want to know who was right then you should find the Civil Code used in 1930. I believe adopted children didn't have same rights as blood relatives...

I am trying to find information and actual text (in English) on the version of Italian Civil Code that would have been in use from about 1928 - 1932 and am wondering if anyone can help get me pointed in the right direction? I am specifically interested in Articles 715 and 755, and I am generally interested in understanding the rules of succession due to death and if an adopted child would have been eligible to inherit under the code in use at this time.

Context of Search
I am looking to understand bits of my GM’s history and what life was like in Italy at that time:

My maternal GM born in 1893 was “adopted” from an orphanage in Rome by a Carnevale family in Pico, Frosione. This family had one natural child, Giovanni, who died in the USA in 1928…he was married at the time of his death. I have a letter from a lawyer in Pico, written 1932, indicating that Giovanni’s property was to be divided between his wife in the USA (75%) and his maternal aunt (25%), and that this split was based on Articles 715, 755 of the civil code. No mention was made of my GM.

Mary

[johnnyonthespot]

I can't answer your question, but I wonder if your grandmother was adopted or simply "taken in" by the Carnevale family.

From what I have read, adoption in the legal sense was extremely rare. On the other hand, it was in everyone's interest to see children moved from orphanages into private homes.

[MaryLF]

Thank you for your reply, Carmine. I too understand that legal adoptions were very rare back then...I have questions on that as well...but, for now I'm trying to look at family legend vs. what would have been allowed by code if my GM had actually been adopted.

[PippoM]

Current italian civil code is of 1942.
The previous one was of 1865.
Anyway, articles 715 and 755 of current one are about heredities and such...

[PippoM]

I got 1865 Codice Civile.
I will translate the articles for you.
But it seems that #716 is about a different matter.

[MaryLF]

That's excellent news, Pippo.

From my search, I was able to determine that there was the Italian Civil Code of 1865 and that a new code was written in 1942 that remains in use today. I couldn't find anything in between those years, and was not certain if I was missing something...you have now confirmed that the code of 1865 is the one that I need.

Thank you very much for offering to translate the Articles 715 & 755 for me!

[PippoM]

Mary,
I'm sorry for the delay; also forgive me for the translation, but I generally have some problems when writing English, so you can imagine what I can do with old Italian laws.
You can find Italian "Codice Civile" of 1865 simply by writing "Codice civile 1865" in Google Books.
You wrote about art. 715, but the one mentioned in the letter is #716.

716 Il Sindaco rende nota la consegna anzidetta per mezzo di pubblicazione nelle forma consuete, da rinnovarsi in due domeniche consecutive
716 The mayor announces the beforesaid delivery by means of publication in the usual form, to be done on two Sundays in a row

As you can see, this has nothing to do with inheritance. It is about the finding of things with no owner. Previous articles stated that found objects had to be delivered to the Mayor, who then checks if someone claims them, in the way described in art. 716

I will post the translation of #755 as soon as I can.

[MaryLF]

Pippo,

Thanks so much for your response...I thought that you forgot about me

Last night I finally found the Civil Code of 1865 by doing a Google search using Codice Civile 1865...ended up on Google Books...just as you did.

You are correct, the letter mentions Articles 716 (not 715) and 755...however, thinking that I needed 715, that is the one that I copied along w/ 755 (see below). I agree, 716 does not seem to make sense in the context. It will be interesting to see if 755 makes sense...

Thank you agin for all of your help! By the way, your English is perfectly fine and is far better than my Italian.

Mary

Article 715: Chi trova un oggetto mobile che non sia tesoro, deve restituirlo al precendente possessore; e se non lo conosce, deve senza ritardo consegnarlo al sindaco del luogo dove lo ha trovato.

Article 755: Quando il defunto lasciasse altri parenti successibili, l'eredita si devolve al coniuge pei due terzi. Gli si devolve per intero nel case che il defunto non lasci patenti successobili entro il sesto grado.

[PippoM]

Better late than never...

#755:
if the dead person leaves other persons who can be heirs (other than those described in the previous articles: parents, children, siblings), two thirds of heredity is given to the spouse. He gets the whole heredity if the dead person does not leave relatives within sixth degree of kinship.

Do you need an explanation about degrees?

[MaryLF]

Yes, better late...

Article 755 definitely makes sense in the context and is consistent with how the lawyer describes the division of property in the 1932 letter. I understand degrees of kinship, thanks for asking.

Thank you again for all of your help, Pippo...My family and I are very grateful to you!

Mary