After over 60 years together, two Italian retirees finally tied the knot breaking a record in a country known for long engagements.
Annibale Labò had proposed to Bianca Castellana in 1940, but the two never quite got around to calling the preacher, despite having lived together since 1941.

Bianca, 79, determined to walk down the aisle, asked Annibale to marry her last week. The octogenarian immediately accepted.
Italian couples are prone to long engagements (averaging almost five years) and the trend seems to be lengthening. 2001 figures were a year longer than in 1987, (3.9 years) and living together is still a rarity, with only 4% of couples shacking up before the rice is thrown.
"I’m very happy," said new bride Bianca. "I hope not to die from joy!"

Abbondanza: Planning an Italian Wedding
Because it’s never too late…

50% Italians hit by "nervous exhaustion" in Spring
50% Italian men "exhausted" when soccer team loses
51% Italian women "exhausted’ from unsatisfactory sex life

When Spring hits, half of Italians feel a general malaise often treated with special vitamin supplements — likely to do little if this poll from a psychology magazine is on target. Only 7% of men and 9% of women accuse too much work for their fatigue, though for both sexes work is the first area to be affected.
The main triggers appear to be a loss by the favorite soccer team for men and an unsatisfactory sex life for women, according to poll of 876 Italians between 15-45. Perhaps the next poll will tell if the two are related.

Related resources:
www.bischero.it
Laugh & this too shall pass: humor portal for men who don’t care about soccer….

So much for hands-off government: a city council is organizing dates for single women to celebrate national Women’s Day March 8.
The idea came from the culture councilor of a town called Cernusco sul Naviglio near Milan. The holiday, meant to celebrate emancipation, in recent years has become an occasion for a girl’s night out — preferably in a trendy ethnic restaurant or at a male strip show rather than for any serious discussion on women’s rights.

“We’re against women by themselves in pizzerias on March 8,” joked Daniele Cassamagnaghi, who invented the free date scheme. “It’s sad, really. Why not spend the evening with a blind date, do something a bit different?”

So far there are over 25 men available, including city council members, who have met minimum requirements: "a pleasant appearance and the capacity to speak at least four words," explained Cassamagnaghi. To take the city up on the offer, women ring the town hall specifying age and other prerequisites. The town council will play matchmaker for the evening’s festivities that include an aperitif and a cabaret show.

A letter of protest, signed by 20 townswomen, asserted the right to go out without men every once in a while. "Thanks but no thanks," said the letter. "At least once a year it’s great to go out with only women…It doesn’t mean we don’t like men or can’t get dates."

Related resources:
www.donnamimosa.com/home.asp
However you decide to celebrate March 8, try sending these animated greetings in Flash…

34.7% have an "intense sex life"
47.2% regret losing youth & beauty
74.3% do not miss youthful sexual vigor
20% admit to having had crush, age 60+

Italian senior citizens, currently the only growing segment of the population, confirm that they are still young at heart. Of the 3,500 over 65s interviewed by the Ageing Society, 65% say they have an inadequate sex life, but only because they have difficulty finding suitable partners.
While over half mourn the loss of youthful looks, about 75% say they don’t complain about loss of sexual appetite. About 90% wants to do something useful for society, 18% take life long learning courses and 69% regularly frequent some kind of association. The majority, 68%, still consider family the main source of assistance, only 11% the Church. By 2030, over 50% of Italy’s population will be over 60 years old.

http://digilander.iol.it/raulbova2001
Actor Raul Bova’s landmark nude calendar–he was cited by women over 65 as the ‘ideal man.’

Italian singles, tired of being in the shadows for St. Valentine celebrations, have proclaimed their own saint and feast day. Feb. 15 has been named San Faustino Single Pride day, a day of awareness of the ‘status single’ with a special focus on the problems and discrimination faced by people who are not married.
“Everyone could use a saint to watch over them,” says president Annalisa Fattori, from the official site. Fattori started the association based in Milan with three friends. “And not a few people have come out of sticky emotional situations thanks to the help of this beacon of singledom.”
They couldn’t have picked a better representative: San Faustino, though not widely known, was a combative martyr who became a saint along with best friend San Giovita. Both belonged to wealthy pagan families, became knights and were converted during a battle in Roman times. They went into martyrdom together, placating the fierce animals meant to kill them, putting out the bonfire meant to burn them and weathering a storm at sea when sent to prison in Naples.
Co-patrons of the Northern Italian city of Brescia, they are credited, among other things, with liberating the city from Visconti troops through an apparition in 1438.
Today’s singles are fighting prejudice and issues like access to low-income housing, the right to adopt children and higher trash tax, according to the association. Over one-fifth, 23.3% of the Italian population, is made up of singles and single-parent families.
During celebrations, the association will elect a "Single of the Year" from honorary members including fashion designer Elio Fiorucci, athlete Marco Pantani and author Carmen Covito.

www.my-tv.it
If you must send Valentine’s e-cards, try the politically incorrect "Osamina" in Flash….

70% Italian men would like partner to gain weight
40% of these find heavier women "more sensual"
31% would like partner to have a fuller bum
25% would like partner to have a fuller bust

The ideal woman is a Mediterranean beauty with dangerous curves, according to a poll of 760 Italian men between the ages of 24-60. The men, polled by a popular monthly, claim they wage a constant battle to make partners gain weight and find constant dieting “women’s most annoying obsession.” That said, they’re still pretty picky about weights and measures: while only 8% said they would be happy to have a partner who weighed less than 50k (around 120lbs) some 36% said a women’s ideal weight is somewhere between 60-65k ( approx. 130-140lbs).

Related resources:

Italian Men: Love & Sex

http://www.zoomata.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=111

The skinny on Manuela Arcuri, curvy starlet du jour, cited as the "ideal woman"

2 million Italians chat regularly
36.5 minutes of virtual sex per month (Italians)
55.4 minutes of virtual sex per month (Norwegians)
59.2 minutes of virtual sex per month (Germans)
Apparently, Latin lovers still prefer a hands-on approach to sex. In part, the preference for real sex over cybersex can be put down to low computer use in Italy, according to think tank Eurispes which recently studied the phenomenon.
Researchers found there are almost as many eros-related Italian web sites as users–about 35,000.
Some 40,000 Italians last year claimed to have engaged at least once in ‘virtual’ sex, according to the "Report on Italy" due for release on Jan. 25. Although cybersex statistics are low compared to European counterparts, the business of sex shops in Italy has boomed over the past decade–increasing more than seven fold from 40 to 293.
Italian women are also becoming less shy about sex-related products. Inspired by a study which revealed women as high consumers of pay-TV porn films, a women’s coop in Bologna recently announced plans for a porn shop open only to the gentle sex.

43% couples separate due to woman’s career
30% couples separate due to bad cooking
23% couples separate for cheating
4% couples separate for "irreconcilable differences"

Forget about extramarital affairs, lack of affection or fighting over money: separations for modern Italian couples are often linked to the fork and spoon.The poll, conducted by the center for family studies, examined reasons for the end of marital bliss in 500 Italian couples. Cooking was cited by men as a top reason, though researchers point out it’s closely linked to the rise in women’s interest in careers outside the home.
"These days, people get married less for exclusively emotional reasons, especially since generally marriages happen after 25," commented divorce lawyer Marianna De Cinque. "At that age, partners tend to view a marriage like a small business but the kitchen is still considered largely women’s work."
The findings represent a marked change in the reasons for divorce–ten years ago, 70% of Italian marriages broke up over cheating,

Related resources:
www.duepiu.net/coppia/veronesi_2.htm
Real-life story of a young Italian couple on the rocks.

120,000 marriages yearly (1980)*
275,000 marriages yearly (1999)
63,000 of these religious ceremonies (1999)
$20,000 USD average wedding cost
1 bride not married because of "sexy" dress

Italians aren’t having big families anymore but that doesn’t keep them from having big weddings. Some of the more popular ideas, according to organizers of bridal fair "Milano Sposi," include a bridal entrance in helicopter preceded by a parachute drop of sugared almonds, ($1,500) or a reception on the historic Settebello train for 170 guests, for a mere $3,500.
Most Italians have these matrimonial extravaganzas in civil ceremonies, one almost-bride from Turin found out why the hard way.
Father Pier Giuseppe Gaude, pastor of the church of Santa Rita, took one look at the bride in a tight satin and pearl confection with a plunging neckline and refused to perform the ceremony. Her parents figure the almost-church wedding cost them about $2.50 a minute–not to mention the embarrassment of explaining to hundreds of guests why the priest invited them to "go in peace" without performing mass. "When the woman told me, I really couldn’t believe it," said Angela Scarpelli, director of the fashion house which created the scandalous dress. "To be honest, it was one of our more sober models."

Related resources
www.biancamariaserao.it/collezioneuk.htm
Italian bridal fashion: we particularly like the bare tummy covered by lace model…

A two-week “full immersion” for men to learn how to cook and clean: that’s the vacation proposed by the Italian Househusband’s movement (Movimento degli uomini casalinghi). “We want to promote a man who takes care of the home and cultivates other interests,” explains Antonio D’Andrea, who founded the organization 15 years ago.” A man who has given up the antiquated idea of being a warrior and is interested in cultural pursuits.” Hard to say how many men will pay to learn how to get tough stains out, but the idea is a novel one.