An Italian Woman Successfully Evicted Her 40-Something-Year-Old Sons Like The Hero She Is

The term “boomerang kid” is nothing new. Many college students move home after graduating college to look for a job, save some money, and figure out the next step of their post-grad life. That next step of their life usually, eventually, involves them striking out on their own, getting their own place, and creating a life of their own.

One Italian mother wasn’t so lucky when it came to her sons. So she took measures into her own hands.

The 75-year-old Italian woman from the northern city of Pavia had just about enough of her sons, 40 and 42, and on several occasions tried to convince them to find their own independence, especially since both were employed.

But since men cannot take hints and get super comfy with mommy cooking their meals and making their beds, they happily overstayed their welcome. I guess they also were fine with celibacy because how are you going to be 40 and bring a date back to mom’s house?

Failure to Launch, much?

Despite her constant encouragement to her sons to strike out on their own and see what they could do independently, “ ... neither of them wanted to know,” she said, according to a report in the local newspaper La Provincia Pavese.

The mother was also fed up with her sons’ lack of effort in helping her take care of the home or contribute to household expenses, the newspaper reported. So she took them to court which resulted in a Pavia judge, Simona Caterbi, agreeing with the mom and issuing an eviction order against the men.

In her ruling, Caterbi said that while the men still living at home was initially warranted due to the “obligation of the parent to provide maintenance,” it was no longer justifiable given the fact that they were over 40. The men have until Dec. 18 to move out.

This desperate measure taken by this Italian mother is actually not the first one in the country’s history. In 2011, a Venetian couple sought legal action to evict their 41-year-old son.

Living at home with family as an adult is fairly common in Italy. Seventy percent of people in Italy aged between 18 and 34 still live at home with their parents, according to 2022 data — 72.6% of men and 66% of women.

A 2019 study from the Italian National Institute of Statistics found that of the young adults living at home, 36.5% were students, 38.2% had a job and 23.7% were searching for employment.

Though Italy is known for cultivating a culture of multiple generations living under one roof, the number of young adults staying longer in the family home has risen in recent years, mostly as a result of tough economic conditions.

During the 2018 Italian elections, the issue of “bamboccioni” AKA “big babies” came to the forefront of some prospective politicians’ campaigns.

An Italian politician first used the term derogatorily a few years prior to criticize what he felt were indolent and pampered young Italian people.

The former prime minister and leader of the center-left coalition, Matteo Renzi, once proposed a special benefit to assist the bamboccioni: a monthly sum of $190 to help them leave home and create their own lives.

The rival center-right Forza Italia party dismissed the plan as a gimmick, arguing that the bamboccioni phenomenon is a cultural effect.

“Some young Italians feel it is much better to be fed and housed and cuddled by their mothers than going to work,” declared Forza Italia Sen. Lucio Malan. He pledged that, if elected, the center-right coalition would take measures to reduce it but, he said, “We can’t do anything for the over-cuddled young men and women. That is a cultural matter.”

Listen, I’m 34 years old and still love a good cuddle from my mom. Living with her full-time on the other hand... that’s another story.