Proposal to automatically give babies mother’s surname ignites row in Italy

Children born in Italy are automatically registered with their father’s surname, with the mother’s surname usually permitted only if the father is absent. Photograph: Photoalto/REX/Shutterstock

An Italian politician has proposed a law that would make it automatic for babies to be assigned their mother’s surname at birth, a step that would mark a rupture with a centuries-old tradition and has sparked a fiery debate.

Dario Franceschini, a former culture minister from the centre-left Democratic party, argues that such legislation would “right a historic wrong”.