Italy’s highest appeals court has opened the door to legally enforceable prenuptial agreements in a landmark ruling. The Court of Cassation’s July 21st ordinance deemed valid a private contract between spouses that would take effect upon separation.
The case centered on a Mantua couple where the wife contributed financially to a house registered solely in her husband’s name. Through a private agreement, the husband pledged to repay a specified sum should they separate—a circumstance that materialized in 2019.
In ruling 20415, the Court upheld the legality of the spouses’ arrangement, under which the husband committed to reimbursing his wife for renovation costs she incurred on his property. Crucially, the Court interpreted separation not as the *cause* of the agreement but as the *triggering event* for its stipulated terms.
The agreed repayment upon marriage dissolution totaled €146,400, covering mortgage contributions and furniture expenses paid by the wife. In exchange, she relinquished claims to household furnishings and a boat.
While not matching the scale of overseas prenups, this decision marks a significant step toward recognizing such agreements in Italy. The Catholic-aligned National Forum of Family Associations cautioned that marriage fundamentally differs from a contract. Forum President Adriano Bordignon stated: “The Court’s ruling favoring prenuptial pacts signals a potential shift in family law. Technically, marriage is a legal act creating binding effects, but not a contract per se. Contracts serve reciprocal interests through balanced exchanges, whereas marriage establishes a life partnership based on mutual self-giving—not financial interests.”
Financial daily *Il Sole 24 Ore* and Rome-based *Il Messaggero* first reported the ruling. The former noted that pacts regarding alimony and family support contributions remain prohibited, while the latter hailed the decision as “historic” for “overcoming an ancient taboo.”