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Folk Sayings on Family
Italy - Pre 1969 or Around the World, Click here

Campania, Italy
Date: Centuries-old
Notes: Italian Proverb or Folk Saying on the Family -- by Region -- Campania
     
      o in Italian: Ogni brutto figghio pe'la mamma pare nu giglio.
      o in English: Every ugly child looks like a lily to his mother.
     
Contributed by: Image courtesy of The New York Public Library, Digital Gallery #1614975

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Campania, Italy
Date: Centuries-old
Notes: Italian Proverb or Folk Saying on the Family -- by Region -- Campania
     
      Naples, Campania
      o in Italian: Qualsiasi scarafaggio a bello per sua mamma.
      o in English: Every cockroach (or potato beetle) is beautiful to its mother. Meaning: Every mother thinks her child is beautiful, regardless of whatever the child is beautiful or not.
     
Contributed by: Image courtesy of The New York Public Library, Digital Gallery

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Campania, Italy
Date: Centuries-old
Notes: Italian Proverb or Folk Saying on the Family -- by Region -- Campania
     
      o in Italian: Mazze e panelle fanno li figghi belli. Pane e presutto fanno li figghi brutti.
      o in English: Slaps and bread make for good children; bread and prosciutto make for bad kids. (Meaning) Spoiling children by giving them whatever they want leads to children who misbehave and don't appreciate what they have.
     
Contributed by: Image courtesy of The Library of Congress #3f06030r

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Campania, Italy
Date: Centuries-old
Notes: Italian Proverb or Folk Saying on the Family -- by Region -- Campania
     
      o in Italian: Megghio che mammeta t'affucasse che lu sole de marzo t'abbruciasse.
      o in English: It's better to be smothered by a mother's breasts than to be burnt up by the March sun.
     
Contributed by: Image courtesy of The New York Public Library, Digital Gallery #1150570

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Campania, Italy
Date: Centuries-old
Notes: Italian Proverb or Folk Saying on the Family -- by Region -- Campania
     
      o in Italian: Chi ha fatt' 'e figlie, se l'addorme.
      o in English: Whoever has had children puts them to bed.
     
Contributed by: Image courtesy of The New York Public Library #11904320

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Campania, Italy
Date: Centuries-old
Notes: Italian Proverb or Folk Saying on Mothers -- by Region -- Campania
     
      o in Italian: 'Na mamma da a mangia a ciento figghi e ciento figghi nun danno a mangia a 'na mamma.
      o in English: A mother can feed a hundred kids, but a hundred kids can't feed one mother.
     
Contributed by: Image courtesy of The New York Public Library, Digital Gallery #1168464

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Campania, Italy
Date: Centuries-old
Notes: Italian Proverb or Folk Saying on the Family -- by Region -- Campania
     
      o in Italian: (Dialect) Figghi fai, mariti truovi, frate e sore nun truovi mai.
      o in English: Children one can have, husbands one can find, but brothers and sisters one can't find them anywhere.
     
Contributed by: Image courtesy of The New York Public Library, Digital Gallery #125880

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Campania, Italy
Date: Centuries-old
Notes: Proverb or Folk Saying on the Family - by Region -- Campania
     
      o in Italian: (Dialect) Li parienti so' com'a li stivali: chiu so' stritti e chiu te fanno male.
      - in English: Relatives are like boots -- there are those that are [a bit] tight, and then there are those that hurt you.
     
     
      o in Italian: (Dialect) Parienti...serpienti.
      - in English: Relatives -- snakes.
     
Contributed by: Image courtesy of The Library of Congress #1740r

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Campania, Italy
Date: Centuries-old
Notes: Italian Proverb or Folk Saying on the Family -- by Region -- Campania
     
      o in Italian: (Dialect) Chi se mette cu li criaturi la matina se trova cacato.
      o in English: (Literally) He who is with little children in the morning finds himself thrown out. (Equivalent) Kids overtake or overwhelm those who try to take care of them.
     
Contributed by: Image courtesy of The Library of Congress #5a00389r

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Campania, Italy
Date: Centuries-old
Notes: Proverbs or Folk Sayings on Mothers-in-Laws-- by Region --
      Campania
     
     
      o in Italian: (Dialect) Tra socra e nora c'e lu diavulo che lavora.
      - in English: Between daughter-in-law and mother-in-law the devil is at work.
     
     
     
Contributed by: Image courtesy of The New York Public Library, Digital Gallery #7707

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