The Sicilian term (literally: "sudden escape"; plural ''fuitini'', Italian plural ''fuitine'') refers to a practice that used to be common in

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

and other areas of

Southern Italy Southern Italy (, , or , ; ; ), also known as () or (; ; ; ), is a macroregion of Italy consisting of its southern Regions of Italy, regions. The term "" today mostly refers to the regions that are associated with the people, lands or cultu ...

, whereby a young couple would elope in order to get married against the wishes of their families. The intent is that the prolonged absence of the fugitive couple would let their families presume that

sexual intercourse Sexual intercourse (also coitus or copulation) is a sexual activity typically involving the insertion of the Erection, erect male Human penis, penis inside the female vagina and followed by Pelvic thrust, thrusting motions for sexual pleasure ...

had occurred and thus force them to consent to a so-called "rehabilitating

wedding A wedding is a ceremony in which two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnicity, ethnicities, Race (human categorization), races, religions, Religious denomination, denominations, Cou ...

" (). While elopements of young couples are reported to be widespread in places such as

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

(over 300 have been reported to occur each year), most of them only bear a surface relationship with traditional fuitine, as they are not necessarily aimed at a rehabilitating marriage. In principle, the term ''fuitina'' refers only to the consensual elopement of a couple, but the practice also lends itself to be appealed to in order to camouflage actual

kidnapping Kidnapping or abduction is the unlawful abduction and confinement of a person against their will, and is a crime in many jurisdictions. Kidnapping may be accomplished by use of force or fear, or a victim may be enticed into confinement by frau ...

, and possibly

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, carried out against a person without consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person ...

, of the bride-to-be. A prominent example is the 1966 trial for rape where the lawyer of the kidnapper and rapist of Franca Viola maintained that the woman had actually consented to a ''fuitina''. The trial had a wide resonance in Italy, as Franca Viola refused the "rehabilitating" marriage. The trial contributed to spread the awareness that because of the existing social ties (and specifically, the widespread notion that a woman who lost her

virginity Virginity is a social construct that denotes the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. As it is not an objective term with an operational definition, social definitions of what constitutes virginity, or the lack thereo ...

was not "worthy" to be married), women who suffered rape were often pressed to marry their rapists (especially, but not exclusively, if they got

pregnant Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring gestation, gestates inside a woman's uterus. A multiple birth, multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins. Conception (biology), Conception usually occurs ...

), or they would lose their

honour Honour (Commonwealth English) or honor (American English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) is a quality of a person that is of both social teaching and personal ethos, that manifests itself ...

and be marginalized by the society. The aftermath of her trial ruled that rapists were no longer able to avoid punishment through the marriage of their victims. In 1981, Italy repealed Article 544. The Italian Criminal Code (art. 573) prosecutes (consensual) ''fuitina'' if the bride-to-be is a minor, equating it to the kidnapping of a consenting minor.

References

{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Fuitina'' Italian traditions Culture of Sicily Weddings by culture