According to the Roman Catholic tradition, the Italian Father’s Day (La Festa del Papà) is celebrated, not on the third Sunday in June like many other countries in the world, but on March 19th, otherwise known as Saint Joseph’s Day (La Festa di San Giuseppe). It is recognised as an important time to commemorate fatherhood, paternal bonds, and the significant influence of fathers in our society, no matter which date you celebrate.
In recognition of this special holiday, we’ve decided to share ten of our favourite Italian quotes about fathers with you today. Some are famous Italian sayings and proverbs, whereas others are quotes of both the serious and funny variety translated from different languages. Enjoy!
1. Tale padre, tale figlio
English meaning: Like father, like son.
2. Per un bimbo il concetto di papà è quello di un supereroe che punge con la barba.
English meaning: For a child, the concept of a father is that of a superhero with a prickly beard. (Mirko Badiale)
3. Il padre di famiglia è l’anima della casa.
English meaning: The father of the family is the soul of the house.
4. Un padre vale più di cento maestri.
English meaning: A father is worth more than one hundred teachers. (George Herbert di Cherbury)
5. Un buon padre ha occhi anche alle spalle.
English meaning: A good father also has eyes in the back of his head.
6. Al posto del padre nessun deve sedere.
English meaning: No one must sit in the place of the father.
7. Basta un padre a governare cento figliuoli e cento figliuoli non bastano a governare un padre.
English meaning: One father is enough to govern a hundred children and one hundred children are not enough to govern a father.
8. Non è difficile diventare padre. Essere un padre: questo è difficile.
English meaning: Becoming a father is easy enough, but being one can be tough. (Wilhelm Busch)
9. Beato davvero è l’uomo che sente molte voci gentili chiamarlo papà.
English meaning: Blessed indeed is the man who hears many gentle voices call him father. (Lydia Maria Child)
10. Il padre è la radice più robusta, il figlio l’albero più promettente.
English meaning: The father is the strongest root, the son the most promising tree. (Luca Frongia)
Heather Broster is a graduate with honours in linguistics from the University of Western Ontario. She is an aspiring polyglot, proficient in English and Italian, as well as Japanese, Welsh, and French to varying degrees of fluency. Originally from Toronto, Heather has resided in various countries, notably Italy for a period of six years. Her primary focus lies in the fields of language acquisition, education, and bilingual instruction.
