Over the past fifty years, a number of significant changes have occurred in Italian family law. Despite the legal limits still imposed on private autonomy, there has been a certain movement toward privatization of family relations in Italy, as confirmed by recent developments. This contribution aims to highlight the principal steps in the complex itinerary towards “privatization” – in a loose sense of the term – of Italian family law. Il saggio ricostruisce i contorni della c.d. "privatizzazione" del diritto di famiglia.