Until now, female employees could retire at 60, five years earlier than their male counterparts – a double standard based on the consideration that women also take care of the housework and family. The European Commission found the rule illegal last year, and the government acted to bring Italy into compliance.

But not all women are happy about the change – underscoring how traditional ideas about gender roles have held surprisingly firm in Italy, both in raising children and looking after ailing parents.

Professor Chiara Volpato, from the University of Milan-Bicocca, said that thousands of women responded to an internet appeal made in June after Italian academics urged the wives of world leaders to boycott the G8 summit to protest against the alleged antics of the Italian Prime Minister, who is embroiled in scandal over his private life.

The wives of the leaders, including Sarah Brown, ignored the appeal and joined their husbands at the summit in L’Aquila. Mr Berlusconi’s wife, Veronica Lario, was noticeably absent, having announced that she planned to divorce her husband after he was pictured with Noemi Letizia, a lingerie model from Naples, at her 18th birthday party in April.