He who abandons the household loses wealth and dignity — the person who cuts themselves off from their family, who turns their back on their origins and obligations, loses not only material connection but their fundamental social identity and self-respect.
In Sicilian culture, the 'casata' — the household, the family with all its history, obligations, and solidarity — was the primary unit of identity. A person without a family was not fully a person in the social sense; they lacked the web of belonging that defined who you were, where you came from, what was expected of you and what you could expect from others. The person who abandoned this — who cut ties, denied obligations, refused to maintain the family connection — was understood to have severed something fundamental. Not only did they lose the practical support of the network but they lost the dignity that came from belonging, from being known, from having a place in the social order. This was the dark side of Sicilian family centrality: the obligation was total, and abandonment was a form of social death.
A proverb of Sicilian family identity and the consequences of abandoning one's household and origins. 'Casata' = casata/famiglia (household/family lineage), 'ricchizza' = ricchezza (wealth). Reflects the total identification of individual identity with family belonging in traditional Sicilian culture.
About a relative who cut all family ties and suffered for it
Ha rinnegato tutta la famiglia per fare il suo. Cu abbanduna la casata perde la ricchizza e la dignità — e adesso è solo.
He rejected the whole family to do his own thing. He who abandons the household loses wealth and dignity — and now he is alone.
Warning someone about the consequences of breaking with family
Puoi farcela da solo per un po'. Ma cu abbanduna la casata perde la ricchizza e la dignità — alla fine ne hai bisogno.
You can manage alone for a while. But he who abandons the household loses wealth and dignity — in the end you need it.
Explaining why returning to the family is important
Ho vissuto dieci anni senza contatti con la mia famiglia. Cu abbanduna la casata perde la ricchizza e la dignità — ho capito che mancava qualcosa di fondamentale.
I lived ten years without contact with my family. He who abandons the household loses wealth and dignity — I understood something fundamental was missing.
About maintaining family identity even in emigration
In America si sono mantenuti siciliani. Cu abbanduna la casata perde la ricchizza e la dignità — sapevano che il nome della famiglia era la loro ricchezza.
In America they maintained their Sicilian identity. He who abandons the household loses wealth and dignity — they knew the family name was their wealth.