A Venice court has recognized Italian citizenship by descent for a case filed after the Tajani Decree, applying traditional iure sanguinis principles without any reference to Law 74/2025. The case was filed in November 2025, seven months after the decree took effect.

On March 12, 2026, the same day Italy’s Constitutional Court upheld the Tajani Decree, something remarkable happened in a courtroom in Venice. Judge Chiara Martin issued a sentenza declaring two Brazilian citizens Italian from birth, based on their proven descent from an ancestor born in the Veneto in 1861. The case involves third and fourth generation descendants.

That, on its own, would be notable. What makes it extraordinary is the timing: according to reporting by Brazilian publication Italianismo, the case was filed in November 2025, more than seven months after the Tajani Decree took effect. This was not a grandfathered application. It was a deliberate, strategic challenge to the decree’s restrictions, and the court ruled in the applicants’ favor.

The Case: RG 21984/2025

The case (RG 21984/2025) was filed on November 7, 2025 before Judge Chiara Martin in the Immigration Section of the Tribunale Ordinario di Venezia. The applicants are descendants of Guglielmo Previato, born in 1861 in the Veneto region, who emigrated to Brazil without ever renouncing his Italian citizenship.

The legal team was led by attorney Claudio Lagana. According to Italianismo, Lagana deliberately structured the filing as a brand-new petition “from scratch,” directly addressing the nature of the right to citizenship rather than attempting to argue that the case fell under the pre-decree transitional framework. In his words: “All enrolled with a new petition from zero. Talking about the nature of the right.”

The name Lagana carries particular weight in Venice. Salvatore Lagana, Claudio’s father, is the former president of the Tribunale di Venezia and has publicly criticized the Tajani Decree as “legal fiction” at legal seminars in Rome.

The Italian Ministry of the Interior did not present a defense and was declared in default (contumace).

What the Judge Did, and Did Not, Say

Judge Martin’s sentenza recognizes the applicants as Italian citizens from birth, applying the traditional jurisprudential framework: the 1865 Civil Code, Law 555/1912, Law 91/1992, and the consolidated orientation of the Corte di Cassazione.

At no point in the ruling does she reference Law 74/2025, the Tajani Decree, or the new citizenship framework. Given that this case was filed after the decree, that omission is not a procedural oversight. It is a judicial choice. The judge analyzed the case as if the decree does not exist.

According to Insieme, legal commentators have noted this conspicuous absence. The ruling also does not expressly state the filing date, referencing only the general registration number (which points to the year 2025). This opacity about the filing date, combined with the silence on Law 74/2025, has generated significant discussion among practitioners.

Core Legal Principles Reaffirmed

Citizenship is permanent, imprescriptible, and can be recognized at any time. The court cited the consolidated Cassazione position that the applicant need only prove the original fact (birth from an Italian ancestor and continuity of the descent line), while any causes of loss must be proven by the State.

The “grande naturalizzazione brasiliana” is irrelevant without proof of voluntary intent. The court held that automatic naturalization does not constitute loss of citizenship absent evidence of a deliberate, voluntary act by the ancestor.

Maternal line transmission is valid. The tribunal reaffirmed that discriminatory norms preventing women from transmitting citizenship must be considered invalid, reinforcing the viability of pre-1948 cases.

Direct access to courts is justified. Given the structural difficulties of Italian consulates abroad, the court recognized that exhaustion of administrative remedies is not always required.

No Transcription Ordered

The court recognized citizenship but declined to order direct transcription in the civil registries (stato civile). Applicants will need to request transcription from the competent authorities after the judgment becomes final. This follows an emerging pattern at the Venice tribunal, where at least two prior rulings by Judges Brambullo and Martin have taken the same approach. The pattern is already being challenged on appeal.

Why This Changes the Story

When this ruling was first reported by Insieme, the filing date was ambiguous. Many observers, including ourselves in our initial coverage, noted the possibility that this was a pre-decree case processed under the old rules. The Italianismo report makes clear that it was not.

This is a post-decree case, filed by a lawyer who explicitly chose to challenge the decree’s framework, involving descendants beyond the two-generation limit imposed by Law 74/2025. And the judge granted recognition without even acknowledging the new law’s existence.

The implications are significant. It demonstrates that at least some ordinary court judges are willing to apply traditional iure sanguinis principles to post-decree filings. Whether this approach will survive appeal is an open question, but the precedent is now set.

The Ancona Contrast

The Venice ruling stands in direct tension with a recent decision from the Tribunal of Ancona, which denied citizenship recognition in a similar case. That judge applied a stricter reading of the new criteria introduced by Law 74/2025. The divergence between Venice and Ancona illustrates the emerging reality: different courts are reaching opposite conclusions on substantially similar facts.

What Is Still in Play

April 14, 2026: Sezioni Unite Hearing. Italy’s highest civil court will address the “minor issue,” whether an ancestor’s naturalization while their child was a minor severed the bloodline. This is independent of the Tajani Decree and could affect thousands of pending cases.

June 9, 2026: Mantova Referral. A separate constitutional challenge to Law 74/2025, filed on different grounds from Turin, will be heard. Different court, different arguments, another chance to test the law.

EU Courts. Professor Corrado Caruso has indicated that EU courts may represent the last viable avenue for descendants whose cases fall outside the domestic exceptions.

The Full Sentenza from the Constitutional Court. Only a press communique has been issued. The detailed reasoning has not yet been published. Legal experts are watching for the Court’s precise language on retroactivity and the distinction between claims rejected on the merits and those declined for examination.

What This Means If You Are Pursuing Italian Citizenship

If you filed before March 27, 2025, your case proceeds under the old rules. This is settled.

If you filed after March 27, 2025, or haven’t filed at all, the Venice ruling is the most significant development since the Constitutional Court decision. It shows that at least one ordinary court judge, applying established jurisprudence, is willing to recognize citizenship for post-decree applicants. This does not guarantee the same outcome in other courts. The Ancona ruling shows the opposite is also happening. But it opens a strategic path that did not exist in the case law before March 12.

If you have a minor issue case, the April 14 Sezioni Unite hearing is the event to watch.

The legal landscape is fractured and genuinely uncertain. But the Venice ruling demonstrates that the fight is far from over.

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PortaleItaly has been guiding American families through the Italian citizenship by descent process for years, including through the upheaval of the Tajani Decree. If you have questions about how these developments affect your specific situation, contact our team for a consultation. Every case is different, and the details matter now more than ever.

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Sources: Italianismo (PT), Insieme (IT/PT), IMI Daily, CNN, Italian Constitutional Court Official Communications. Case identification (RG 21984/2025) confirmed through Tribunale di Venezia court records. Attorney identification from Italianismo reporting. Updated March 25, 2026.