Originally published 2020-03-04.
Luca Trapanese is a social worker from Naples who became the adoptive father of Alba, a baby girl with Down syndrome who had been left at a hospital soon after her birth in 2017. Several families had been approached about taking her and had said no. Trapanese, then around 40, single, gay and Catholic, asked to be considered, and an Italian juvenile court placed her with him. Their story has since become a bestselling memoir and a feature film, and it is often cited in Italy as a turning point for single people who want to foster or adopt.
Below is what is known about how the adoption happened, why it drew so much attention, and what research says about family life with a child who has Down syndrome.
Who Luca Trapanese is
Trapanese did not come to disability as an outsider. He began volunteering with disabled young people as a teenager and went on to build a career in the social sector around Naples, working with associations, small residences and day centres for people with disabilities. Early reports linked him to A Ruota Libera, a Neapolitan group that supports children and young adults with disabilities, including Down syndrome.
That background matters to the story. He was not someone moved by a single sad headline; he had spent years around families raising disabled children and had a realistic sense of the daily work involved, the medical appointments and the joys as well.
He has also spoken openly about his personal life. He had been in a long relationship, reported as lasting about eleven years, which ended before he applied. He wanted to become a parent anyway, and he has said that he specifically hoped to raise a child with a disability.
How Alba came into his life
Alba was born in Naples in 2017 and was not taken home by her birth mother. Under Italian law a mother can give birth anonymously and leave the baby in the care of the hospital, which then refers the child to the juvenile court for placement. Little about the birth mother's reasons is public, and it is fairest not to guess at them.
The number of families who declined Alba is reported differently. English-language coverage in 2018 and 2019 usually said 20. Italian outlets and the synopsis of the later film put the figure at 30. Either way, the court had struggled to find a home for her when it turned to Trapanese's application.
He has described the first meeting in the hospital nursery, where staff placed the baby straight into his arms. Italian reporters later quoted him as saying he felt immediately that she was his daughter. The court first granted a foster placement, the usual first step, and the arrangement later became a full adoption.
Photos: Luca Trapanese / Facebook
The photographs Trapanese has shared since the placement show the kind of family life the court was hoping for: a father and a small daughter at home, out together and growing up side by side.
Why a single man adopting was unusual in Italy
Italian adoption rules have long favoured married couples. Single people are generally limited to narrower routes, such as foster care or the so-called adoption in special cases, which can apply to children who are hard to place, including children with disabilities. Same-sex couples could not adopt jointly, and a gay single applicant faced obvious extra scrutiny.
Trapanese's case is widely described as the first in Italy in which a single gay man was entrusted with a baby in this way. The Cineuropa summary of the film adds that the case led to a register allowing single applicants to be considered for foster placements. His point, repeated in interviews, is that he was not doing a charitable act: he wanted to be a father and saw Alba as his family, not as a project.
The case also challenged a common assumption about who makes a suitable parent. Courts look at stability, experience and the child's needs. Trapanese brought years of hands-on experience with exactly the kind of support Alba would need, which is a strong argument in any placement decision.
Life with Alba, shared online
Trapanese posts regularly about life with his daughter on Instagram and Facebook, and the posts have built a large following in Italy and abroad. A few of them from summer 2019, when Alba was around two, are below.
Luca Trapanese (@trapaluca) on
Luca Trapanese (@trapaluca) on
Luca Trapanese (@trapaluca) on
He uses the attention partly to talk about inclusion, school support and the rights of disabled children. His message is consistent: children like Alba need families and good services, not pity.
Down syndrome today: facts behind the story
Down syndrome is caused by an extra copy of chromosome 21. It is not caused by anything the parents did, and in most cases it results from a random error in cell division. It occurs in roughly 1 in 1,000 births worldwide.
Outlooks have changed enormously. Life expectancy was around 25 years in the 1980s; in countries with good health care it is now commonly put at 50 to 60 years or more, largely because heart and digestive problems present at birth are treated early. Some health issues remain more common, among them congenital heart defects, hearing and thyroid problems, and a higher risk of Alzheimer's disease in later life, so regular check-ups matter. Families with questions about a specific child should talk to a doctor.
Many adults with Down syndrome work, take part in sport and the arts, and live semi-independently, though the level of support each person needs varies a great deal. Like anyone else, they have their own personalities, moods and preferences.
What families report
The research most often quoted on this topic is a set of three surveys led by Dr Brian Skotko and published in the American Journal of Medical Genetics in 2011. Of 2,044 parents who responded, 99% said they loved their child, 97% said they were proud of them, and 79% said their outlook on life was more positive because of them; 4% said they regretted having the child. In a companion survey of 822 siblings, more than 96% said they felt affection for their brother or sister. The authors noted that responding families were self-selected, so the figures describe those who answered rather than every family.
Common myths
- Myth: only older mothers have babies with Down syndrome. The chance rises with maternal age, but because younger women have more babies, many children with Down syndrome are born to mothers under 35.
- Myth: people with Down syndrome are always happy. The stereotype is well meant but limiting. They experience the full range of emotions.
- Myth: a child with Down syndrome cannot go to an ordinary school. Italy has placed most disabled pupils in mainstream classes, with support teachers, since the 1970s.
Nata per te: the book and the film
Trapanese told the story in the memoir Nata per te (Born for You), written with the novelist Luca Mercadante and published by Einaudi. It was adapted into a 2023 film of the same name directed by Fabio Mollo, with Pierluigi Gigante as Trapanese and a cast including Teresa Saponangelo and Barbora Bobulova. The film runs 113 minutes and follows his fight with the court system as much as his relationship with Alba. It was later shown on Italian television, reaching a much wider audience.
For readers thinking about fostering or adopting a child with additional needs, the practical takeaway is simple: contact your local children's services or adoption agency early, ask what support comes with a placement, and talk to families who have done it. Organisations for Down syndrome in most countries run parent networks and can explain what life looks like in the first years.
Sources: Cineuropa: Nata per te (2023), film details and synopsis; La Voce di New York, 10 November 2018: Luca Trapanese and Alba; HealthDay, 30 September 2011: report on the Skotko family surveys in the American Journal of Medical Genetics; Wikipedia: Down syndrome. Photos and posts: Luca Trapanese on Facebook and Instagram (@trapaluca).
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