section_path: By country/Italy
section_name: Italy
paragraph_text: Italy
  
  The Italian welfare state's foundations were laid along the lines of the corporatist -conservative model, or of its Mediterranean variant. Later, in the 1960s and 1970s, increases in public spending and a major focus on universality brought it on the same path as social-democratic systems. In 1978, a universalistic welfare model was introduced in Italy, offering a number of universal and free services such as a National Health Fund.