The following article considers the proceedings of adoption approved by Turin Superior Court during the term of the Italian Civil Code, from 1866 to 1923. The author presents the development of adoption institution in history, focusing in detail on provisions given by the French and Austrian codes and their main features in the unitary Italian legislation. According to the law of the time, adopters had to be fifty, have a good reputation and no biological children. Only adults (or people of age) could be adopted, several children could be “taken” with a single act only and the adoption had to be beneficial for the adopted. The documentary analysis showed that the majority of adoptions were made towards abandoned children, left to foundling hospitals at birth; they were taken very young and adopted when they reached the age required by law. Another good part of adoptions offered advantage to grandchildren (probably for economic reasons bound to legal assets) and to first wedding born children of women who later on  married the adopter. The Code strictly prohibited natural sons’ adoption (they could be recognized and legitimized) and illegitimate children’s adoption. In some cases, however, reasonable doubts have arisen regarding this rule observance. Finally, the author briefly draws the deep-rooted difference between nineteenth century adoption, which was mostly intended to provide lineage to those who didn’t have a biological progeny, in comparison with the actual law, focusing on children’s active tutelage and protection.