ROME  The discovery of a woman on Friday who the authorities say was kept in a locked room in her family’s home for 18 years has Italians pondering the similarities with the widely publicized abuse cases that have shaken Austria in recent years.

Acting on a tip, investigators freed the 47-year-old woman, Maria Monaco, from her squalid living quarters. The police arrested her 80-year-old mother, Anna Rosa Golino, as well as a sister, Michelina Monaco, and a brother, Prisco Monaco, and accused them of kidnapping.

Prosecutors say Ms. Monaco was kept locked up at home because she became pregnant out of wedlock, according to a lawyer representing the other family members.

Image A police officer inspecting the house near a town in Naples where a woman was discovered Friday locked in a room. Credit... Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

“She could barely walk, and instead of speaking she emitted a sort of wailing sound,” said Carmine Rosciano, the military police captain who oversaw the operation.