Figure 1.-- .

A HBC reader has provided some images from "San Giorgio della Richinvelda", a village in North Italy. San Giorgio della Richinvelda is a small village in the north-eastern part of Italy. San Giorgio lies 110 km from Venice. It is a flat area (86 meters above sea level), with a surface of 48 sq/km. It has now a total population of about 4,500 inhabitants. The name of San Giorgio appears for the first time on a bull from Pope John XV in the year 985, by which he recognized the authority of the matrix church of San Giorgio. Actually the area had probably been inhabited since Roman times, but in the outlying area of San Giorgio there is a small hill which could denote the existence of a tomb dating back to pre-historic times. In the late Middle Ages the history of the area is linked to the history of the homonymous Parish, one of the largest and most ancient (5th – 6th century) of the local diocese. In the last two centuries, the only available work for the local people was in the estates of the landed gentry. The only alternative to working on the land was emigration, a widespread phenomenon, beginning in the late 19th century. Many came to America. Emigration continued until the 1960s when it begn to decline.

School

There are several impages from the San Giorgio della Richinvelda village school over time. These include school portraits from 1901, 1921, and 1933. There apparently were separate schools for boys and girls. The boys in 1901 wore suits with long pants. Most were barefoot. The boys by the 1920s are wearing short pants and shoes are more common. We do not see many children, eith boys or girls, weraring smocks.

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Created: August 30, 2003
Last updated: October 15, 2003