Figure 1.--The children of the Barnaba family, a noble family are seen here playing barefoot on the griounds of their estate in the 1920s.

A HBC reader in Itlay reports, "The more remarkable difference between American and European custom of children in bare feet, I think was in formal dress. In Europe many children went barefoot, for poverty or for custom. Sometimes also children of affluent families went barefoot in play time, but a child went barefoot to school or to church or for a formal portarit only if he did not have shoes and was thus forced to go barefoot." Thus some images exist of affluent childrem even children of the nobility going barefoot, but almost always this is for play in the oprivacy of the grounds id their often palatial estates. These children almost certainly would have worn shoes when going antwhere--even casual outings. Italy until well after World War II was a very poor country. There are, as a result, numerous photographs of Italian children goung barefoot. There are fewer photigraphs for the 19th century, but even more children almost certainly went barefoot then. Even to school many children went barefoot. This was especially true in southern Italy where the climate was warmer and the poverty was more severe. Italy is now a very properous country, Very few children go barefoot, but sandals are very popular in the summer.