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There continued toi be enformous differences between Italians based primarily on social class and where people lived in Italy. We see well to-do and middle-class people very fashionbly dressed. And we see peasant families wearing very basic unfashionable clothing. These differences were especially acute in Italy. The north was industrialized similar to countries like France and Germany while the south was essentially still feudal. Even in the north, however, there were differences between the city anbd rural areas, but this was true even in industrial countries like the United States. A major ifference was the carves women and girl wore on their heads. White dresses were popular for children. he convention of younger boywearing drsses was going out of style. We still see some folk outfits, epecially on Sardinia. Many children still commonly went barefoot. Fashions were similar to the 19--s, but world war I (1914-18) brought enormous chabges which begn to be seen in the 1920s.
This farm family lived in Fosciandora, a village about 100 km south of Florence. The photograph is undated, but looks to be taken in early 1900s. We wiould guess the 1910s. I'm not sure that is their home in the background. It does not look very substantial. It may be just a shelter used while working in the field. Even in the north, however, there were differences between the city anbd rural areas, but this was true even in industrial countries like the United States. A major ifference was the carves women and girl wore on their heads.
Here we see an unidentified family. Theybare from Palencla. We are not sure where that is. We think it may be Italy, but Spain is another possibility. The portrait is also undated. We would guess the portrait was taken anout 1910. The father's suit looks very modern. The mother's outfit seems appropriate for about 1910 or perhaps a little earlier. There are four children. On first glance they all look to be girls, but we think one might be a boy. White dresses were popular for children. The convention of younger boys wearing dresses was going out of style.
This family snapshot famed Italian physicist Enrico Fermi as a boy in Rome about 1911 with his family including his brother and sister. There are also other children and ladies givung a good look at popular fashions in the 1910s. Enrico's father is not there, but he lafies fashions are impessive. Yhe boys have caps with Eton collars and floppy bows and wear collar buttoning short pants suits. The girls' down-turned sailor hts help date the photograph. Note the shouldrr covering lace collrs.
Here we se see the Ridola family, a wealthy landowning family. This portrait was taken in Miglionico, a town in southern Italy, 50 miles south of Bari on the Adriatic near the boot of the Italian peninsula. The photo is undated, but we would guess was taken in the early 1910s. An Italian reader writes, "I think too that the photo was taken before the First World War. The clothing could suggest even a bit earlier, except boys' hosiery and footwear. A boy is wearing shoes with ankle socks and the other one closed-toe sandals without socks" We are not sure if the portrait is taken on their estate or not, The kids are all done up nin white. The portrait in partivulsr shows off har styles. The vmen wear boters. The women wear huge, highly decorared hats. The kids also have hats. The girl's hats tend to be larger nd se ee hsir bowss as ell. The biys have gts, although one boy is holding rather than wearing his hat. Some of the boys and girls have similar hsts, althuhgh the older girls have hats more like their mothers.
While peasant families in the South lived a virtually medieval live style. Prpsperous familie in the noth and Rom were living wht lool to us like increasingly modrn lives. They dressed fashionbly, lived in nice homes, and took vacations. This vaction snpashot shows an upper middle class family from Rome (figure 1). We can see Alfredo Ottaviani and Amina Guidelli with their first six children and a nanny. That was quite a brood. You can see why a nanny was handy. At the time there were very limited job opportunities for women. And given th extrene poverty, the services of young men like the nnny here were very inexpensive. Later they had other two children. Alfredo had a goldsmith workshop. The photograph was taken in Summer 1913 at an unidentified seaside resort near Rome. Notice all the great sun hats.
Here we see the Chillotti family in 1914. They lived in Ulassai a mountain village in Sardinia. The parents wear the traditional clothing. Nowadays these clothing are worn only in folk festivals, but then were still worn in daily life, especially in little villages. Probably this is a shepherd family. In that time Sardinian shepherd children go often barefoot in summer, saving footwear for cold mountain winter (instead fisher children go often barefoot all year round). However the barefoot younger boy in the family portrait can mean that he doesn�t own any footwear. They can be also an illustration of the affirmation on the Italian barefoot page that "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". Notice that the father wears a suit.
The photo shows a peasant family in Maserada, a village about 40 km north of Venice. It was taken in 1918 by Attilio Barbon, an itinerant professional photographer. The family dressed up for the photo. The clothing is simple. The dresses of the girls were probably sewed by the mother with the same cloth. The boy wears a jacket. The younger children wear only underwear.
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