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We note Italian children, mostly boys, commonly involved in both agriculture and many industrial areas. This is not to say that girls did not work, but they were more likely to work as domestics in private homes. We note a wide range of economic activities in which children were involved. They were similar to other European countries, although agriculture was more important than in the other major European countries. We do not seem to see as many children involved in industrial work, even in heavily industrialized norther Italy. We are not sure why this was, government restyructions and labor union opposition could have been factors. There also seem to be regional variations. Large numbers of children were involved in agricultural work and street hawking. This may have been associated with family activities. The children of fishermen, fior example may have helped sell the fish their father caught. The same may have been the case for the children of small-scale farmers.
Italy was a basically agricultural country as late as World War II. There was some industrial development in the north, but the south was mostly agrarian. Italian boys as a result were commonly involved in low-paying agricultural labor. This often involved work on large estates in near feudal conditions. There was also share cropping, but it was not as commo. In many other instances children worked on small family farms. Our informtion on this agricultural work is limited at this time. We note Italian boys involved in agricultural work well into the 20th century, even after World War II.
Until after World war Ii, artisans were an important sector of the Italian economy. Consumer gooids produced in factories were not uncommonly hand produced by Italian artisans. This was especially true in the south. Of course the industrial revolution radically transfored the economics of artisan work. Factory production significantly lowered the cost of consumer goods. This mean that artisan production was less profitable. Boys were commonly involved in artisan shops. They may have been broiught in as aprentices. This is a prtactice that dates back to the medieval period. Boys (but less commonly girls) also followed their fathers in the family trade. This essentially provided unpaid help, rather like children on farms. And of course it provide a way for the children to learn a trade.
Italy is a long, narrow peninsula--the often described boot of Italy. Most Italians kive close to the coast. This means only about 1-2 hours from the coast with modern tranportation. Even in ancient days the travel time to the coast was unsully short. Except for island nations, we know of no other country where so much of the population is located so near the coast. Fih stocks were once abundant offering bountiful catches. Fishing in Italy was and continues to be conducted primarily as a small-scale family activity. And until after the War, fishing families tended to be very poor. Almost always they went barefoot all yearround, except in northern Europe and Canada where it was too cold. Until after World War I, we see many chikdren from fishing fmilies not wearing any clothes, both in southern Europe and Latin America. This was usually the boys. It was less common for the girls. This was the case in Itly with both its poverty and warm Meditwrranean climate. Most fishermen use small boats and conduct short trips into the Meditrranean or Adriatic Seas. Thus it was commonly a family affair. This affecteed the applicability and enbforceibility of child labor laws. Younger children might help sell the catch on shore. Here we see a boy who is probably selling fish that his father has just landed (figure 1). Notice the complete lack of ice. Older boys would help father in the boats. Girls rarely worked on the boats. Fishing families tended to be very poor. Polution has become a major problem in recent years affecting the catch.
We note large numbers of Italian boys selling all kinds of things on the streets which is called hawking. They are seening carrying things, sometimes carefully packaged by their parents. A ood exanple are garlic sellers. We are not entirely sure how this worked. Some of the boys may be rural boys who have come into the towns to sell produce. Or they may be city boys selling for a wholeseller. Perhaps readers will know more about this. Most Italian cities because of poverty until after World War II had many street children. Some were called basket children/piccioccus de crobi. Some photographs show the street children of Cagliari, the bigger Sardinian town, in late 19th or early 20th century. In those times there were street children in many Italian towns. Perhaps the most famous were the Neapolitans, called "scugnizzi". In Cagliari they were called "piccioccus de crobi" (in Sardinian dialect "boys of basket") because these boys had always a basket. They went to the port or to the market and brought little merchandise for gain some money. However they were also little thieves. They wore old clothing and were barefoot. The first photo [Alinari photos] seems taken in late 19th century; the second one could be taken in early 20th century.
Artisan work was important in Italy into the 20th century. Industry was mostly concentrated in the north. Fathers would involve the children in the workshops. A variety of crafts were involved including carpentry, leather work, metal working, and others. This often included the children in the family who might begin working at an early age. Thus they may have been taken out of school or not allowed to attend at all. These craftsmen were various successful. Some were abjectly poor. The fathers mkight have to seek work as a laborer to supplement the home workshop. The childen also may have had to work outside the home.
We do not have much information on Italian child labor in mines. An Italian reader has provided some information on the "carusi". Here we have some image showing boys working in Sicilian sulphur mines in late 19th century. These boys were called "carusi". In Sicilian dialect the word "caruso" (pl. "carusi") means boy. In 1876 an inquiry reports: "The carusi are boys 7-15 years old, that carry the sulphur from the tunnels. The boys work underground 8-10 hours everyday". The boys worked semi naked, sometime also naked. They were "rented" by the miners from the boys' parents. The miners gave to the parents some money and the carusi had to work in the mine for a fixed time, therefore they lived like slaves for the rental period.
Boys in Italy and many oter countries worked as shepherds. The children involved were usually or not always boys. Quite young boys could be involved. We think that many of the boys were woirked on landed estates rather than family farms. This occupation dates from time immemorial, peobably as soon as sheep were raised in Italy. I am not sure when this was, but certain predates the Roman Empire. Working as a shepherd may in fact be the ealies typoe of work associated with boys. We have little information about the boys
working as shepherds in modern times. We note a well known painting of a 19th century shephered boy by American artist, Washington Allston (1799-1843). A famous Italian movie, "Padre Padrone" (1977) deals with the subject. We are not sure when the Italian Government began limiting the use of children and insisting they attend school. We suspect it may have been during the Fascist era, but we think Italian children continued to work as shepherds until after World War II.
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