Figure 1.--This photo was taken at a market in Palermo, Sicily during 1954. A boy is selling fish on the street. His father was probably a fishermen. It looks to be during school hours, although it could have been the weekend.

This photo was taken at a market in Palermo, Sicily during 1954. A boy is selling fish on the street. His father was probably a fishermen. It looks to be during school hours, although it could have been the weekend. An Italian reader has provided some insights here. "The photo could have been taken during the summer or on the weekend, but it could also have been taken during school hours. It is unlikely that the boy in the photo attended school, certainly earlier. But even in the 1950s, many Siclian children as well as children in southern Italy quit school very early. He probably worked with his father and is try to sell the smaller fish his father caught. Although the Constitution (1948) stated that "school attendance is compulsory at least during 8 years", only in 1963 did this become a reality. At the time the school was compulsory only till 5th grade (today till 10th grade). Moreover many children of poorer families attended only the early grades. Child labor was still a severe social problem till early 1990s in some poorer regions. Then the Government increasingly enforced school attendance and child labor laws. And the increasing of affluence of Italian families changed the situation with fewer families needing the children to work.".

Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Site:
[Return to the Child labor country trends]
[Introduction] [Activities] [Biographies] [Chronology] [Clothing styles] [Countries]
[Bibliographies] [Contributions] [FAQs] [Glossaries] [Images] [Links] [Registration] [Tools]
[Boys' Clothing Home]

Created: 3:53 AM 7/10/2011
Last updated: 3:53 AM 7/10/2011