Italian Footwear: Chronology


Figure 1.--This snapshot shows a group of children taken in Agnola, a little village in the mountains near Genoa. The photo was taken during 1973, during the party for the birthday of one of the children. The kids wear their everyday clothing. The picture suggests some reflections about the footwear in Italy at the time. Notice only one child is wearing sneakers.

HBC does not yet have much information on Italian footwear during the 19th century. Italy was a relatively poor part of Europe, especially southern Italy. Many children went barefoot. We have begun to collect more information on the 20th century based on the photographic record. Sandals seem to have been more popular in Italy than in northern Europe, presumably because of the warm climate. Many Italian children continued to go barefoot because of the endemic poverty until adter World War II. Sneakers took longer to catch on in Italy than some countries, but were a major footwear style by the 1980s.

The 19th Century

HBC does not yet have much information on Italian footwear during the 19th century. Italy was a relatively poor part of Europe, especially southern Italy. Many children went barefoot throuhout the 19th century.

The 20th Century

We have begun to collect more information on the 20th century based on the photographic record. We see Italian children wearing a variety of footwear, many of the same stylesas worn elsewhere in Europe. Sandals seem to have been more popular in Italy than in northern Europe, presumably because of the warm climate. Seasonality was of course a factor. Many Italian children continued to go barefoot because of the endemic poverty until after World War II. The warm climate made going barefoot posible. This did not begin to change until until the economic expansion in part because of the Common Market (forerunner of the European Europe) began to transform Italy economically. Up until the 1950s, social class was a major factor in footwear. As the income levels increased in the 1950s, many working-class Italians could afford the same footwear for their children as middle-class parents. Sneakers took longer to catch on in Italy than some countries, but were a major footwear style by the 1980s.







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Created: 6:10 AM 6/19/2008
Last updated: 6:29 AM 7/7/2009