Francesco Maria Taliani de Marchio

What people wore

Grumento festive female attire

Women in Grumento wore a typical dress on special occasions consisting of a light brown skirt with a large pleated section, a matching corsage with gold embroidery, and a traditional apron. They accessorized with a gold jewelry set featuring pendant earrings and gold pendants on velvet straps.

Getting around

Railway challenges and social class differences

Train schedules were unreliable and inconsistent between cities, sometimes varying by over 10 minutes due to different local time standards. Trains also had distinct social classes, with third-class passengers often enduring crowded, basic, and sometimes unroofed carriages.

At the table

Street pizza for a soldo

In late 19th-century Naples, poor families often bought ready-to-eat slices of pizza from street vendors for one soldo, a small coin, frequently topping them with garlic, tomato, or salted anchovies.

Music

Street musicians for two grani

In Sicily, street musicians playing instruments like the fiddle, mandolin, or flute could be hired for two grani to play popular dance music such as the tarantella or fasola.

Daily life

Compulsory schooling and common truancy challenges

Schooling was compulsory for children aged 6 to 9, but truancy was common because parents often prioritized farm labor. In 1885, a teacher might struggle to manage a class, and when school facilities were rented, they often lacked basic furniture or toilets.