Maria de las Mercedes Licer

Music

Traditional Tarantella dancing at weddings

At wedding receptions, guests often danced the tarantella, a dynamic and symmetric dance that remains a memorable cultural tradition.

Daily life

Rural home water and heating habits

In rural homes, families often kept a communal water bucket with a ladle on the sink, covering it with a cloth to keep out flies. To stay warm in unheated bedrooms during winter, people used a wooden frame called a 'prete' (priest) to hold a metal warmer containing hot embers under the bedsheets.

News and letters

Standard Postal Rates in Italy

Between 1951 and 1957, the cost of a domestic letter was 25 lire, which increased to 50 lire for a standard letter between 1967 and 1974. Express delivery service cost an additional 50 lire in the 1950s and 150 lire from 1967.

What people wore

The Single Sunday Suit

Country men owned only one dark suit for feast days and weddings, which was passed down through generations and frequently resoled when the leather shoes wore out.

Getting around

Family Travel on Vespas

Families frequently traveled to the coast on Sundays packed into Vespas, with three or four people riding on a single motorcycle.

What it cost

Cost of bread and shoes

A kilogram of bread cost 100 lire in 1950, increasing to 170 lire in 1965 and 230 lire by 1970, while a pair of shoes cost around 6,000 lire in 1965.