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Archduchess Margherita, Archduchess of Austria-Este

Palace of Capodimonte, 7 Apr 1930 – Basel, 10 Jan 2022

8 facts2 sources

Facts and their sources

A life in time

  1. 7 Apr 1930

    Born in Palace of Capodimonte

  2. 1954–1963

    5 children are born

  3. 10 Jan 2022

    Dies in Basel, aged 91

Family

See the tree

Parents

Partner

Children · 5

During her lifetime

She lived through 10 decades. Pick one to hear and see what it was like around Palace of Capodimonte.

General history, not a record about the family: each item says where it comes from.

The 1930s · Archduchess is born in Palace of Capodimonte

Who governed

In the news1939–1948

1939 Wahlen Plan increases food self-sufficiency

To prepare for the Second World War, the government introduced the Wahlen Plan in 1939 to increase food self-sufficiency by doubling arable land for crops like potatoes. Rationing of staple foods was implemented and remained in place until 1948.

Music

Radio opera in rural homes

Rural families listened to opera broadcasts on the radio at home, treating the experience as a theatrical event.

The Great Depression. The Wall Street Crash of 1929 set off a world depression: banks failed, work vanished and coffee prices collapsed in Brazil.Around the world · 1929–1939

The Great Depression. The Wall Street Crash of 1929 set off a world depression: banks failed, work vanished and coffee prices collapsed in Brazil.

Unknown authorUnknown author or not provided · public domain

Daily life

Cramped sleeping and cold winters

Sleeping arrangements were often cramped, with some families sharing a single bed among many people or using mattresses filled with cornhusks or sheep wool that felt as hard as a rock. In cold weather, they relied on warmers, such as the prete or trabiccolo, to heat their beds.

In the news1927–1935

Economic crisis, 1927-1935

Following the Great Depression, the poorer classes in Italy suffered a fall in nominal wages of up to 70 percent between 1927 and 1935.

What people wore

Homemade Clothing and Tailoring Prevailed

Most Italians wore clothing made by home seamstresses or tailors because ready-to-wear garments were not yet common. Women often sewed, remade, or dyed garments at home as a productive leisure activity.

Getting around

Fiat 500 Topolino introduction in 1936

The Fiat 500, introduced in 1936 and known as the Topolino, cost 1,300 lire and became the car for the majority of Italians.