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Donato Etna

1858–1938

Born
15 Jun 1858, Mondovì
Country of birth
Italy
Died
11 Dec 1938, Turin
facts
7
sources
1
images and files
0

Facts and their sources

Tap a fact to see where it comes from.

  • Birth15 Jun 1858, MondovìProbable1 source
  • Death11 Dec 1938, TurinProbable1 source
  • ParentVictor Emmanuel II of ItalyConfirmed1 source
  • Titlesenator of the Kingdom of ItalyConfirmed1 source

A life in time

  1. Born · Mondovì

    Birth, Mondovì

  2. Died · Turin

    Death, Turin

What was it like?

The world around Mondovì, 1858: who ruled, who else was alive, how people lived. This is general history, not a record about the family, and every item shows where it comes from.

When Donato was born in 1858, Mondovì belonged to the Kingdom of Italy, ruled by Victor Emmanuel II of Italy.

Known for

Titles held

  • senator of the Kingdom of Italy
Who ruled

  • Victor Emmanuel II of Italy

    Monarch of Italy, 1861–1878 · Kingdom of Italy

  • Otto I the Great

    Monarch of Italy, 951 · Kingdom of Italy

Born the same year

  • Giacomo Puccini

    Italian opera composer (1858–1924)

  • Giuseppe Peano

    Italian mathematician (1858–1932)

  • Eleonora Duse

    Italian stage actress (1858-1924)

  • Ethel Smyth

    English composer and suffragette (1858–1944)

  • May Robson

    Australian-born American actress (1858-1942)

  • Gustaf V of Sweden

    King of Sweden from 1907 to 1950

Fashion

Folk costumes signaled social status

Folk costumes in rural Italy served as detailed social markers, where the quality of dye, the number of buttons, or even the type of metal in a finger ring signaled a wearer's wealth and marital status. These traditional outfits, often featuring unique local embroidery and lace, were brought out specifically for harvest festivals and religious processions.

Respectful dress for feast days

For working families, a clean white shirt or a well-preserved jacket kept by attentive wives was considered essential for church or feast days to show respect to God and demonstrate civility. Ordinary laborers often spent their weekdays in worn clothing, but would carefully maintain these finer garments specifically for such holy occasions.

Music

Pifferari musicians perform for the Madonna

As Christmas approached, wandering musicians known as pifferari traveled from the mountains to Rome, playing bagpipes and oboe-like pifferi to perform devotional concerts before images of the Madonna.

Around 1861–1874

Dance music moves from nobility to farmers

In the mid-19th century, professional musical groups like the Concerto Cantoni began performing dance music such as the waltz, polka, and mazurka for farmers, whereas this music had previously been restricted to the homes of the nobility.

Getting around
Around 1861–1874

Travel by foot and mule

In many mountainous and southern areas, people could only reach towns on foot or by mule along uncomfortable mountain paths until roads were improved.

Around 1825–1849

Climbing Mount Etna by horse and carriage

To climb Mount Etna, travelers would depart Catania by carriage for Nicolosi, then ride horses to the Casa degli inglesi, arriving at midnight. From there, they trekked 1.5 hours before dawn to reach the summit to witness the sunrise.

Daily life

Cost of meals and daily dreams

In some areas, public soup kitchens served meals for a modest fee of 11 centesimi per portion. Meanwhile, the urban poor in cities like Naples sometimes dreamed of basic comforts they lacked, such as a clean house with fresh air, white bedsheets, and regular meals of meat and pasta.

Poor housing and shared living spaces

In many rural areas, peasant families lived in small, damp, two-story houses with dirt floors, often sharing space and warmth with their livestock during the winter. Urban poor households frequently lacked windows, relied on smoke-filled kitchens, and suffered from a lack of sanitation, such as sewers or waste collection.

Food

Frugal flavor for polenta

For peasant families, one salted herring was considered sufficient to flavor a large serving of polenta for at least three people.

Around 1825–1849

Chestnuts as a main dish

Poor Neapolitans purchased nine boiled chestnuts for one soldo and used the reddish cooking juice to soak their bread as a main meal.

Prices and wages
Around 1862–1878

Worker purchasing power in post-unification Italy

Between 1862 and 1878, a worker in the construction sector could purchase approximately 2.9 baskets of essential food items per day with their salary. In the Mezzogiorno region, where prices were lower, this purchasing power increased to 3.2 baskets.

Coffee and diet of the poor

In the mid-19th century, luxury items like a cup of coffee cost 2 grana, a price that laborers often paid daily as a digestive despite their poverty. At the same time, many workers lived as mangiafoglie, eating pasta only occasionally because it was expensive relative to their daily wages.

During their lifetime

  1. 1888

    First National Healthcare Law Enacted

    Following a cholera pandemic that killed approximately 50,000 people, the government enacted Italy's first national healthcare law in 1888.

  2. 1888

    Introduction of Emigration Regulations

    The 1888 Emigration Act established the first formal regulations for citizens leaving the country as transatlantic emigration climbed to nearly 205,000 that year.

  3. 1898

    The Bread Riots of 1898

    Widespread bread riots broke out across Italy in 1898 due to rising wheat prices, leading to mass repression, including the Bava Beccaris massacre in Milan where up to 400 people were killed.

  4. 1905

    Nationalization of Italian Railways, 1905

    In 1905, the Italian state nationalized the railway network, forming the State Railways (FS) to modernize transport and boost heavy industry.

  5. 1906

    Simplon Tunnel opens, 1906

    In 1906, the Simplon Tunnel, at 19.7 km the world's longest at the time, opened, connecting Italy and Switzerland by rail.

  6. 1913

    Peak of Italian migration, 1913

    In 1913, Italian migration hit a record peak, with 870,000 people leaving the country in a single year.

Family

Parents

Ancestors and children

Open the full tree

Four generations back to the right, the children to the left. The number beside a child counts the generations of descendants known after them.