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Leopoldo Parodi Delfino

1875–1945

Born
5 Oct 1875, Milan
Country of birth
Kingdom of Italy, today Italy
Died
3 Nov 1945, Arcinazzo Romano
facts
7
sources
1
images and files
0

Facts and their sources

Tap a fact to see where it comes from.

  • Birth5 Oct 1875, MilanProbable1 source
  • Titlesenator of the Kingdom of Italy, 1939–1943Confirmed1 source
  • Death3 Nov 1945, Arcinazzo RomanoProbable1 source
  • UnionLucie HennyConfirmed1 source

A life in time

  1. Born · Milan

    Birth, Milan

  2. Child born: Carla Parodi Delfino

    Birth

  3. Event · senator of the Kingdom of Italy

    Event

  4. Died · Arcinazzo Romano

    Death, Arcinazzo Romano

What was it like?

The world around Milan, 1875: 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 Leopoldo was born in 1875, Milan belonged to the Kingdom of Italy, ruled by Victor Emmanuel II of Italy.

Known for

Titles held

  • senator of the Kingdom of Italy1939–1943
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 around the same time

  • Pius XII

    1876 · pope of the Catholic Church from 1939 to 1958

  • Enrico Caruso

    1873 · Italian opera singer (1873–1921)

  • Sergei Rachmaninoff

    1873 · Russian composer, pianist and conductor (1873–1943)

  • Colette

    1873 · French novelist (1873–1954)

  • Filippo Tommaso Marinetti

    1876 · Italian poet and editor, founder of the Futurist movement (1876-1944)

  • Edwin Flack

    1873 · Australian middle distance runner and tennis player (1873-1935)

Fashion

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.

Holy Day respect in clean clothing

On feast days, laboring men and women carefully preserved special clothes to wear, as wearing a clean, pure white shirt or jacket was considered a necessary sign of respect toward God.

Music
Around 1871–1874

Noisy serenades for newlyweds in Rome

In Rome, people performed a boisterous late-night custom called a scampanacciata outside the windows of newlyweds, using tin buckets, pans, iron plates, and bells to create as much noise as possible.

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.

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.

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.

Lack of public water and sewage infrastructure

Public water pipes were rare; by the late 19th century, over half of municipalities lacked them, forcing people to draw water from wells or public fountains. Sewage systems were also non-existent in over 77 percent of municipalities, often leading to contaminated water.

Food

Polenta as a daily staple

By around 1870, peasant families in the Veneto region relied so heavily on cornmeal that they ate two to three kilograms of polenta daily, spending up to 60% of their income on it.

Around 1878–1884

Chestnuts as a main meal

Neapolitan families with only one soldo might buy nine boiled chestnuts to eat as a main course, often using the reddish boiling water to soak their bread.

Prices and wages

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.

Around 1878–1884

Domestic servant wages in Naples

In Naples, a domestic servant could earn as little as 8 lire per month, while a housemaid might earn 30 lire.

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

Spouses

Children

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.