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Prince Nikolaos of Greece and Denmark

b. 1969

Born
1 Oct 1969, Rome
Country of birth
Italy

Living person. The family sees only the name, dates and photo; everything else stays private unless they choose to share it.

facts
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sources
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Facts and their sources

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A life in time

  1. Born · Rome

    Birth, Rome

What was it like?

The world around Rome, 1969: 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.

A sewing machine, essential in a bride's dowry, cost between 100 and 130 lire and allowed women to mend worn clothing at home.

Who ruled

  • Giuseppe Saragat

    President of Italy, 1964–1971 · Italian Republic

  • Giovanni Leone

    President of Italy, 1971–1978 · Italian Republic

  • Sandro Pertini

    President of Italy, 1978–1985 · Italian Republic

Fashion
Around 1950–1959

The Essential Sewing Machine

A sewing machine, essential in a bride's dowry, cost between 100 and 130 lire and allowed women to mend worn clothing at home.

Around 1940–1960

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.

Music

Concertina players for local music

If a band could not be hired for celebrations, a local concertina player was a common and sufficient musical alternative.

Traditional Tarantella dancing at weddings

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

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.

Long Journeys in Basilicata

In parts of Basilicata, residents sometimes spent over 12 to 14 hours traveling to Naples, a journey that could take 5 hours elsewhere.

Daily life

Few homes had basic modern utilities

In 1951, only 7.4% of Italian homes had electricity, running water, and indoor sanitation.

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.

Food
Around 1950–1959

Breakfast was the most important meal

A 1950s survey found that 76% of Italians considered breakfast their most important meal of the day. In the morning, 42% preferred cappuccino or caffelatte, 35% chose coffee, and 13% drank milk.

Around 1950–1959

Meat became a symbol of prosperity

During the 1950s economic boom, meat consumption increased and became a symbol of well-being, moving from a luxury reserved for special occasions to a more frequent item on tables. Historically, families used every part of animals like pigs, with dishes such as blood-based sanguinaccio sausage being common in rural areas.

Prices and wages

Meat as a luxury food

Meat was often considered a luxury, with some families only able to afford it once a week, and many people in poor areas lived on simple diets of legumes and vegetables.

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.

Work
Around 1950–1959

Factory work required 175,000 movements per shift

In a textile factory during the 1950s, a worker had to perform 175,000 movements in an 8.5-hour shift to meet her piecework quota.

Around 1950–1959

Low pay and long hours for home workers

In the late 1950s, industrial home workers often worked 12 to 14 hours a day for lower pay than factory machinists, earning at most 1,040 lire compared to the 1,238 lire factory rate.

News and letters

Innovations in Postal Speed

To manage urban growth, Rome utilized a 65-kilometer pneumatic post network for the rapid transport of telegrams and urgent mail, while roadside mailboxes were introduced to allow people to post letters without leaving their vehicles.

Slow Delivery Times for Mail

Between 1950 and 1974, ordinary letters in Italy often took at least a week to arrive, while postcards and printed matter could take months. Express letters could also take anywhere from three days to two weeks to be delivered.

During their lifetime

  1. 1970

    Divorce legalized

    Italy legalized divorce in 1970, a significant change in social rights and family law.

  2. 1973

    1973 Oil Crisis impact

    The 1973 oil crisis caused a major economic shock, with crude oil prices quadrupling and ending the long period of rapid growth.

  3. 1978

    National Health Service created

    In 1978, the government established a universal National Health Service, providing free medical care to all citizens.

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.