Archduchess Margherita, Archduchess of Austria-Este

Margherita, Archduchess of Austria-Este was an Italian princess, the first-born child of Amedeo, 3rd Duke of Aosta, and Princess Anne d'Orléans.

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.

Rural Women Wore Regional Costumes

Rural housewives were sometimes permitted to wear traditional regional costumes during parades as an alternative to the official uniform. The regime promoted this to emphasize national tradition rather than personal style.

Domestic dancing in working-class homes

Working-class families often hosted dances at home by moving furniture aside to make space, playing music on a gramophone or the radio.

Radio opera in rural homes

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

Carriage travel San Marino to Rimini

Traveling 25 km between San Marino and Rimini by horse-drawn carriage took three hours in summer, increasing to four or five hours in winter when horses were replaced by mules or oxen.

Rome to Milan rail journey in 1926

In 1926, traveling from Rome to Milan by direct train took 13 to 14 hours, as there were only three direct options available.

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.

Limited access to basic utilities

Many homes lacked electricity or running water; families often used lanterns with oil wicks for light and fetched water from public town fountains.

Meatless days as patriotic duty

To promote autarky, the regime mandated meatless Wednesdays and closed butcher shops on Tuesdays, framing these restrictions as a patriotic duty for consumers.

Chicory coffee during rationing

When coffee was rationed in 1939, laborers often drank a bitter chicory brew, sometimes corrected with grappa.

Food and clothing prices in 1940

In 1940, a kilogram of bread cost 1.60 lire, while a kilogram of beef cost 7 lire and a pair of shoes cost at least 30 lire.

Cost of basic meals

A typical dinner for a family of six or seven consisting of five pounds of bread and macaroni cost about thirty-five to forty cents (lire). Supper for a working man, often bread and a pint of coffee, cost about four cents (lire).