MODERN ITALY.

Press, Volume LXV, Issue 19731, 23 September 1929, Page 6

MODERN ITALY.

LIFE OF THE PEASANTS. POOR BUT HAPPY. A striking picture of Italy of to-day, :ss seen by the visitor, -was given by Professor Arnold "Wall, when lecturing ! before the W.E.A. on Saturday night. He showed that the Italians were a, [ poor but a contented people. Professor "Wall quoted figures giving the annual income per head of popula- [ lion (from figures compiled in 1924), as follows: —U.S.A. £llO, New Zealand I £S.'i, JJritiiin £Bl, Australia £7l, Norj way £.67, Canada £65, Sweden £SO, | France £43, Germany £4l, Italy £27. i I'rofrssor AVall said that he did not lay a great deal of stress upon the computations, us they were rather apt to be misleading. It all depended on the distribution of Ihc wealth, nnd it was generally agreed that the money in New Zealand was more evenly distributed than in any other country in the world. However, he explained, they showed that, -where wo had threepence to spend the Italians had only a penny, and the poverty of the Italian peasants was something very real. They had vcrypoor food: .littlo meat and n staple di«t of such things as macaroni and vermicelli. The dandelion was also much used, as it was in France. The people had their markets, wherjs they could go and buy cheaply seven mornings in the week. The minimum coin in New Zealand was' the half-penny—and that would not be of much use but for the Train way Board—but in Italy the smallest coin represented about half a farthing, and this was able to buj" something. The Italian peasants foUnd it hard indeed to get firewood, and the cuttings from the vines and olive trees were husbanded with the utmost care. The country had no coal, and the only means of heating was by charcoal in great braziers. The men were inclined to be a little lazy, and it was a common Sight to see the women doing the hardest kind of work in the fields. The holdings were very small. The result of this was that, wherever possible, the Italians emigrated, and they were going to America as fast as the immigration laws would permit them. In spite of these conditions the lecturer said that he never got the impression that the Italian people were unhappy. They sang constantly when going about their work, and every Italian family, however poor, had its donkey. "I believe the Italian nation would fall to pieces if it was not for the donkeys," added the Professor. A common sight was that of women and children going up the mountain side to cut wood from a thicket, whence it was laden on to ! the donkey and brought home. Mussolini was determined that Italy should be as rich as possible, and that there should be no competition from outside. '' Consequently,'' explained Professor Wall, "if you eat fruit in Italy yoti eat Italian fruit, oranges, apples, and pears principally in the winter. If you want a banana you must go elsewhere. Similarly if you want a motor-car you must buy a Fiat or some other Italian make, or go without." A Noisy City. Speaking of Rome, Professor Wall described it as "the noisiest city in the world." It was quite impossible to control the traffic, though horse-cabs were still there in great profusion, people not being rich enough to abolish the cabs and take to the motor. These cabs, which were very cheap to ride in, slowed np the traffic, but drjving in Borne was very dangerous. The people blew their horns continuously for no apparent reason at all, and they went along tootlipg them whether they were passing anybody or not. Superstition. There was still much superstition in Rome. The horses and cabs wew fairly I festooned with amulets as a charm against the evil eye. He had also been an interested spectator of the ceremony where a couple of lambs were brought ( to the altar and held aloft in a butcher's tray and blessed at the ceremony. They were then taken and killed and their wool made into the papal vestments. Association football was placed extensively in Italy. All the matches were held on Sundays after mid-day, when the theatres were also open and dancing and other jollities indulged in. The women in Italy were striking in their beauty, in spite of what they had to put up with. The Italians had no bent for gardening, and one practically never saw a garden in front of a peasant's house. As a New Zealander Professor Wall was interested to see the flax and cabbage tr*es growing well in Italy. Campagna. The lecturer also made reference to the Campagna, which was the country surrounding Rome. Fifty years ago it was a howling wilderness where malaria was rampant. Forty years ago attempts were made to bring it back to cultivation, as it was in Roman days. The measures they bud taken were to break up the large estates and to institute a State Advances to Settlers scheme. As there was little private wealth the Government had been forced to lend out the land to the peasantry who cultivated it by co-operation. Large drainage works had cleared the land, and to-day it was as cultivated and as populated as the Canterbury plains. Wheat and vines were the main things grown. There were no hedges or fences in Italy, and the peasants did not seem to mind visitors walking over their land.