Chapter IV: Front Matter (4)

The match-making industry is subject to special fiscal conditions. In
1902-1903 there were 219 match factories scattered throughout Italy,
but especially in Piedmont, Lombardy and Venetia. The number has been
reduced to less than half since 1897 by the suppression of smaller
factories, while the production has increased from 47,690 millions to
59,741 millions.

The beetroot-sugar industry has attained considerable proportions in
Umbria, the Marches, Lazio, Venetia and Piedmont since 1890. In
1898-1899, 5972 tons were produced, while in 1905 the figure had risen
to 93,916. The rise of the industry has been favoured by protective
tariffs and by a system of excise which allows a considerable premium
to manufacturers.

Alcohol has undergone various oscillations, according to the
legislation governing distilleries. In 1871 only 20 hectolitres were
produced, but in 1881 the output was 318,000 hectolitres, the maximum
hitherto attained. Since then special laws have hampered development,
some provinces, as for instance Sardinia, being allowed to manufacture
for their own consumption but not for export. In other parts the
industry is subjected to an almost prohibitive excise-duty. The
average production is about 180,000 hectolitres per annum. The
greatest quantity is produced in Lombardy, Piedmont, Venetia and
Tuscany. The quantity of beer is about the same, the greater part of
the beer drunk being imported from Germany, while the production of
artificial mineral waters has somewhat decreased. There is a
considerable trade (not very large for export, however) in natural
mineral waters, which are often excellent.

Paper-making is highly developed in the provinces of Novara, Caserta,
Milan, Vicenza, Turin, Como, Lucca, Ancona, Genoa, Brescia, Cuneo,
Macerata and Salerno. The hand-made paper of Fabriano is especially
good.

Furniture-making in different styles is carried on all over Italy,
especially as a result of the establishment of industrial schools.
Each region produces a special type, Venetia turning out imitations of
16th- and 17th-century styles, Tuscany the 15th-century or cinquecento
style, and the Neapolitan provinces the Pompeian style. Furniture and
cabinet-making in great factories are carried on particularly in
Lombardy and Piedmont. Bent-wood factories have been established in
Venetia and Liguria.

A characteristic Italian industry is that of straw-plaiting for
hat-making, which is carried on principally in Tuscany, in the
district of Fermo, in the Alpine villages of the province of Vicenza,
and in some communes of the province of Messina. The plaiting is done
by country women, while the hats are made up in factories. Both plaits
and hats are largely exported.

Tobacco is entirely a government monopoly; the total amount
manufactured in 1902-1903 was 16,599 tons--a fairly constant figure.

The finest glass is made in Tuscany and Venetia; Venetian glass is
often coloured and of artistic form.

Artistic industries.

In the various ceramic arts Italy was once unrivalled, but the ancient
tradition for a long time lost its primeval impulse. The works at
Vinovo, which had fame in the 18th century, came to an untimely end in
1820; those of Castelli (in the Abruzzi), which have been revived,
were supplanted by Charles III.'s establishment at Capodimonte, 1750,
which after producing articles of surprising execution was closed
before the end of the century. The first place now belongs to the
Della Doccia works at Florence. Founded in 1735 by the marquis Carlo
Ginori, they maintained a reputation of the very highest kind down to
about 1860; but since then they have not kept pace with their younger
rivals in other lands. They still, however, are commercially
successful. Other cities where the ceramic industries keep their
ground are Pesaro, Gubbio, Faenza (whose name long ago became the
distinctive term for the finer kind of potter's work in France,
faïence), Savona and Albissola, Turin, Mondovi, Cuneo, Castellamonte,
Milan, Brescia, Sassuolo, Imola, Rimini, Perugia, Castelli, &c. In all
these the older styles, by which these places became famous in the
16th-18th centuries, have been revived. It is estimated that the total
production of the finer wares amounts on the average to £400,000 per
annum. The ruder branches of the art--the making of tiles and common
wares--are pretty generally diffused.

The jeweller's art received large encouragement in a country which had
so many independent courts; but nowhere has it attained a fuller
development than at Rome. A vast variety of trinkets--in coral, glass,
lava, &c.--is exported from Italy, or carried away by the annual host
of tourists. The copying of the paintings of the old masters is
becoming an art industry of no small mercantile importance in some of
the larger cities.

The production of mosaics is an industry still carried on with much
success in Italy, which indeed ranks exceedingly high in the
department. The great works of the Vatican are especially famous
(more than 17,000 distinct tints are employed in their productions),
and there are many other establishments in Rome. The Florentine
mosaics are perhaps better known abroad; they are composed of larger
pieces than the Roman. Those of the Venetian artists are remarkable
for the boldness of their colouring. There is a tendency towards the
fostering of feminine home industries--lace-making, linen-weaving, &c.

_Condition of the Working Classes._--The condition of the numerous agricultural labourers (who constitute one-third of the population) is, except in some regions, hard, and in places absolutely miserable. Much light was thrown upon their position by the agricultural inquiry (_inchiesta agraria_) completed in 1884. The large numbers of emigrants, who are drawn chiefly from the rural classes, furnish another proof of poverty. The terms of agrarian contracts and leases (except in districts where _mezzadria_ prevails in its essential form), are in many regions disadvantageous to the labourers, who suffer from the obligation to provide guarantees for payment of rent, for repayment of seed corn and for the division of products.

Malaria.

It was only at the close of the 19th century that the true cause of
malaria--the conveyance of the infection by the bite of the _Anopheles
claviger_--was discovered. This mosquito does not as a rule enter the
large towns; but low-lying coast districts and ill-drained plains are
especially subject to it. Much has been done in keeping out the
insects by fine wire netting placed on the windows and the doors of
houses, especially in the railwaymen's cottages. In 1902 the state
took up the sale of quinine at a low price, manufacturing it at the
central military pharmaceutical laboratory at Turin. Statistics show
the difference produced by this measure.

+---------------+-----------------------+------------------+
|Financial Year.|Pounds of quinine sold.|Deaths by Malaria.|
+---------------+-----------------------+------------------+
| 1901-1902 | .. | 13,358 |
| 1902-1903 | 4,932 | 9,908 |
| 1903-1904 | 15,915 | 8,513 |
| 1904-1905 | 30,956 | 8,501 |
| 1905-1906 | 41,166 | 7,838 |
| 1906-1907 | 45,591 | 4,875 |
+---------------+-----------------------+------------------+

The profit made by the state, which is entirely devoted to a special
fund for means against malaria, amounted in these five years to
£41,759. It has been established that two 3-grain pastilles a day are
a sufficient prophylactic; and the proprietors of malarious estates
and contractors for public works in malarious districts are bound by
law to provide sufficient quinine for their workmen, death for want of
this precaution coming under the provisions of the workmen's
compensation act. Much has also been, though much remains to be, done
in the way of _bonificamento_, i.e. proper drainage and improvement of
the (generally fertile) low-lying and hitherto malarious plains.

In Venetia the lives of the small proprietors and of the salaried
peasants are often extremely miserable. There and in Lombardy the
disease known as _pellagra_ is most widely diffused. The disease is
due to poisoning by micro-organisms produced by deteriorated maize,
and can be combated by care in ripening, drying and storing the maize.
The most recent statistics show the disease to be diminishing. Whereas
in 1881 there were 104,067 (16.29 per 1000) peasants afflicted by the
disease, in 1899 there were only 72,603 (10.30 per 1000) peasants,
with a maximum of 39,882 (34.32 per 1000) peasants in Venetia, and
19,557 (12.90 per 1000) peasants in Lombardy. The decrease of the
disease is a direct result of the efforts made to combat it, in the
form of special hospitals or _pellagrosari_, economic kitchens, rural
bakeries and maize-drying establishments. A bill for the better
prevention of pellagra was introduced in the spring of 1902. The
deaths from it dropped in that year to 2376, from 3054 in the previous
year and 3788 in 1900.

In Liguria, on account of the comparative rarity of large estates,
agricultural labourers are in a better condition. Men earn between 1s.
3d. and 2s. 1d. a day, and women from 5d. to 8d. In Emilia the day
labourers, known as _disobbligati_, earn, on the contrary, low wages,
out of which they have to provide for shelter and to lay by something
against unemployment. Their condition is miserable. In Tuscany,
however, the prevalence of _mezzadria_, properly so called, has raised
the labourers' position. Yet in some Tuscan provinces, as, for
instance, that of Grosseto, where malaria rages, labourers are
organized in gangs under "corporals," who undertake harvest work. They
are poverty-stricken, and easily fall victims to fever. In the Abruzzi
and in Apulia both regular and irregular workmen are engaged by the
year. The _curatori_ or _curatoli_ (factors) receive £40 a year, with
a slight interest in the profits; the stockmen hardly earn in money
and kind £13; the muleteers and under-workmen get between £5 to £8,
plus firewood, bread and oil; irregular workmen have even lower
wages, with a daily distribution of bread, salt and oil. In Campania
and Calabria the _curatoli_ and _massari_ earn, in money and kind,
about £12 a year; cowmen, shepherds and muleteers about £10; irregular
workmen are paid from 8½d. to 1s. 8d. per day, but only find
employment, on an average, 230 days in the year. The condition of
Sicilian labourers is also miserable. The huge extent of the
_latifondi_, or large estates, often results in their being left in
the hands of speculators, who exploit both workmen and farmers with
such usury that the latter are often compelled, at the end of a scanty
year, to hand over their crops to the usurers before harvest. In
Sardinia wage-earners are paid 10d. a day, with free shelter and an
allotment for private cultivation. Irregular adult workmen earn
between 10d. and 1s. 3d., and boys from 6d. to 10d. a day. Woodcutters
and vine-waterers, however, sometimes earn as much as 3s. a day.

The peasants somewhat rarely use animal food--this is most largely
used in Sardinia and least in Sicily--bread and polenta or macaroni
and vegetables being the staple diet. Wine is the prevailing drink.

The condition of the workmen employed in manufactures has improved during recent years. Wages are higher, the cost of the prime necessaries of life is, as a rule, lower, though taxation on some of them is still enormous; so that the remuneration of work has improved. Taking into account the variations in wages and in the price of wheat, it may be calculated that the number of hours of work requisite to earn a sum equal to the price of a cwt. of wheat fell from 183 in 1871 to 73 in 1894. In 1898 it was 105, on account of the rise in the price of wheat, and since then up till 1902 it oscillated between 105 and 95.

Wages have risen from 22.6 centimes per hour (on an average) to 26.3
centimes, but not in all industries. In the mining and woollen
industries they have fallen, but have increased in mechanical,
chemical, silk and cotton industries. Wages vary greatly in different
parts of Italy, according to the cost of the necessaries of life, the
degree of development of working-class needs and the state of
working-class organization, which in some places has succeeded in
increasing the rates of pay. Women are, as a rule, paid less than men,
and though their wages have also increased, the rise has been slighter
than in the case of men. In some trades, for instance the silk trade,
women earn little more than 10d. a day, and, for some classes of work,
as little as 7d. and 4½d. The general improvement in sanitation has
led to a corresponding improvement in the condition of the working
classes, though much still remains to be done, especially in the
south. On the other hand, it is generally the case that even in the
most unpromising inn the bedding is clean.

Strikes.

The number of industrial strikes has risen from year to year,
although, on account of the large number of persons involved in some
of them, the rise in the number of strikers has not always
corresponded to the number of strikes. During the years 1900 and 1901
strikes were increasingly numerous, chiefly on account of the growth
of Socialist and working-class organizations.

The greatest proportion of strikes takes place in northern Italy,
especially Lombardy and Piedmont, where manufacturing industries are
most developed. Textile, building and mining industries show the
highest percentage of strikes, since they give employment to large
numbers of men concentrated in single localities. Agricultural
strikes, though less frequent than those in manufacturing industries,
have special importance in Italy. They are most common in the north
and centre, a circumstance which shows them to be promoted less by the
more backward and more ignorant peasants than by the better-educated
labourers of Lombardy and Emilia, among whom Socialist organizations
are widespread. Since 1901 there have been, more than once, general
strikes at Milan and elsewhere, and one in the autumn of 1905 caused
great inconvenience throughout the country, and led to no effective
result.

Although in some industrial centres the working-class movement has
assumed an importance equal to that of other countries, there is no
general working-class organization comparable to the English trade
unions. Mutual benefit and co-operative societies serve the purpose of
working-class defence or offence against the employers. In 1893, after
many vicissitudes, the Italian Socialist Labour Party was founded, and
has now become the Italian Socialist Party, in which the majority of
Italian workmen enrol themselves. Printers and hat-makers, however,
possess trade societies. In 1899 an agitation began for the
organization of "Chambers of Labour," intended to look after the
technical education of workmen and to form commissions of arbitration
in case of strikes. They act also as employment bureaux, and are often
centres of political propaganda. At present such "chambers" exist in
many Italian cities, while "leagues of improvement," or of
"resistance," are rapidly spreading in the country districts. In many
cases the action of these organizations has proved, at least
temporarily, advantageous to the working classes.

Labour legislation is backward in Italy, on account of the late
development of manufacturing industry and of working-class
organization. On the 17th of April 1898 a species of Employers'
Liability Act compelled employers of more than five workmen in certain
industries to insure their employees against accidents. On the 17th
of July 1898 a national fund for the insurance of workmen against
illness and old age was founded by law on the principle of optional
registration. In addition to an initial endowment by the state, part
of the annual income of the fund is furnished in various forms by the
state (principally by making over a proportion of the profits of the
Post Office Savings Bank), and part by the premiums of the workmen.
The minimum annual premium is six lire for an annuity of one lira per
day at the age of sixty, and insurance against sickness. The low level
of wages in many trades and the jealousies of the "Chambers of Labour"
and other working-class organizations impede rapid development.

A law came into operation in February 1908, according to which a
weekly day of rest (with few exceptions) was established on Sunday in
every case in which it was possible, and otherwise upon some other day
of the week.

The French institution of _Prudhommes_ was introduced into Italy in
1893, under the name of _Collegi di Probiviri_. The institution has
not attained great vogue. Most of the colleges deal with matters
affecting textile and mechanical industries. Each "college" is founded
by royal decree, and consists of a president, with not fewer than ten
and not more than twenty members. A conciliation bureau and a jury are
elected to deal with disputes concerning wages, hours of work, labour
contracts, &c., and have power to settle the disputes, without appeal,
whenever the amounts involved do not exceed £8.

Provident Institutions.

Provident institutions have considerably developed in Italy under the forms of savings banks, assurance companies and mutual benefit societies. Besides the Post Office Savings Bank and the ordinary savings banks, many co-operative credit societies and ordinary credit banks receive deposits of savings.

The greatest number of savings banks exists in Lombardy; Piedmont and
Venetia come next. Campania holds the first place in the south, most
of the savings of that region being deposited in the provident
institutions of Naples. In Liguria and Sardinia the habit of thrift is
less developed. Assurance societies in Italy are subject to the
general dispositions of the commercial code regarding commercial
companies. Mutual benefit societies have increased rapidly, both
because their advantages have been appreciated, and because, until
recently, the state had taken no steps directly to insure workmen
against illness. The present Italian mutual benefit societies resemble
the ancient beneficent corporations, of which in some respects they
may be considered a continuation. The societies require government
recognition if they wish to enjoy legal rights. The state (law of the
15th of April 1896) imposed this condition in order to determine
exactly the aims of the societies, and, while allowing them to give
help to their sick, old or feeble members, or aid the families of
deceased members, to forbid them to pay old-age pensions, lest they
assumed burdens beyond their financial strength. Nevertheless, the
majority of societies have not sought recognition, being suspicious of
fiscal state intervention.

Co-operation.

Co-operation, for the various purposes of credit, distribution, production and labour, has attained great development in Italy. Credit co-operation is represented by a special type of association known as People's Banks (_Banche Popolari_). They are not, as a rule, supported by workmen or peasants, but rather by small tradespeople, manufacturers and farmers. They perform a useful function in protecting their clients from the cruel usury which prevails, especially in the south. A recent form of co-operative credit banks are the _Casse Rurali_ or rural banks, on the Raffeisen system, which lend money to peasants and small proprietors out of capital obtained on credit or by gift. These loans are made on personal security, but the members of the bank do not contribute any quota of the capital, though their liability is unlimited in case of loss. They are especially widespread in Lombardy and Venetia.

Distributive co-operation is confined almost entirely to Piedmont,
Liguria, Lombardy, Venetia, Emilia and Tuscany, and is practically
unknown in Basilicata, the Abruzzi and Sardinia.

Co-operative dairies are numerous. They have, however, much decreased
in number since 1889. More numerous are the agricultural and
viticultural co-operative societies, which have largely increased in
number. They are to be found mainly in the fertile plains of north
Italy, where they enjoy considerable success, removing the cause of
labour troubles and strikes, and providing for cultivation on a
sufficiently large scale. The richest, however, of the co-operative
societies, though few in number, are those for the production of
electricity, for textile industries and for ceramic and glass
manufactures.

Co-operation in general is most widely diffused, in proportion to
population, in central Italy; less so in northern Italy, and much less
so in the south and the islands. It thus appears that co-operation
flourishes most in the districts in which the _mezzadria_ system has
been prevalent.

_Railways._--The first railway in Italy, a line 16 m. long from Naples
to Castellammare, was opened in 1840. By 1881 there were some 5500 m.
open, in 1891 some 8000 m., while in 1901 the total length was 9317 m.
In July 1905 all the principal lines, which had been constructed by
the state, but had been since 1885 let out to three companies
(Mediterranean, Adriatic, Sicilian), were taken over by the state;
their length amounted in 1901 to 6147 m., and in 1907 to 8422 m. The
minor lines (many of them narrow gauge) remain in the hands of private
companies. The total length, including the Sardinian railways, was
10,368 m. in 1907. The state, in taking over the railways, did not
exercise sufficient care to see that the lines and the rolling stock
were kept up to a proper state of efficiency and adequacy for the work
they had to perform; while the step itself was taken somewhat hastily.
The result was that for the first two years of state administration
the service was distinctly bad, and the lack of goods trucks at the
ports was especially felt. A capital expenditure of £4,000,000
annually was decided on to bring the lines up to the necessary state
of efficiency to be able to cope with the rapidly increasing traffic.
It was estimated in 1906 that this would have to be maintained for a
period of ten years, with a further total expenditure of £14,000,000
on new lines.

Comparing the state of things in 1901 with that of 1881, for the whole
country, we find the passenger and goods traffic almost doubled
(except the cattle traffic), the capital expenditure almost doubled,
the working expenses per mile almost imperceptibly increased, and the
gross receipts per mile slightly lower. The _personnel_ had increased
from 70,568 to 108,690. The construction of numerous unremunerative
lines, and the free granting of concessions to government and other
employees (and also of cheap tickets on special occasions for
congresses, &c., in various towns, without strict inquiry into the
qualifications of the claimants) will account for the failure to
realize a higher profit. The fares (in slow trains, with the addition
of 10% for expenses) are: 1st class, 1.85d.; 2nd, 1.3d.; 3rd, 0.725d.
per mile. There are, however, considerable reductions for distances
over 93 m., on a scale increasing in proportion to the distance.

The taking over of the main lines by the state has of course produced
a considerable change in the financial situation of the railways. The
state incurred in this connexion a liability of some £20,000,000, of
which about £16,000,000 represented the rolling stock. The state has
considerably improved the engines and passenger carriages. The capital
value of the whole of the lines, rolling stock, &c., for 1908-1909 was
calculated approximately at £244,161,400, and the profits at
£5,295,019, or 2.2%.

Milan is the most important railway centre in the country, and is
followed by Turin, Genoa, Verona, Bologna, Rome, Naples. Lombardy and
Piedmont are much better provided with railways in proportion to their
area than any other parts of Italy; next come Venetia, Emilia and the
immediate environs of Naples.

The northern frontier is crossed by the railway from Turin to
Ventimiglia by the Col di Tenda, the Mont Cenis line from Turin to
Modane (the tunnel is 7 m. in length), the Simplon line (tunnel 11 m.
in length) from Domodossola to Brigue, the St Gotthard from Milan to
Chiasso (the tunnel is entirely in Swiss territory), the Brenner from
Verona to Trent, the line from Udine to Tarvis and the line from
Venice to Triest by the Adriatic coast. Besides these international
lines the most important are those from Milan to Turin (via Vercelli
and via Alessandria), to Genoa via Tortona, to Bologna via Parma and
Modena, to Verona, and the shorter lines to the district of the lakes
of Lombardy; from Turin to Genoa via Savona and via Alessandria; from
Genoa to Savona and Ventimiglia along the Riviera, and along the
south-west coast of Italy, via Sarzana (whence a line runs to Parma)
to Pisa (whence lines run to Pistoia and Florence) and Rome; from
Verona to Modena, and to Venice via Padua; from Bologna to Padua, to
Rimini (and thence along the north-east coast via Ancona,
Castellammare Adriatico and Foggia to Brindisi and Otranto), and to
Florence and Rome; from Rome to Ancona, to Castellammare Adriatico and
to Naples; from Naples to Foggia, via Metaponto (with a junction for
Reggio di Calabria), to Brindisi and to Reggio di Calabria. (For the
Sicilian and Sardinian lines, see SICILY and SARDINIA.) The speed of
the trains is not high, nor are the runs without stoppage long as a
rule. One of the fastest runs is from Rome to Orte, 52.40 m. in 69
min., or 45.40 m. per hour, but this is a double line with little
traffic. The low speed reduces the potentiality of the lines. The
insufficiency of rolling stock, and especially of goods wagons, is
mainly caused by delays in "handling" traffic consequent on this or
other causes, among which may be mentioned the great length of the
single lines south of Rome. It is thus a matter of difficulty to
provide trucks for a sudden emergency, e.g. the vintage season; and in
1905-1907 complaints were many, while the seaports were continually
short of trucks. This led to deficiencies in the supply of coal to the
manufacturing centres, and to some diversion elsewhere of shipping.

_Steam and Electric Tramways._--Tramways with mechanical traction have
developed rapidly. Between 1875, when the first line was opened, and
1901, the length of the lines grew to 1890 m. of steam and 270 m. of
electric tramways. These lines exist principally in Lombardy
(especially in the province of Milan), in Piedmont, especially in the
province of Turin, and in other regions of northern and central Italy.
In the south they are rare, on account partly of the mountainous
character of the country, and partly of the scarcity of traffic. All
the important towns of Italy are provided with internal electric
tramways, mostly with overhead wires.

_Carriage-roads_ have been greatly extended in modern times, although
their ratio to area varies in different localities. In north Italy
there are 1480 yds. of road per sq. m.; in central Italy 993; in
southern Italy 405; in Sardinia 596, and in Sicily only 244. They are
as a rule well kept up in north and central Italy, less so in the
south, where, especially in Calabria, many villages are inaccessible
by road and have only footpaths leading to them. By the act of 1903
the state contributes half and the province a quarter of the cost of
roads connecting communes with the nearest railway stations or landing
places.

_Inland Navigation._--Navigable canals had in 1886 a total length of
about 655 m.; they are principally situated in Piedmont, Lombardy and
Venetia, and are thus practically confined to the Po basin. Canals
lead from Milan to the Ticino, Adda and Po. The Po is itself navigable
from Turin downwards, but through its delta it is so sandy that canals
are preferred, the Po di Volano and the Po di Primaro on the right,
and the Canale Bianco on the left. The total length of navigable
rivers is 967 m.

_Posts, Telegraphs and Telephones._--The number of post offices
(including collettorie, or collecting offices, which are rapidly being
eliminated) increased from 2200 in 1862 to 4823 in 1881, 6700 in 1891
and 8817 in 1904. In spite of a large increase in the number of
letters and post cards (i.e. nearly 10 per inhabitant per annum in
1904, as against 5.65 in 1888) the average is considerably below that
of most other European countries. The number of state telegraph
offices was 4603, of other offices (railway and tramway stations,
which accept private telegrams for transmission) 1930. The telephone
system is considerably developed; in 1904, 92 urban and 66 inter-urban
systems existed. They were installed by private companies, but have
been taken over by the state. International communication between Rome
and Paris, and Italy and Switzerland also exists. The parcel post and
money order services have largely increased since 1887-1888, the
number of parcels having almost doubled (those for abroad are more
than trebled), while the number of money orders issued is trebled and
their value doubled (about £40,000,000). The value of the foreign
orders paid in Italy increased from £1,280,000 to £2,356,000--owing to
the increase of emigration and of the savings sent home by emigrants.

At the end of 1907 Italy was among the few countries that had not
adopted the reduction of postage sanctioned at the Postal Union
congress, held in Rome in 1906, by which the rates became 2½d. for the
first oz., and 1½d. per oz. afterwards. The internal rate is 15c.
(1½d.) per ½ oz.; post-cards 10c. (1d.), reply 15c. On the other hand,
letters within the postal district are only 5c. (½d.) per ½ oz.
Printed matter is 2c. (1/5d.) per 50 grammes (1(2/3) oz.). The
regulations provide that if there is a greater weight of
correspondence (including book-packets) than 1¼ lb. for any individual
by any one delivery, notice shall be given him that it is lying at the
post office, he being then obliged to arrange for fetching it. Letters
insured for a fixed sum are not delivered under any circumstances.

Money order cards are very convenient and cheap (up to 10 lire [8s.]
for 10c. [1d.]), as they need not be enclosed in a letter, while a
short private message can be written on them. Owing to the
comparatively small amount of letters, it is found possible to have a
travelling post office on all principal trains (while almost every
train has a travelling sorter, for whom a compartment is reserved)
without a late fee being exacted in either case. In the principal
towns letters may be posted in special boxes at the head office just
before the departure of any given mail train, and are conveyed direct
to the travelling post office. Another convenient arrangement is the
provision of letter-boxes on electric tram-cars in some cities.

_Mercantile Marine._--Between the years 1881 and 1905 the number of
ships entered and cleared at Italian ports decreased slightly (219,598
in 1881 and 208,737 in 1905), while their aggregate tonnage increased
(32,070,704 in 1881 and 80,782,030 in 1905). In the movement of
shipping, trade with foreign countries prevails (especially as regards
arrivals) over trade between Italian ports. Most of the merchandise
and passengers bound for and hailing from foreign ports sail under
foreign flags. Similarly, foreign vessels prevail over Italian vessels
in regard to goods embarked. European countries absorb the greater
part of Italian sea-borne trade, whereas most of the passenger traffic
goes to North and South America. The substitution of steamships for
sailing vessels has brought about a diminution in the number of
vessels belonging to the Italian mercantile marine, whether employed
in the coasting trade, the fisheries or in traffic on the high seas.
Thus:--

+------+--------+-------------------+-------------------+
| | Total | Steamships. | Sailing Vessels. |
| Year.| No. of +---------+---------+---------+---------+
| | Ships. | Number. | Tonnage | Number. | Tonnage |
| | | | (Net). | | (Net.) |
+------+--------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| 1881 | 7815 | 176 | 93,698 | 7,639 | 895,359 |
| 1905 | 5596 | 513 | 462,259 | 5,083 | 570,355 |
+------+--------+---------+---------+---------+---------+

Among the steamers the increase has chiefly taken place in vessels of
more than 1000 tons displacement, but the number of large sailing
vessels has also increased. The most important Italian ports are (in
order): Genoa, Naples, Palermo, Leghorn, Messina, Venice, Catania.

_Foreign Trade._--Italian trade with foreign countries (imports and
exports) during the quinquennium 1872-1876 averaged £94,000,000 a
year; in the quinquennium 1893-1897 it fell to £88,960,000 a year. In
1898, however, the total rose to £104,680,000, but the increase was
principally due to the extra importation of corn in that year. In 1899
it was nearly £120,000,000. Since 1899 there has been a steady
increase both in imports and exports. Thus:--

+------+---------------------------------------+
| | Trade with Foreign Countries in £1000 |
| | (exclusive of Precious Metals).* |
| Year.+--------+--------+--------+------------+
| | | | | Excess of |
| | Totals.|Imports.|Exports.|Imports over|
| | | | | Exports. |
+------+--------+--------+--------+------------+
| 1871 | 81,966 | 38,548 | 43,418 | -4,870 |
| 1881 | 96,208 | 49,587 | 46,621 | 2,966 |
| 1891 | 80,135 | 45,063 | 35,072 | 9,991 |
| 1900 |121,538 | 68,009 | 53,529 | 14,480 |
| 1904 |140,437 | 76,549 | 63,888 | 12,661 |
+------+--------+--------+--------+------------+

* No account has here been taken of fluctuations of exchange.

The great extension of Italian coast-line is thought by some to be not
really a source of strength to the Italian mercantile marine, as few
of the ports have a large enough hinterland to provide them with
traffic, and in this hinterland (except in the basin of the Po) there
are no canals or navigable rivers. Another source of weakness is the
fact that Italy is a country of transit and the Italian mercantile
marine has to enter into competition with the ships of other
countries, which call there in passing. A third difficulty is the
comparatively small tonnage and volume of Italian exports relatively
to the imports, the former in 1907 being about one-fourth of the
latter, and greatly out of proportion to the relative value; while a
fourth is the lack of facilities for handling goods, especially in the
smaller ports.

The total imports for the first six months of 1907 amounted to
£57,840,000, an increase of £7,520,000 as compared with the
corresponding period of 1906. The exports for the corresponding period
amounted to £35,840,000, a diminution of £1,520,000 as compared with
the corresponding period of 1906. The diminution was due to a smaller
exportation of raw silk and oil. The countries with which this trade
is mainly carried on are: (imports) United Kingdom, Germany, United
States, France, Russia and India; (exports) Switzerland, United
States, Germany, France, United Kingdom and Argentina.

The most important imports are minerals, including coal and metals
(both in pig and wrought); silks, raw, spun and woven; stone, potter's
earths, earthenware and glass; corn, flour and farinaceous products;
cotton, raw, spun and woven; and live stock. The principal exports are
silk and cotton tissues, live stock, wines, spirits and oils; corn,
flour, macaroni and similar products; and minerals, chiefly sulphur.
Before the tariff reform of 1887 manufactured articles, alimentary
products and raw materials for manufacture held the principal places
in the imports. In the exports, alimentary products came first, while
raw materials for manufacture and manufactured articles were of little
account. The transformation of Italy from a purely agricultural into a
largely industrial country is shown by the circumstance that trade in
raw stuffs, semi-manufactured and manufactured materials, now
preponderates over that in alimentary products and wholly-manufactured
articles, both the importation of raw materials and the exportation of
manufactured articles having increased. The balance of Italian trade
has undergone frequent fluctuations. The large predominance of imports
over exports after 1884 was a result of the falling off of the export
trade in live stock, olive oil and wine, on account of the closing of
the French market, while the importation of corn from Russia and the
Balkan States increased considerably. In 1894 the excess of imports
over exports fell to £2,720,000, but by 1898 it had grown to
£8,391,000, in consequence chiefly of the increased importation of
coal, raw cotton and cotton thread, pig and cast iron, old iron,
grease and oil-seeds for use in Italian industries. In 1899 the excess
of imports over exports fell to £3,006,000; but since then it has
never been less than £12,000,000.

_Education._--Public instruction in Italy is regulated by the state, which maintains public schools of every grade, and requires that other public schools shall conform to the rules of the state schools. No private person may open a school without state authorization. Schools may be classed thus:--

1. Elementary, of two grades, of the lower of which there must legally be at least one for boys and one for girls in each commune; while the upper grade elementary school is required in communes having normal and secondary schools or over 4000 inhabitants. In both the instruction is free. They are maintained by the communes, sometimes with state help. The age limit is six to nine years for the lower grade, and up to twelve for the higher grade, attendance being obligatory at the latter also where it exists. 2. Secondary instruction (i.) classical in the _ginnasi_ and _licei_, the latter leading to the universities; (ii.) technical. 3. Higher education--universities, higher institutes and special schools.

Of the secondary and higher educatory methods, in the normal schools and licei the state provides for the payment of the staff and for scientific material, and often largely supports the ginnasi and technical schools, which should by law be supported by the communes. The universities are maintained by the state and by their own ancient resources; while the higher special schools are maintained conjointly by the state, the province, the commune and (sometimes) the local chamber of commerce.

The number of persons unable to read and write has gradually decreased, both absolutely and in proportion to the number of inhabitants. The census of 1871 gave 73% of illiterates, that of 1881, 67%, and that of 1901, 56%, i.e. 51.8 for males and 60.8 for females. In Piedmont there were 17.7% of illiterates above six years (the lowest) and in Calabria 78.7% (the highest), the figures for the whole country being 48.5. As might be expected, progress has been most rapid wherever education, at the moment of national unification, was most widely diffused. For instance, the number of bridegrooms unable to write their names in 1872 was in the province of Turin 26%, and in the Calabrian province of Cosenza 90%; in 1899 the percentage in the province of Turin had fallen to 5%, while in that of Cosenza it was still 76%. Infant asylums (where the first rudiments of instruction are imparted to children between two and a half and six years of age) and elementary schools have increased in number. There has been a corresponding increase in the number of scholars. Thus:--

+---------+---------------------+------------------------+
| | Infant Asylums |Daily Elementary Schools|
| |(Public and Private).| (Public and Private). |
| Year. +----------+----------+------------+-----------+
| |Number of |Number of | Number of | Number of |
| | Asylums | Scholars.|Schoolrooms.| Scholars. |
+---------+----------+----------+------------+-----------+
| 1885-86 | 2083 | 240,365 | 53,628 | 2,252,898 |
| 1890-91 | 2296 | 278,204 | 57,077 | 2,418,692 |
| 1901-02 | 3314 | 355,594 | 61,777 | 2,733,349 |
+---------+----------+----------+------------+-----------+

The teachers in 1901-1902 numbered 65,739 (exclusive of 576 non-teaching directors and 322 teachers of special subjects) or about 41.5 scholars per teacher.

The rate of increase in the public state-supported schools has been
much greater than in the private schools. School buildings have been
improved and the qualifications of teachers raised. Nevertheless, many
schools are still defective, both from a hygienic and a teaching point
of view; while the economic position of the elementary teachers, who
in Italy depend upon the communal administrations and not upon the
state, is still in many parts of the country extremely low.

The law of 1877 rendering education compulsory for children between
six and nine years of age has been the principal cause of the spread
of elementary education. The law is, however, imperfectly enforced for
financial reasons. In 1901-1902 only 65% out of the whole number of
children between six and nine years of age were registered in the
lower standards of the elementary and private schools. The evening
schools have to some extent helped to spread education. Their number
and that of their scholars have, however, decreased since the
withdrawal of state subsidies. In 1871-1872 there were 375,947
scholars at the evening schools and 154,585 at the holiday schools,
while in 1900-1901 these numbers had fallen to 94,510 and 35,460
respectively. These are, however, the only institutions in which a
decrease is shown, and by the law of 1906 5000 of these institutions
are to be provided in the communes where the proportion of illiterates
is highest. In 1895 they numbered 4245, with 138,181 scholars.
Regimental schools impart elementary education to illiterate soldiers.
Whereas the levy of 1894 showed 40% of the recruits to be completely
illiterate, only 27% were illiterate when the levy was discharged in
1897. Private institutions and working-class associations have striven
to improve the intellectual conditions of the working classes. Popular
universities have lately attained considerable development. The number
of institutes devoted to secondary education remained almost unchanged
between 1880-1881 and 1895-1896. In some places the number has even
been diminished by the suppression of private educational institutes.
But the number of scholars has considerably increased, and shows a
ratio superior to the general increase of the population. The
greatest increase has taken place in technical education, where it
has been much more rapid than in classical education. There are three
higher commercial schools, with academic rank, at Venice, Genoa and
Bari, and eleven secondary commercial schools; and technical and
commercial schools for women at Florence and Milan. The number of
agricultural schools has also grown, although the total is relatively
small when compared with population. The attendance at the various
classes of secondary schools in 1882 and 1902 is shown by the
following table:--

+---------------------------+-------+---------+--------+
| | 1882. | 1902. | No. of |
| | | |Schools.|
+---------------------------+-------+---------+--------+
| Ginnasi-- | | | |
| Government |13,875 | 24,081 | 192 |
| On an equal footing with| | | |
| government schools | 6,417 | 7,208 | 76 |
| Not on such a footing |22,609 | 24,850* | 442 |
| +-------+---------+--------+
| Total |42,811 | 56,139 | 710 |
| +-------+---------+--------+
| Technical schools-- | | | |
| Government | 7,510 | 30,411 | 188 |
| On an equal footing | 8,653 | 12,055 | 101 |
| Not on such a footing | 8,670 | 3,623* | 106* |
| +-------+---------+--------+
| Total |24,833 | 46,089 | 395 |
| +-------+---------+--------+
| Licei-- | | | |
| Government | 6,623 | 10,983 | 121 |
| On an equal footing | 1,167 | 1,955 | 33 |
| Not on such a footing | 4,600 | 4,962* | 187 |
| +-------+---------+--------+
| Total |12,390 | 17,900 | 341 |
| +-------+---------+--------+
| Technical institutes-- | | | |
| Government | 5,555 | 9,654 | 54 |
| On an equal footing | 1,684 | 1,898 | 18 |
| Not on such a footing | 619 | 378* | 7 |
| +-------+---------+--------+
| Total | 7,858 | 11,930 | 79 |
| +-------+---------+--------+
| Nautical institutes-- | | | |
| Government | 758 | 1,878 | 18 |
| On an equal footing | 69 | 38 | 1 |
| Not on such a footing | 13 | 29* | 1 |
| +-------+---------+--------+
| Total | 816 | 1,945 | 20 |
+---------------------------+-------+---------+--------+

* 1: 1896.

The schools which do not obtain equality with government schools are
either some of those conducted by religious orders, or else those in
which a sufficient standard is not reached. The total number of such
schools was, in 1896, 742 with 33,813 pupils.

The pupils of the secondary schools reach a maximum of 6.60 per 1000
in Liguria and 5.92 in Latium, and a minimum of 2.30 in the Abruzzi,
2.27 in Calabria and 1.65 in Basilicata.

For the boarding schools, or _convitti_, there are only incomplete
reports except for the institutions directly dependent on the ministry
of public instruction, which are comparatively few. The rest are
largely directed by religious institutions. In 1895-1896 there were
919 convitti for boys, with 59,066 pupils, of which 40, with 3814
pupils, were dependent on the ministry (in 1901-1902 there were 43 of
these with 4036 pupils); and 1456 for girls, with 49,367 pupils, of
which only 8, with about 600 pupils, were dependent on the ministry.

The _scuole normali_ or training schools (117 in number, of which 75
were government institutions) for teachers had 1329 male students in
1901-1902, showing hardly any increase, while the female students
increased from 8005 in 1882-1883 to 22,316 in 1895-1896, but decreased
to 19,044 in 1901-1902, owing to the admission of women to telegraph
and telephone work. The female secondary schools in 1881-1882 numbered
77, of which 7 were government institutions, with 3569 pupils; in
1901-1902 there were 233 schools (9 governmental) with 9347 pupils.

The total attendance of students in the various faculties at the
different universities and higher institutes is as follows:--

+--------------------------------+--------+--------+
| | 1882. | 1902. |
+--------------------------------+--------+--------+
| Law | 4,801 | 8,385 |
| Philosophy and letters | 419 | 1,703 |
| Medicine and surgery | 4,428 | 9,055 |
| Professional diploma, pharmacy | 798 | 3,290 |
| Mathematics and natural science| 1,364 | 3,500 |
| Engineering | 982 | 1,293 |
| Agriculture | 145 | 507 |
| Commerce | 128 | 167 |
| +--------+--------+
| Total | 13,065 | 27,900 |
+--------------------------------+--------+--------+

Thus a large all-round increase in secondary and higher education is
shown--satisfactory in many respects, but showing that more young men
devote themselves to the learned professions (especially to the law)
than the economic condition of the country will justify. There are 21
universities--Bologna, Cagliari, Camerino, Catania, Ferrara, Genoa,
Macerata, Messina, Modena, Naples, Padua, Palermo, Parma, Pavia,
Perugia, Pisa, Rome, Sassari, Siena, Turin, Urbino, of which Camerino,
Ferrara, Perugia and Urbino are not state institutions; university
courses are also given at Aquila, Bari and Catanzaro. Of these the
most frequented in 1904-1905 were: Naples (4745), Turin (3451), Rome
(2630), Bologna (1711), Pavia (1559), Padua (1364), Genoa (1276), and
the least frequented, Cagliari (254), Siena (235) and Sassari (200).
The professors are ordinary and extraordinary, and free professors
(_liberi docenti_), corresponding to the German _Privatdozenten_, are
also allowed to be attached to the universities.

The institutions which co-operate with the universities are the
special schools for engineers at Turin, Naples, Rome and Bologna (and
others attached to some of the universities), the higher technical
institute at Milan, the higher veterinary schools of Milan, Naples and
Turin, the institute for higher studies at Florence (_Istituto di
studi superiori, pratici e di perfezionamento_), the literary and
scientific academy of Milan, the higher institutes for the training of
female teachers at Florence and Rome, the Institute of Social Studies
at Florence, the higher commercial schools at Venice, Bari and Genoa,
the commercial university founded by L. Bocconi at Milan in 1902, the
higher naval school at Genoa, the higher schools of agriculture at
Milan and Portici, the experimental institute at Perugia, the school
of forestry at Vallambrosa, the industrial museum at Turin. The
special secondary institutions, distinct from those already reckoned
under the universities and allied schools, include an Oriental
institute at Naples with 243 pupils; 34 schools of agriculture with
(1904-1905) 1925 students; 2 schools of mining (at Caltanisetta and
Iglesias) with (1904-1905) 83 students; 308 industrial and commercial
schools with (1903-1904) 46,411 students; 174 schools of design and
moulding with (1898) 12,556 students; 13 government fine art
institutes (1904-1905) with 2778 students and 13 non-government with
1662 students; 5 government institutes of music with 1026 students,
and 51 non-government with 4109 pupils (1904-1905). Almost all of
these show a considerable increase.

_Libraries_ are numerous in Italy, those even of small cities being often rich in manuscripts and valuable works. Statistics collected in 1893-1894 and 1896 revealed the existence of 1831 libraries, either private (but open to the public) or completely public. The public libraries have been enormously increased since 1870 by the incorporation of the treasures of suppressed monastic institutions. The richest in manuscripts is that of the Vatican, especially since the purchase of the Barberini Library in 1902; it now contains over 34,000 MSS. The Vatican archives are also of great importance. Most large towns contain important state or communal archives, in which a considerable amount of research is being done by local investigators; the various societies for local history (_Società di Storia Patria_) do very good work and issue valuable publications; the treasures which the archives contain are by no means exhausted. Libraries and archives are under the superintendence of the Ministry of Public Instruction. A separate department of this ministry under a director-general has the charge of antiquities and fine arts, making archaeological excavations and supervising those undertaken by private persons (permission to foreigners, even to foreign schools, to excavate in Italy is rarely granted), and maintaining the numerous state museums and picture galleries. The exportation of works of art and antiquities from Italy without leave of the ministry is forbidden (though it has in the past been sometimes evaded). An inventory of those subjects, the exportation of which can in no case be permitted, has been prepared; and the ministry has at its disposal a fund of £200,000 for the purchase of important works of art of all kinds.

_Charities._--In Italy there is no legal right in the poor to be supported by the parish or commune, nor any obligation on the commune to relieve the poor--except in the case of forsaken children and the sick poor. Public charity is exercised through the permanent charitable foundations (_opere pie_), which are, however, very unequally distributed in the different provinces. The districts of Italy which show between 1881 and 1903 the greatest increase of new institutions, or of gifts to old ones, are Lombardy, Piedmont, Liguria, while Sardinia, Calabria and Basilicata stand lowest, Latium standing comparatively low.

The patrimony of Italian charitable institutions is considerable and
is constantly increasing. In 1880 the number of charitable
institutions (exclusive of public pawnshops, or _Monti di Pietà_, and
other institutions which combine operations of credit with charity)
was approximately 22,000, with an aggregate patrimony of nearly
£80,000,000. The revenue was about £3,600,000; after deduction of
taxes, interest on debts, expenses of management, &c., £2,080,000.
Adding to this £1,240,000 of communal and provincial subsidies, the
product of the labour of inmates, temporary subscriptions, &c., the
net revenue available for charity was, during 1880, £3,860,000. Of
this sum £260,000 was spent for religious purposes. Between 1881 and
1905 the bequests to existing institutions and sums left for the
endowment of new institutions amounted to about £16,604,600.

Charitable institutions take, as a rule, the two forms of outdoor and
indoor relief and attendance. The indoor institutions are the more
important in regard to endowment, and consist of hospitals for the
infirm (a number of these are situated at the seaside); of hospitals
for chronic and incurable diseases; of orphan asylums; of poorhouses
and shelters for beggars; of infant asylums or institutes for the
first education of children under six years of age; of lunatic
asylums; of homes for the deaf and dumb; and of institutes for the
blind. The outdoor charitable institutions include those which
distribute help in money or food; those which supply medicine and
medical help; those which aid mothers unable to rear their own
children; those which subsidize orphans and foundlings; those which
subsidize educational institutes; and those which supply marriage
portions. Between 1881 and 1898 the chief increases took place in the
endowments of hospitals; orphan asylums; infant asylums; poorhouses;
almshouses; voluntary workhouses; and institutes for the blind. The
least creditably administered of these are the asylums for abandoned
infants; in 1887, of a total of 23,913, 53.77% died; while during the
years 1893-1896 (no later statistics are available) of 117,970 51.72%
died. The average mortality under one year for the whole of Italy in
1893-1896 was only 16.66%.

Italian charity legislation was reformed by the laws of 1862 and 1890,
which attempted to provide efficacious protection for endowments, and
to ensure the application of the income to the purposes for which it
was intended. The law considers as "charitable institutions" (_opere
pie_) all poorhouses, almshouses and institutes which partly or wholly
give help to able-bodied or infirm paupers, or seek to improve their
moral and economic condition; and also the _Congregazioni di carità_
(municipal charity boards existing in every commune, and composed of
members elected by the municipal council), which administer funds
destined for the poor in general. All charitable institutions were
under the protection of provincial administrative junta, existing in
every province, and empowered to control the management of charitable
endowments. The supreme control was vested in the minister of the
Interior. The law of 1890 also empowers every citizen to appeal to the
tribunals on behalf of the poor, for whose benefit a given charitable
institution may have been intended. A more recent law provides for the
formation of a central body, with provincial commissions under it. Its
effect, however, has been comparatively small.

Public pawnshops or _Monti di pietà_ numbered 555 in 1896, with a net
patrimony of £2,879,625. In that year their income, including revenue
from capital, was £416,385, and their expenditure £300,232. The amount
lent on security was £4,153,229.

The _Monti frumentarii_ or co-operative corn deposits, which lend seed
corn to farmers, and are repaid after harvest with interest in kind,
numbered 1615 in 1894, and possessed a patrimony of £240,000.

In addition to the regular charitable institutions, the communal and
provincial authorities exercise charity, the former (in 1899) to the
extent of £1,827,166 and the latter to the extent of £919,832 per
annum. Part of these sums is given to hospitals, and part spent
directly by the communal and provincial authorities. Of the sum spent
by the communes, about ½ goes for the sanitary service (doctors,
midwives, vaccination), 1/8 for the maintenance of foundlings, 1/10
for the support of the sick in hospitals, and 1/22 for sheltering the
aged and needy. Of the sum spent by the provincial authorities, over
half goes to lunatic asylums and over a quarter to the maintenance of
foundling hospitals.