Childhood and Industrialization in Italy

Abstract

pay more attention to urban life and, whether they work in mountain hamlets or cities, to incorporate a historical perspective in their work. It examines the impact of industrialization on the family lives of children in Europe. Casalecchio di Reno, a sharecropping community near the city of Bologna, is the focus. From 1861 to 1921 a large textile factory employed many children in the town, and other nonagricultural work became available. Major social and political changes also took place. I examine effects of these changes on children's living situations in a society, where patrilaterally extended households had long been the norm.