Examples of soup kitchens operating in Gorizia and Gradisca before the First World War

Abstract

The article describes the operations of various systems of soup kitchens that were set up in Gorizia and Gradisca during the period of Austria-Hungary. They constituted a crucial form of provincial social aid to the poor, with which charity organizations or individuals alleviated the hardships facing the vulnerable social strata in both urban and rural areas. Drawing from various sources, the article presents four examples from the city of Gorizia and the Friulian part of the County. Operating in the provincial capital were the general soup kitchen, run by the local women’s charity association, and two soup kitchens providing meals to poor schoolchildren. At the turn of the twentieth century, a special system of soup kitchens was also set up across Friuli settlements with the main purpose to fight pellagra, which wreaked havoc among the poor local population.