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classrooms were single rooms available in different parts of the village. They were furnished with a teacher desk, double pupil desks (bench style), one or two maps on the wall, a blackboard and a wooden stove. The basic texts were usually three, a reading book, a science book and a religion book. These books were chosen by the State but each student had to buy them. Students were responsible for all their supplies which consisted of a pencil, a pen, and notebooks for writing and for math. The State provided the ink for the inkwells located on the desks and the chalk for the blackboard. This was the basic educational program required by the State in the '30s. The few students who wished to continue their studies in High School (the Ginnasio-Liceo, the Magistrale, the Commerciale, the Tecnica) had to pass an entrance test and attend these schools in Lanciano, Chieti, or any other city. The programs of studies for these schools were prepared by the State and were identical in the whole country. Politically, Italy got involved in Africa and was trying to use this new "colony" as an migration outlet for overpopulated Italy. The government was trying to attract settlers in Africa with substantial incentives. There was a certain national pride fostered by martial parades, ceremonies, youth programs, financial assistance, medical insurance for workers, and better labor condition. Mussolini had created strong youth programs in which we all had to participate. Physical Education was emphasized in the schools and it was well |  |
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integrated in the educational program. The parades, the readings, the youth programs, the war stories of WW I veterans, the monuments to the fallen in war, and the WW I and Africa war songs all contributed to an atmosphere of national pride and sometimes to provincial histrionics. Mussolini can be blamed for many things but one thing at least should be recognized: the strong effort to promote education and eradicate illiteracy. Unfortunately political indoctrination was also insidiously woven in the educational system. Fallo at this time there was no police station. Disagreements were often resolved by a local mediator or only occasionally in the Villa Santa Maria Court. The priest played an important role in the village. He dominated the spiritual atmosphere, mostly among women, with a medieval type of religion (the fire and brimstone approach). The men went to church as children, as men they attended church services during special occasions or holidays, and some became churchgoers again in their old age. Some were mildly anticlerical (a few strong women showed the same characteristics) and often chided the priests with criticism, provincial wit and anecdotes. For instance, one of the old men of the village would ask the priest why the statues of the saints portrayed them always with a lily, a rose or a cross and never with a pick, a hoe or any other working tool. Another would comment on the meaning of the three corners of the priests' hats, the first, that the peasants had to work for a living while the priest did not, the second, that the priest knew everybody's sins while nobody knew his, the third, |
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