Page 58 - Mellinato, Giulio, and Aleksander Panjek. Eds. 2022. Complex Gateways. Labour and Urban History of Maritime Port Cities: The Northern Adriaticin a Comparative Perspective. Koper: University of Primorska Press.
P. 58
plex Gateways
nected. It meant a cut with the economy of the place of origin, where the
sons of small farmers and cottagers had no opportunity for family repro-
duction and were bound for social marginalization.7 When entire fami-
lies immigrated, they usually first tried their luck in the agrarian suburbs
of Trieste, where they settled as tenants or workers on the estates of the
city landowners. Many then decided to move to the city, where they mul-
tiplied the ranks of the urban proletariat, making money only through
unskilled wage labour (Kalc 2004, 361).
Resident porters showed a high average age (over 40 years) as a con-
sequence of their long stay in the city. Barely 20 percent were under 30
years of age, and more than 16 percent were over 50 years of age. As many
as 64 percent of them were between 30 and 50 years old (Table 2). Gender
differences are evident in the segment up to 30 and over 50 years of age.
They are associated with the earlier entry of men into the profession and
the longer life expectancy of women, many of whom made a living in wid-
owhood through carrying services. In other cities, the members of var-
ious foreign caravans and companies of porters were usually younger.
In Mantua, for example, ten-year-old boys were introduced to the pro-
fession (especially the ones from the Trento area) by delivering suitable
loads and goods, and 70 percent of porters from this area first went to
work in Mantua before the age of 20, while about a quarter of them im-
migrated to Trieste at the same age (Belfanti 1994, 75). It is worth noting,
however, that the former figure includes those who came to the city sea-
sonally, while for Trieste we do not have this kind of information. It is
also characteristic that the vast majority of porters listed in the Trieste
census registers were married, and it was with marriage and the forma-
tion of a family that a more permanent settlement took place in the city.
Being married to a local woman, most often to an immigrant, and hav-
ing a family in the city, was also considered a statement for maintaining
a permanent residence, and therefore a form of belonging to the urban
population. This was very important from the point of view of social sta-
tus, because these families, in case of need, received the same treatment
as the city natives, with further advantages in the labour market in com-
parison with the precarious newcomers.
7 In relation to this transition in the context of migratory movements, compare
Rosental 1990.
58
nected. It meant a cut with the economy of the place of origin, where the
sons of small farmers and cottagers had no opportunity for family repro-
duction and were bound for social marginalization.7 When entire fami-
lies immigrated, they usually first tried their luck in the agrarian suburbs
of Trieste, where they settled as tenants or workers on the estates of the
city landowners. Many then decided to move to the city, where they mul-
tiplied the ranks of the urban proletariat, making money only through
unskilled wage labour (Kalc 2004, 361).
Resident porters showed a high average age (over 40 years) as a con-
sequence of their long stay in the city. Barely 20 percent were under 30
years of age, and more than 16 percent were over 50 years of age. As many
as 64 percent of them were between 30 and 50 years old (Table 2). Gender
differences are evident in the segment up to 30 and over 50 years of age.
They are associated with the earlier entry of men into the profession and
the longer life expectancy of women, many of whom made a living in wid-
owhood through carrying services. In other cities, the members of var-
ious foreign caravans and companies of porters were usually younger.
In Mantua, for example, ten-year-old boys were introduced to the pro-
fession (especially the ones from the Trento area) by delivering suitable
loads and goods, and 70 percent of porters from this area first went to
work in Mantua before the age of 20, while about a quarter of them im-
migrated to Trieste at the same age (Belfanti 1994, 75). It is worth noting,
however, that the former figure includes those who came to the city sea-
sonally, while for Trieste we do not have this kind of information. It is
also characteristic that the vast majority of porters listed in the Trieste
census registers were married, and it was with marriage and the forma-
tion of a family that a more permanent settlement took place in the city.
Being married to a local woman, most often to an immigrant, and hav-
ing a family in the city, was also considered a statement for maintaining
a permanent residence, and therefore a form of belonging to the urban
population. This was very important from the point of view of social sta-
tus, because these families, in case of need, received the same treatment
as the city natives, with further advantages in the labour market in com-
parison with the precarious newcomers.
7 In relation to this transition in the context of migratory movements, compare
Rosental 1990.
58
