Another Historical Factoid

You know we have a thing for history here at the winery, you know you do. I mean, who can forget the Barrel Spinning post and video? And what about the Barrel Monkey post and video? Well, we've done it again.
Whilst on my trip back to Italy a couple of weeks back my Aunt passes me a load of back issues of the Italian agricultural magazine for true rural farmers, "Vita in Campagna" (literally translated as "life in the country", or more loosely as "country life"). On its front cover you will see children being educated in viticulture - I post the picture here.

The blurb that goes with the picture is as follows - "under the eye of their teacher, a group of students try pruning vines of the Agrarial School of Marzana (Verona). Schools like these produced the best technical agrarians who through their work have contributed to the following of Italian agriculture."
Of course this photo is credited to Vita in Campagna, Jan 2007, from the collection of Giovanni Squaranti.
The picture was taken in 1930.

The teacher is just visible at far left top half of picture - wearing a natty hat and pin-stripe suit. Dressed as such he obviously had no intention of even touching a vine. He probably dressed up for the photo. Of course there's one boy who is in deep trouble. This rascal (in the left group of boys, face visible above the head and cap of the third boy) has deliberately forgotten his regulation cap and is getting the evil eye from the master - no doubt he's in for it later! In fact, he's dead, because from my clear copy this rascal is not even looking at the vine but at the camera and is ruining the photo for il professore.

Maybe the left group of boys are the trouble makers and is why teacher gets to watch them instead of the right hand grouping, who are beavering away with not so much as a yawn or sideways jaunty slant of their caps. I bet the left group have been issued with regulation blunt punishment pruning shears too until such time as they buck their ideas up.